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Council discusses restoring historic-review board authority, flags Brown Act constraints
Summary
Council and members debated how the Brown Act affects the historic-review board's ability to prepare certificates of appropriateness; members urged a process so business owners can get COAs quickly while preserving public-meeting rules.
Councilmembers and staff discussed reconstituting the historic-review board and how the Brown Act limits staff and volunteer work done outside of public meetings. One councilmember said the board must prepare certificates of appropriateness (COAs) ahead of public meetings and asked the city to show a process that would allow a business owner to receive a COA within 30 days.
Members acknowledged the Brown Act prevents a quorum of a board from meeting except in public, so staff-level collaboration outside meetings is essential to prevent months-long delays. "If they can show us a process under the Brown Act, where a business owner or a property owner on Main Street can get a COA within 30 days, I think that's absolutely fine," one speaker said. Members suggested dividing the work into parcels and assigning tasks to avoid prohibited serial meetings.
