San Francisco panel forwards two Historic Preservation Commission nominees, delays two others

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee on Monday moved to forward two mayoral nominations for the newly created Historic Preservation Commission to the full board while holding over two others for further review.

President Peskin, speaking during the special Rules Committee meeting, said Proposition J, which the board placed on the Nov. 4 ballot and which received roughly 183,000 votes, restructures the Landmarks advisory apparatus into a seven-member commission with seat-specific minimum qualifications. "Proposition J was designed to strengthen the historic preservation apparatus in San Francisco," Peskin said, framing the change as intended to bring the city’s preservation review into the 21st century.

Applicants for four seats were on the committee calendar. The clerk read paired motions for each nominee: for approval and for rejection of the mayor’s nominations for seat numbers 6, 4, 1 and 7. The committee invited the nominees to state their qualifications. One nominee introduced himself in the hearing as Carl Hawes and described two years on the Landmarks board and a background as a general contractor specializing in restaurant and brick-building work. He told supervisors his contractor experience helped him assess whether proposed alterations were feasible and how to find alternatives that preserved a building’s character without unduly stifling economic viability.

Alan Martinez, the nominee for seat 1, told the committee he has served nearly four years on the Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board, co-chaired a preservation organization that produced a citywide GLBT historic-context statement and is a licensed architect with more than 20 years of practice. Martinez said his specialty is designing contextual new buildings in historic districts and that he has substantial experience with preservation projects. "I think I would bring that to the commission," Martinez said.

Members of the public and preservation advocates largely supported the two nominees. Architectural historian Catherine Petron said the passage of Prop J reflects "the very strong value that the vast majority of San Franciscans place on historic building sites and landscapes," and she expressed support for the appointments of the candidates now before the committee. Other longtime preservation advocates and neighborhood representatives urged that nominees meet the Secretary of the Interior’s professional standards and that the board ensure the new commission includes technical expertise in preservation and materials conservation.

Committee leaders signaled concern about two of the other nominees. Several commenters and supervisors noted that one candidate, Sue Lee (the nominee for a historian-designated seat), had publicly opposed Prop J, prompting questions about whether that nominee’s philosophy aligned with the commission’s new powers. After public comment, President Peskin proposed a follow-up special Rules Committee meeting and recommended continuing items tied to Sue Lee and Tammy Chan (items 3, 4, 7 and 8) while forwarding items 1 and 5 to the full board with a recommendation. The committee adopted that approach "without objection," the chair said.

The committee did not record a roll-call vote on the forwarded nominations in the public record of the meeting. The next procedural step is for the full Board of Supervisors to take up the forwarded nominations at its upcoming session.

Notes on transcript discrepancies: the clerk read a nominee as "Karl Haas" while the individual who introduced himself in the hearing used the name "Carl Hawes." The committee record lists the nominee as read by the clerk; the committee and public commenters referenced both forms during the meeting.