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Resident tells council State board voted 8–4 against Blair House boundary reduction
Summary
At the March 4 meeting Lisa Saub told the Waukesha Common Council the State Historic Preservation Review Board voted 8–4 on Feb. 21 to deny a proposed decrease to the National Register boundary for the Senator William Blair House and summarized prior local review and opposition.
Lisa Saub, a Waukesha resident, told the Common Council on March 4 that the State Historic Preservation Review Board voted 8–4 on Feb. 21 to not approve an application to decrease the National Register boundary for the Senator William Blair House.
Saub said the city first sought a waiver of a 60-day notice to the Waukesha Landmarks Commission in July 2024; the Landmarks Commission voted not to waive that notice in August 2024. City staff then submitted the matter as a new nomination (the federal procedure staff said was required). Saub said the Landmarks Commission reviewed the completed nomination in December 2024, voted unanimously against the boundary change and drafted a letter in opposition that was approved and sent to the Wisconsin Historical Society in February 2025. She told the council the State board reviewed materials, summarized letters and emails, and concluded with an 8–4 vote not to decrease the Blair House boundary.
Why it matters: changes to National Register boundaries affect historic designation and review; the Landmarks Commission and citizen commenters urged preservation, and Saub asked that the council and the public be aware of the state decision.
The council did not take formal action on the Blair House matter during the meeting; Saub’s remarks were made during the public-comment portion of the agenda.
Quote from the meeting: "By a vote to 8 to 4, the State Historic Preservation Board review board did not move to approve the Blair House additional documentation and boundary decrease at the meeting held on 02/21/2025," Saub told the council.
Background: Saub cited a sequence of local decisions leading to the state review, including a unanimous Landmarks Commission vote in December 2024 opposing the boundary decrease. The council acknowledged the comment; no additional materials or agenda items on the Blair House were noted for that meeting.
