Park City is accepting applications from people interested in serving on City Hall’s Old Town panel.
The Historic Preservation Board has broad influence on design issues in Old Town ranging from administering City Hall’s Old Town grant program and recommending rules that encourage preservation. It also has a role as City Hall crafts design guidelines.
The seven-person Historic Preservation Board is the appeal body in cases when City Hall staffers find a developer’s proposed designs do not meet the municipal government’s strict Old Town guidelines. The appeal body is perhaps the Historic Preservation Board’s most important role, putting the panel in the middle of disputes, sometimes contentious, between City Hall staffers and property owners.
The panel also has an important role in making determinations whether a building is historically significant, another duty that has caused controversy between Park City’s preservation community and property owners.
Park City leaders for years have attempted to preserve the historic fabric of Old Town, saying the many century-old buildings in the neighborhood distinguish the community from some other mountain resorts in the West. Many property owners have pushed back over the years, though, arguing that City Hall’s Old Town guidelines do not allow ingenuity in designs. The Historic Preservation Board over the next 12 months is expected to review a set of proposed revisions to design guidelines in Old Town.
The Historic Preservation Board also often participates in discussions about municipal projects that involve historic buildings.
A recent Historic Preservation Board meeting agenda included determinations of whether individual houses on Woodside Avenue and Norfolk Avenue were historic. The agenda also included discussions about the Old Town grant program and grant applications for work at properties on Main Street and Ontario Avenue.
There are four Historic Preservation Board terms scheduled to expire in May. The positions are now held by John Kenworthy, David White, Marian Crosby and Hope Melville.
Terms are for three years. Historic Preservation Board members are not required to live within the Park City limits. Members are paid $60 per meeting. Meetings are held at 5 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month with the possibility of additional meetings if necessary. City Hall says the Historic Preservation Board typically meets between 12 and 18 times each year.
Application forms ask candidates for the Historic Preservation Board to discuss the perceived mission of the panel and list three issues seen as important.
The Park City Council will hold interviews with the candidates and then make selections.
More information is available on City Hall’s website, www.parkcity.org. Select the ‘Historic Preservation Board (HPB) Vacancy’ link on the front page of the website. Applications are available on the website. Additional information is also available by calling the Planning Department, 615-5061.
Applications are due May 8.