Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board

Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board
Name	Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board
Formation	20th century
Jurisdiction	Municipal
Headquarters	Civic Center
Chief	Chairperson

Contents

Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board is a municipal commission charged with identifying, evaluating, and protecting historic preservation resources within an urban jurisdiction. It operates at the intersection of land use planning, cultural heritage conservation, urban development, and preservation law, advising agencies such as the City Council, Planning Commission, and Mayor on designation, alteration, and demolition of landmarks. The Board's work touches on properties associated with figures like Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Frank Lloyd Wright, and events such as the Industrial Revolution, Great Migration (African American) and the World's Columbian Exposition.

History and Establishment

The Board was established amid 20th-century preservation movements influenced by the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the founding of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and local reactions to urban renewal projects exemplified by controversies in Boston and New York City. Early cases referenced landmark debates involving Broadway, Pennsylvania Station (New York City), French Quarter advocacy, and preservation efforts tied to figures such as Theodore Roosevelt and Jane Jacobs. Municipal charters and ordinances modeled after precedents in Charleston, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, and Philadelphia defined board authority, echoing litigation including Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City and regulatory frameworks shaped by the Secretary of the Interior standards.

Statutory authority derives from municipal codes, enabling designation of landmarks, historic districts, and conservation areas under powers similar to those used by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission, and Chicago Landmarks Commission. The Board applies criteria that reference associations with persons like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Dolores Huerta, and events such as the American Civil War, Dust Bowl, and World War II. Legal interactions occur with institutions including the State Historic Preservation Office, the National Register of Historic Places, and agencies administering the National Historic Landmarks Program. Its decisions have implications for regulatory instruments such as preservation easements, tax incentives like the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program, and litigation before bodies including state courts and the United States Court of Appeals.

Composition typically includes appointed experts in fields represented by institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, University of California, Berkeley, and professional organizations like the American Institute of Architects, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and American Planning Association. Members often bring expertise in architectural history with reference to architects such as Louis Sullivan, I.M. Pei, Philip Johnson, and I. M. Pei, in addition to specialists in archaeology connected to Smithsonian Institution curators, cultural historians influenced by scholars like Howard Zinn and Eric Foner, and community representatives from neighborhoods like Harlem, South Side (Chicago), and French Quarter (New Orleans). Appointment procedures may involve nomination by the Mayor, confirmation by the City Council, and advisory review by commissions including the Planning Commission and Historic Preservation Commission.

Review protocols mirror frameworks used by the National Park Service and incorporate standards such as the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. Evaluation criteria consider associations with persons like Rosa Parks, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, design significance tied to movements like Beaux-Arts architecture, Art Deco, Modernism, and events including the Great Depression and Civil Rights Movement. Processes include application submission, staff report preparation referencing inventories like the Historic American Buildings Survey, public hearings with testimony from stakeholders including local preservation societies, developers, and representatives of institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Outcomes range from designation and issuance of Certificates of Appropriateness to conditional approvals and referrals to bodies such as the Zoning Board of Appeals.

The Board has designated buildings and districts comparable in profile to sites like Independence Hall, Monticello, Tiffany & Co. Building, and neighborhoods akin to Greenwich Village and Georgetown. It has ruled on preservation of works associated with Frank Gehry, Eero Saarinen, Richard Neutra, and contested adaptive reuse proposals involving properties linked to Ellis Island, Angel Island, and Alcatraz Island-style historic sites. High-profile decisions have intersected with entities such as Historic New England, National Trust for Historic Preservation, World Monuments Fund, and controversies over landmarks connected to figures like Christopher Columbus, Confederate generals, and sites tied to Japanese American internment.

Public engagement mechanisms include outreach modeled on programs by the National Park Service, partnerships with universities such as Yale University and University of Michigan, and collaboration with advocacy groups like Preservation Action and Cultural Heritage Partners. Controversies have arisen over balancing preservation with redevelopment interests advocated by corporations like Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and developers associated with projects in SoHo and Battery Park City, disputes involving affordability and displacement in neighborhoods such as Bronzeville and Mission District (San Francisco), and debates over memorialization practices involving sites related to Slavery in the United States and Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Legal challenges have invoked precedents including Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City and debates over regulatory takings under the Fifth Amendment.

Category:Historic preservation boards