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Council and preservation board debate IHPRB rules, Brown Act risks and ordinance fixes
Summary
Council and Historic Preservation Review Board members debated board composition, Brown Act constraints, COA processing and a problematic 'automatic designation' clause; counsel advised caution on serial communications and directed staff to return with ordinance changes and per-parcel guidance to ensure compliance and preserve the historic district.
Council heard an extended presentation and Q&A with members of the Isleton Historic Preservation Review Board (IHPRB) about the board’s operational manual, committee practices and whether local ordinance language inadvertently declared all buildings "landmarks." The IHPRB co-chairs and council members described efforts to create COA (certificate-of-appropriateness) procedures and a flowchart; legal counsel and staff warned about Brown Act risks where small-board communication can inadvertently constitute deliberation.
Council and IHPRB members discussed that the city’s ordinance previously included an automatic designation clause that could be read to treat all properties in the historic district as landmark properties. Legal staff reported that state/federal guidance recommended striking that paragraph; council said they would return with clarified ordinance language to make the board’s role and COA thresholds explicit and aligned with Office of Historic Preservation guidance. Council directed staff to post the board’s intake flowchart on the city website, to pursue either reconstituting the IHPRB to five members or to formalize operational steps (a designated single staff or member contact for applicants) so public service continues without Brown Act risk.
Legal counsel emphasized that email-sharing among board members and ad hoc meetings create potential Brown Act exposures and recommended either restoring a full five-member board or conducting properly noticed public meetings/special meetings when decisions are needed. The council asked staff to work with the city attorney and with OHP guidance and return with an ordinance/direction package.
