Newsom’s preservation panel picks go to board
By: Joshua Sabatini
Examiner Staff Writer
December 29, 2008
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| Being approved: Mayor Gavin Newsom’s appointees to the new Historic Preservation Commission undergo their first confirmation Tuesday. (Cindy Chew/The Examiner) |
SAN FRANCISCO — Mayor Gavin Newsom’s appointees to sit on a new voter-approved city commission to determine what structures are preserved as landmarks in San Francisco will undergo their first confirmation hearing Tuesday before a Board of Supervisors committee.
The voter-approved Historic Preservation Commission — which replaces the existing landmarks advisory board — remains in planning stages, as city officials hash out and perhaps battle over the extent of its power and who should sit on it.
Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who authored the ballot measure, has introduced legislation that would bestow broad powers on the commission. Newsom, on the other hand, has legislation intended to limit those powers.
The Board of Supervisors Rules Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on four of seven Newsom appointees. The full board ultimately will have to approve the appointments.
Peskin would not comment prior to the meeting on whether he supports the four appointees up for consideration.
They are: Sue Lee, former planning commissioner and unsuccessful supervisor candidate; Karl Hasz, current landmarks board member; Alan Martinez, an architect; and Tammy Chan, an environmental planner with a local design firm.
The commission will determine how The City makes decisions about landmarks, historic districts and any
projects that could have some impact on historical structures. These decisions can often turn into heated political battles pitting preservationists against developers.
