Below is my letter from 8/10/2018 announcing my resignation from the Boulder Landmarks Board. Note: My original letter left out city staff person “Holly Opansky” which has been added.

 

City Council and Staff,

I have been honored and privileged to serve on Boulder’s Landmarks Board for the past several years. I am writing to tender my resignation to the board, effective October 4th, 2018, which should allow enough time to select a replacement without affecting the work of the board.

On the board, I’ve been proud of our efforts to improve the demolition process, as well as the hard work of our group to elevate applicants’ projects and develop a mindset that celebrates historic preservation. I’m thankful for the opportunity to have learned from our board as well as the excellent people serving in historic preservation staff—James Hewat, Marcy Cameron, Debra Kalish, and Holly Opansky.

I want to specifically address the reason for my resignation—that the duties and responsibilities of Landmark’s Board members are in conflict with full-time work during the day. The Landmarks Board requires a sub-committee (the Landmarks Design Review Committee) to meet from 8:30AM to 12PM on Wednesday mornings every week. I have accepted a job starting at end of August and will not be able to fulfill this obligation.

The Landmarks Board has systemic barriers for young and working people to serve, as many have resigned in recent years, and should be examined to allow broader participation. I am concerned about Councilwoman Nagle’s comments yesterday that the new appointee to the Housing Advisory Board should have “extensive experience on government boards and/or bodies, knowledge of public policy development and government process.” I firmly believe boards and commissions must represent the diversity of people and backgrounds in the community as a whole, regardless of whether or not a board is newly-formed. Please consider appointing someone to the Landmarks Board who will give balance to the board and represent perspectives in our community that are not already represented.

Eric Budd