Commission discusses landmarks audit and annual reporting; calls for prioritization and March follow‑up

Planning Department staff presented two memoranda proposing (1) an annual reporting schedule for preservation activities and (2) an update on landmark designation activity since 2018, including the start of an audit of existing listings to identify omissions and better reflect underrepresented communities.

Staff said the audit will identify omissions of community histories and instances where additional research may be needed, and recommended using succinct fact sheets to reduce staff time per designation. Marcel Boudreaux told commissioners the department expects to prioritize owner‑supported, substantially complete designations and aims to process roughly a dozen landmark investigations in the next fiscal year by using a streamlined fact‑sheet approach.

Public caller Richard Rothman urged prioritizing the Mother's Building at the San Francisco Zoo and offered research assistance; staff said they had previously contacted Recreation and Parks and remain engaged. Commissioners raised concerns about staff capacity, questioned the time estimates in the memo (one commissioner calculated large staff‑hour totals if many listings required review), and asked staff to return with a prioritized list of substantially complete nominations and clearer staffing/time estimates. Commissioners suggested engaging community working groups (LGBTQ, African American, Filipino, Latino) to help set priorities and requested a March update with milestones and a progress diagram for items in process.

Next steps: staff to follow up with agency partners on interagency nominations (e.g., Mother's Building), refine the proposed audit schedule, and return with a March report that will include priorities and a list of the properties staff can commit to processing in the coming year.