Want to be on some DC boards?

Mayor Gray has to fill 5 of 9 slots on the Historic Preservation Review Board in the near future. He will also have two appointments to make to the Zoning Commission and two for the Board of Zoning Adjustment.

Some seats have people whose terms have expired; Gray could reappoint some of the current members of any of these boards, or not. Other seats are currently vacant.

The Committee of 100 has submitted some suggestions for the HPRB. Several of these are actually pretty great people who I’d welcome having on the Board, so don’t necessarily draw negative conclusions from a name appearing there.

Still, why not you?

The biggest reason you might not want to do this is time. These are big time commitments. The HPRB meets for an entire Thursday, once a month, and members also ought to take some time on their own to go visit properties on the agenda and familiarize themselves with the area.

The Zoning Commission meets most Mondays and Thursdays for an entire evening, and I believe there’s considerable offline work there as well for members to read submitted testimony and supporting materials. The BZA meets on Tuesdays during the day for most of the entire day.

However, all of these are important roles for DC. HPRB makes significant decisions about what changes are and aren’t “compatible” with historic districts and landmarks, and decides whether to designate properties. The Zoning Commission decides how to change the District’s zoning maps and laws, and reviews large Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) and campus plans. And the BZA grants exceptions to zoning rules.

For the HPRB, there are four members with expired terms: one architect, one historian, and two citizen members. A number of preservation groups sent a letter to Mayor Gray asking him to prioritize professional qualifications (for the members from certain professions), ability to put in the necessary time, a balance between new members and keeping some for continuity, geographic and demographic diversity within the city, and “competence, interest, or knowledge in historic preservation.”

These are good criteria. Having Catherine Buell from Anacostia chair HPRB has added some helpful variation in perspective. Professional architects and historians do add a lot to the discussions. Members who can’t visit the sites or show up for meetings are just occupying scarce slots without adding value.

And while preservation has its controversial cases, there is a fairly broad consensus that it has improved many neighborhoods. A good HPRB member shouldn’t want to permit any change regardless of historic impact, nor should they choose to block everything on the grounds of historic compatibility. The right balance is in the middle, and good members would seek to reach that balance.

On the Zoning Commission, Chairman Anthony Hood’s term has expired, and the DC Council last year refused to confirm a nominee from Mayor Fenty to replace him. They were concerned that all of Fenty’s nominees were developers, and wanted a more community-oriented point of view. In addition, Greg Selfridge, Fenty’s other recent appointee, was just finishing out an expired term and is up for reappointment or replacement.

The Commission requires members willing and able to delve into the details of development proposals or potential zoning amendments to judge their effect on the District as a whole and on nearby residents in numerous ways. As with the other boards, some balance is necessary, to weigh the value of growing our population, adding jobs, and fostering retail against the reality that any project more immediately affects its neighbors.

The BZA is a more legalistic body, applying specific criteria for the granting of variances and special exceptions. Some of the criteria are more objective, but others, like judging whether a change is averse to the public interest, involve qualitative judgment. The BZA has one vacancy currently, and another member’s term has expired.

Interested in any of these? You can apply for a board or commission appointment directly with the DC government. And if you do, or are thinking about it, send your resume over to us at info@ggwash.org as well. We’ll take a look, and might send a good word along to Mayor Gray about you.