The Palo Alto Historic Resources Board on the first meeting of 2026 narrowed its list of 159 nominated projects to an 18-project working shortlist and voted 5–0 to continue detailed review and return in February.

Board members and staff spent the meeting presenting standout residential and commercial projects, flagging items that need additional documentation and site visits, and discussing how to categorize awards (preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, adaptive reuse). Staff had proposed starting by reviewing photos and then working through a shared Excel shortlist; the board used that document in real time to remove duplicates and highlight candidates.

"We invite you to review the staff report once it's published, which generally is a week and a half before the meeting occurs," said Jennifer Armer, assistant director, describing staff's effort to improve the summaries sent to council and to the public. Armer also said staff will circulate the reduced list and incorporate material submitted by board members after the meeting.

Members named several properties they considered strong candidates for awards, including residential projects (examples cited during discussion included 221 Kingsley, 501 Kingsley, 215 Fulton, and 944 Cowper) and commercial sites such as the Peninsula Creamery and the Junior Museum and Zoo. Several board members said some projects were still pending final permits or were not yet in a final, award-ready condition; the board agreed to defer projects that are incomplete.

The discussion also revisited a recent city council decision to downgrade the historic designation at 1680 Bryant Street. Board members said they had not seen the fuller presentation and photographic context the applicant and architect provided to council and urged clearer staff summaries so the HRB's reasons for a designation are better represented in later council materials.

After working through the shortlist, a member moved to continue the HRB awards review to the next cycle and reconvene in February to finalize categories and winners; the motion was seconded and the clerk recorded the vote as 5–0 in favor.

The board also approved the November 13 meeting minutes by the same unanimous vote and closed the meeting after confirming next steps: staff will circulate an abridged shortlist, several board members will perform site visits and plan/permit checks, and the board will revisit the awards at the February meeting.

What happens next: staff will distribute the reduced list and supporting materials to board members; assigned board members will check building permits and return recommendations at the next meeting. The board also asked staff to place an inventory-update item on the February agenda for broader process discussion.