I'm District 8 City Councilor and I'm chair of the Boston City Council Committee on Planning Development and Transportation.

Today is June 5th, and the exact time is 10 01 a.m.

In accordance with chapter 2 of the Acts of 2025 modifying certain requirements.

Sorry, my phone is going off one second.

In accordance with chapter two of the acts of 2025, modifying certain requirements of open meeting law and relieving public bodies of certain requirements, including the requirement that public bodies conduct its meetings in a public place that is open and physically accessible to the public.

The Boston City Council is conducting this hearing virtually via Zoom.

This hearing is being recorded.

It is also being live streamed at Boston.gov, backslash city-council-tv and broadcast on expendity channel eight, RCN Channel 82, BIOS Channel 964.

Written comments may be sent to the committee.

Email at CCC.plan D E B at Boston.gov and will be made part of the record and available to all counselors.

Public testimony will be taken at the end of this hearing.

Individuals will be called on in the order in which they've signed up, and then we will have two minutes to testify.

If you wish to sign up for public testimony and have not done so, please email our central staff liaison.pac at Boston.gov for the zoom link, and you'll be added to the list.

Today's hearing is on, and bear with me, I always have to read all of these.

Docket 0796, message in order for the confirmation of the appointment of David Sampson as an alternate member of the Back Bay Architectural District Commission for a term expiring December 31st, 2030.

Docket 0797, message in order for the confirmation of the reappointment of Robert Weintrap is a member of the Back Bay Architectural District Commission for a term expiring December 31st, 2029.

Docket 0798, message in order for the confirmation of the appointment of David Dixon as a member of the Boston Landmarks Commission for a term expiring June 30th, 2028.

Docket 0799, message in order for the confirm confirmation of the reappointment of Kristen Hoffman.

Kirsten, sorry, Hoffman, as an alternate member of the Boston Landmarks Commission for a term expiring June 30, 2026.

Docket O eight oh oh message in order for the confirmation of the appointment of Kirsten Um Kirsten Hoffman as a member of the Four Point Channel Landmark District Commission for a term expiring June 30, 2026.

These matters are sponsored by Mayor Michelle Wu and referred to the committee on April 15, 2026.

And docket 0.

Docket 1037, message in order for the confirmation of the appointment of Benit Gupta as an alternate member of the Boston Landmarks Commission for term expiring June 30, 2026.

Docket 1038, message in order for the confirmation of the appointment of Susan Goganian as a member of the Boston Landmarks Commission for a term expiring June 30, 2026.

Docket 1039, message in order for the confirmation of the appointment of Susan Goganian as a member of the Fort Point Channel District Commission for a term expiring June 30th, 2026.

And Docket and lastly but not least, uh Docket 1040, message in order for the confirmation of the appointment of Kathleen Connor as a member of the Back Bay Architectural District Commission for term expiring December 31st, 2026.

These matters were sponsored by Mayor Michelle Wu and referred to the committee on May 20, 2026.

Um I don't see other any other counselors on, um, so we're gonna get going.

Um first I'm going to pass um the pass the floor to um a person who needs no introduction, uh Joe Cornish, um, to speak to the um and uh and then Elizabeth Serva after that um to speak to the readiness of these uh appointees.

Great.

Thank you, Counselor Durkin.

I'm Joe Cornish, I'm the director of design review for the Boston Landmarks Commission, and I know this is a busy busy season with uh with budget discussion, so thank you for taking time um to meet with us today.

And thank you everyone who is here.

Um we really rely so strongly on our our volunteers and our our um commissioners, and I've had the great work of working with several people you're gonna meet today, and I'm looking forward to working with two new commissioners who will be joining us.

So um I'm happy to um support everyone you're gonna be uh meeting today.

Um we'll start with two new members to the Boston Landmarks Commission, but one member and one alternate.

We have David Dixon, who is um representing the American Planning Association as a member.

We have Benit Gupta, who has a long history, a long career with the City of Boston as an architect and transportation planner.

He'll be serving as an alternate on the Boston Landmarks Commission.

Kirsten Hoffman is being reappointed.

She'll be representing the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, serving on the Boston Landmarks Commission.

And I have to say Kirsten is one of our true superstars of the commission because she serves on the Aberdeen Architectural Commission, Mission Hill Architectural Commission.

She's going to be appointed to the Fort Point Landmark District Commission.

She's serving on the Monument Square Landmark District Commission Study Committee.

And I know Kirsten was very involved with the landmarking of the Nozara Center in the North End.

So Kirsten, thank you for everything you've done for the city and the commission, and we're looking forward to working with you again.

The Back Bay Commission, which I oversee directly.

I'm happy to support Rob Weintraub.

Rob and I, I think started at the same time about 10 years ago when I joined the city and Rob came on to the commission.

Rob has uh a tremendous um amount of knowledge and great support for the commission as a business owner, property management, and uh real estate development.

So Rob has been a great resource for us.

David Sampson, he's also, I think, about 10 years on the Back Bay Commission being reappointed.

Um, he'll be representing as an alternate member of the Back Bay Association.

Something recently that David has done that I don't think a lot of people are aware, he really worked to um help with fundraising to take down the scaffolding at the first Baptist Church in the Back Bay.

So I really think you know, thanks to David, you've got that project across the finish line.

So, David, I'm looking forward to working with you.

And then two people who cannot be here.

Kathleen Connor, um, she is um our longtime chair of the Back Bay Architectural Commission for well over 10 years.

Um, she'll be representing the Back Bay Association as a member again.

And Sue Goganian is coming back.

She cycled off the Boston Landmarks Commission as a member, representing the mayor's office.

She'll be coming back into that slot and um she'll also be serving on the Fort Point Landmark District Commission.

So thank you all and uh Councillor Durkin.

I um again support all of these uh nominations going forward.

And I I think the past few um appointments uh hearings that we've had.

I've said I I put you at the very end, and obviously I now know why we should just put you at the very beginning because um that was a great summary of the leadership of this group, and um I I do want to go to Elizabeth Serva if she has anything else to add about these appointments.

I think um Joe has summarized it quite nicely.

All of our candidates today bring expertise in various capacities and will complement all of our commissions, and I wholeheartedly support all of them.

Wonderful.

Um, and as chair of planning development and transportation, I'm honored to help oversee the landmarks commission and confirm appointments to the commission itself to our historic district commissions.

This is a responsibility I don't take lightly, and it has become one of the most rewarding um parts of my work on the council.

Um throughout my time of the committee, I've seen firsthand the impact of historic preservation and what it has on our neighborhoods and our city, and Boston would not be the city it is today without the important work of these landmarks commissions and the historic district commission.

We have been lucky to have several opportunities to celebrate this work this year.

Last month, the City Council recognized May as National Historic Preservation Month, and I was proud to sponsor that.

And this year marks 50th, the 50th anniversary of the Boston Landmarks Commission, and I was honored to attend the commission's kickoff celebration earlier this year, and I saw many of you there, which really did a great job reflecting on the crucial role uh that the Landmarks commission has played over the last 50 years.

Hey, historic preservation provides so many educational, cultural, and economic benefits to the city of Boston, and it's helped her check the stories and history that define our neighborhoods.

Um, and also, I mean, we're celebrating the 250th.

We're drawing, we're going to be drawing people from around the world uh to celebrate Boston's history.

Um, and I just want to thank everyone that's here today for your work.

And thank you to Elizabeth and Joe for all the work that you do every day.

The Office of Historic Preservation under Kathy's leadership is doing such amazing work, and we're just so thrilled to um to get to, I mean, this is a really important um time for historic preservation in the city, and I feel like um, and we're uh checking off the boxes, and at the council we are having um, you know, it feels like every other meeting we have some um monumental landmark designation that is that is going to help preserve the city, and um so I'm really uh thrilled to get to do this work as the chair of planning development transportation.

Um I do know that Rob Weintraub has a hard stop, so I'm going to go to him first.

Um I have reviewed all of the resumes of all of the um appointees today.

Um Rob is someone I I didn't need an introduction to and I didn't need to read about because his work um on the Back Bay Architectural Commission has been incredible.

Um but Rob, I just wanted to give you a chance to uh speak to why you like doing this work and why you continue to serve, and I just want to thank you for all that you do for the city.

I'm sorry, you're muted, Rob.

Uh well, it's uh can you hear me now?

Yes.

Uh it's my pleasure to be here.

It's an honor uh to serve on the commission and to help our neighbors in the back bay maintain the consistency uh and architectural beauty of the Back Bay Historic District.

Uh David and I started at the same time.

Uh we were sworn in at the same time as well as Joe, and it's been 10 years.

I think in 10 years I've missed maybe five meetings, which is uh in a pretty, I probably have the best track record of any commissioner in the history.

But I um I try and make each and every meeting uh and put my experience uh and knowledge and know-how into um into the decisions uh and comments that are made uh during the hearing.

Um I feel that I'm a valuable member uh of the of the commission, given my knowledge of historic preservation, uh my career spanning back almost 45 years, uh specializes in historic preservation of Boston uh mostly back bay uh brownstone.

So I was intimately familiar with the guidelines prior to becoming a commissioner, and uh I look forward to serving in that capacity in the future as a as a commissioner.

Thank you so much, Rob.

Um obviously I'm really proud to get to move your reappointment um forward at the next meeting.

Um, and seeing that I there are no other counselors here, um, you are relieved and look forward to moving forward your nomination at the next meeting.

Great.

Thank you very much.

Have a great day, have a nice weekend.

Thank you so much.

Um, so next we'll go to David Samson, who's being um reappointed um as an alternate member of the Back Bay Architectural District Commission.

Um, David, I wanted to give you a similar question.

Um, you know, why is this work important to you?

And um want to thank you for all of your service to the city and um and the work that you do every day.

But um, and uh so just wanted to give you a chance to speak to to why you like doing this work.

Yeah, thank you very much.

Yeah, Rob is right.

We both started at the same time.

We were sworn in on the same day.

Um, and it's been an honor.

It's been um, I have to say, it's been a lot of fun to learn um the in and outs of the historical commission in the back bay, get to know all the commissioners, and especially um Joe.

Joe's been a great help.

Um I do have uh I'm in the real estate industry, and I also have developed um in the city of Boston and sitting on the commission is is guarding me the ability to learn a whole lot more and um put my uh shall I say two cents um in our meetings, and it's it's really been an honor.

It's been uh it's been nice to keep the back bay the way it is.

Um I'm there every day.

Uh I work in the back bay, I sell real estate, and it's just been nice to maintain what it is and knowing that it's gonna stay there.

Um it's it's really nice, and it was really a joy to help the church out.

Uh we raised, I help raise over close to a hundred thousand dollars to take that scaffolding down, which was up there close to almost I think eight or nine years, but uh, and David, I have to admit that um a lot of people have emailed our office like grateful that the scaffolding is down, and I didn't know what a thing.

So thank you, David, for all that.

No, you're welcome.

It was just it was it was just so great to get it down.

Um, and now we can see that those horns, uh those brass ones up there, but yeah, you're welcome.

It was it was it was my honor to do it.

Yeah, thank you so much, and uh look forward to seeing you in the neighborhood on the back bay.

Is it's such an honor to represent the back bay, um, and it's such an honor to represent um many of the historic districts in the city, and um so thank you for all you the the work you do to preserve uh the back bay and look forward to seeing you around the neighborhood.

Thank you.

Okay, so next we're going to go to David Dixon, um, uh who is being appointed to the Boston Landmarks Commission.

Uh thank you, David, for all of your work.

Um, I have your resume here, and um you are probably the most qualified person ever.

I I always say that, like every single meeting, it's like there's always someone who like raises the bar.

Thank you, David, for uh bringing your expertise and um, I mean, this is an incredible resume.

So um, so uh so uh you're muted, David.

Um, but can you tell us a little bit more?

I mean, I don't think I need to tell you why you like doing this work because you clearly you're doing it every day in so many different ways, but um I'm just curious.

Um, you know, I want to thank you first, and um, and just curious sort of what what drives you to do this work.

Oh, thank you very much for this opportunity, and and thank the mayor.

Uh I and thank you for your kind comments.

You just have to be older than everybody else to have a long resume.

So that part was simple.

Uh, and I always say I can't possibly raise the bar above Venit, who's somebody I've known, liked, and respected for decades.

So I am really excited about this because um and Elizabeth used the term complimentary.

I think she said that the new members, and I really love being part of a process that is complimentary, that's interdisciplinary, where different people are bringing their own passions, uh, their own knowledge, their beliefs, their understanding, and finding common purpose.

And I think that is something that is so important for Boston.

I'd love to be part of it at any level, uh, to be a little bit more specific.

Um, I've done a lot of planning for cities where history and legacy were very important, as was moving forward.

Uh, and I was thinking just as I was listening, I read that I did the post-Catrina planning for Ledford New Orleans, recent downtown plan for Memphis, uh Leesburg, Virginia.

Uh, we actually called the plan legacy Leesburg, cities where their legacy and how that legacy was embodied in both buildings and places was hugely important.

And to me, what was most interesting, knowing that there were others who brought other essential interests was the story these places told.

The story, for instance, in uh New Orleans about places where freed and slaves uh African Americans got together, the only city where that happened.

Uh, the story in in Memphis of uh of sort of the blues and what that meant for so many reasons, and the struggle to be able to afford to keep that alive without becoming a museum of itself.

Um I could go on, I won't keep going on, but uh a city like Leesburg with a tremendous history of a history that goes back to our origin that has shopping centers and things that need to change, and how do we make this change happen in a way that that builds on this legacy?

So I uh look forward to joining my.

I would never want to be the only landmarks commissioner.

I love the fact I will be one of a number, and I know several of the other commissioners and have great respect for them and the perspectives they bring.

Is that a fair introduction?

Absolutely, and I'm just incredibly excited.

I mean, we've got a Thomas Jefferson Medal person on the landmarks commission.

I mean I'm reading a resume it's very it's very exciting so thank you for all the work that you do and um that that's really what's so exciting about the landmarks commission and the different perspectives that are being brought together is just how everyone fits together to really have a great conversation about the city and bringing both like architectural expertise but um but I'm I'm looking at our next resume and we've got a Harvard law grad so you know it's like there's there's a lot of different um expertise that's being brought to the table and I'm just grateful um David for your stepping up and we're I'm excited to move forward your appointment at the next council meeting I I suspect this is up out of order but I will make one final comment but it's responding to what you just said to me it is this bringing together of many perspectives that keeps preservation alive makes it part of our living culture or our living history today and absolutely and um I mean it's even looking at like Rob Weintraub and like all his experience it's like preservation doesn't happen without investment and without development and without sort of like the marriage of all of these different things and um and you have a lot of experience on like the transportation side as well and like Vinny is going to be such an amazing person.

So it's it's just really exciting to like see you know the people who are going to be collaborating together but also these district commissions which are incredibly important to those details that make a neighborhood a neighborhood so thank you David um for stepping up and excited to watch some of the meetings where you'll be you'll be weighing in so um okay so next we're gonna go to uh Kirsten Hoffman uh Kirsten thank you so much for uh stepping up it's incredible um to just see all the work that you've done and uh you've I mean you have been archaeologist you've you you're a lawyer um you've got um there's there's so many things that you've done and um to hear Joe's um introduction of all the things that you're uh that you've done and that you're stepping forward to do um so thank you for stepping forward um as well so you're being appointed reappointed to the Boston Landmarks Commission and I believe it's an appointment to the Fort Point Channel Landmark District Commission and you serve on a number of other commissions so want to thank you for all of that service including to the Mission Hall Triangle Architectural District Commission which is in my district.

So Kirsten can you tell me a little bit more about like what drives you to this work and obviously it's it's been driving you to you've been driven to this work for a long time so um can you tell me a little bit more about you know what brings you to this.

Yeah so I started in an archaeologist way back right after high school um and then you know got interested in um law historic preservation law then worked in state government review and compliance in Iowa then went to law school then went into the real estate industry started working with a lot of real estate developers and one thing that I found really interesting and important was um each individual project that involves a historic resource can really maximize um maximize the historic resource for the benefit of the overall project and increased value as well so um so Boston is you know an incredible city with an incredible history um and and I so appreciate um the commitment of the landmarks commission the city of Boston and the Landmarks commission staff toward working toward preserving our historic resources um you know espe especially right now and and everything that David and the other and the other folks here have said really resonates.

So I've gotten to work with incredible people, incredible ideas.

And I especially think right now, the commitment of the city of Boston and the commitment of our staff is really amazing.

Thank you so much, Kirsten.

And it's it's really exciting again, like just the marriage of all of these different um personalities of all of these different experiences, and all of these different sort of um just like you know, it's just interesting, like with your um focus on legal the legal side.

Obviously, historic preservation, there's a huge aspect of the legal side of like what is possible and what is possible under the law.

So I'm grateful that you have stepped up to serve on so many of our district commissions as well as the landmarks commission, um, so that we have that perspective.

Um is there anything else you'd like to share?

I don't think so.

I'm really looking forward to working with everybody.

Awesome, okay.

So I'm I'm looking forward to moving forward your uh both of your um appointments at the next meeting.

So look forward to and and look forward to seeing the debate and following everything that's happening in our district commissions.

Um, so next um we will go to someone that really does not need any introduction in the city of Boston.

Vinny, um, he's one of the few people that um, you know, when he left has the full support of the city council.

Every single person was so excited.

We were honoring him at the city council, and um, and I'm so happy that he won't be far away.

And I'm also so happy that when I was riding down the you know, the public garden bike lanes, I literally saw Vanit.

I got my credit for being on my bike with Vene a few weeks ago, and that was just I mean, and so to see you here being appointed um to uh to the Boston Landmarks Mission, I'm so excited.

But I was equally excited to get my credit for being on my bike in front of you.

So um, so obviously I don't really need to go through your resume.

You you have you know, decades at the city, um, you know, doing, you know, managing teams, and um I do think that it's really important to have your perspective at the landmarks mission.

It's like how do we preserve ensure walkability, ensure mode shift, ensure that like we are building a city for the future while we preserve what is important about our past, and so um can you share a little bit, Vinny, like you know, why you still why you're like you know, still uh hanging on and still wanting to do a lot with the city of Boston.

I thought you were retiring, but it seems like your retiring is gonna be yeah, you you never get to retire, so.

Well, thank you, Consular, for for the kind words.

Uh I should also uh mention that uh I've had the privilege to learn a lot from David Dixon, who's also uh over decades, and I'm really really happy that I'll be able to work with him again.

So uh, you know, Boston is in my heart.

And you know, even though I've retired from my previous role as director of planning for for transportation for so many years.

So I want to continue to serve the city of Boston and its residents in different roles and this opportunity, and you know, thank you for giving me the opportunity to provide a really good opportunity for me to learn as well as to contribute to Boston's evolving history.

I should mention that I'm actually trained as an architect and urban designer, and you know, I got into transportation, you know, through various circumstances, and I'm hoping to bring my experience as an architect and city planner uh in this role.

Uh while it uh you know, while as director of planning for transportation, uh I have had the opportunity to initiate new public spaces throughout Boston's neighborhoods.

And in doing that, I've learned to appreciate the city's culture, it's evolving architectural history, as well as the importance of these public spaces in their symbolism to the city.

I've also had the opportunity to reveal practically every new development project that has been built in the city over the last 30 years.

In reviewing those projects, my focus has always been on context.

How does that building fit into the street and sidewalk network?

Is it respectful to the architecture that surrounds it?

Will it be used in a way that the community at large can appreciate the presence?

So this experience, I believe, will help me contribute.

And it has made me given me a deep understanding of Boston's rich architectural history.

And also allowed me to participate in its ever evolving change in the urban fabric.

I'm really really appreciative to be given this opportunity, and I'm hoping to learn a lot and contribute as well.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Vene, and thank you for all of your service to the city, and thank you for continuing it.

I know it's a labor of love for you, and we're just really honored that you're still stepping up to serve and that you're gonna bring all of your expertise to the landmarks commission.

Um, I you know, and I, you know, it's like funny.

It's who's you know, it's like like saying like, oh, David is the most qualified person who's ever stepped forward to do this work.

It's it's funny because every single time we have done one of these hearings, I've been like so floored at like in the city of Boston, we are not we don't lack people with expertise who want to roll up their sleeves and do this work, and I think that is we're just so lucky that uh that everyone steps up and continues to step up and um because it every single um, yeah, every single meeting.

I'm like always floored by like the the level of expertise that we have in our city and people that are willing to share it with our um with our city departments and um and with our commission.

So um so thank you, Vinet.

Thank you.

Um so we uh there are two folks that are absent, Susan Goganian, Sue Govanian, and Kathleen Connor.

Um Sue Goghanian is not someone who um everyone knows Sue Govanian.

She is uh she's someone who um so I am planning to move forward her nomination.

She has been on the landmarks commission before.

Um I will uh share her resume with my colleagues just to make sure they are comfortable with moving forward her nomination, but she uh, you know, is very very well positioned and is very well known in the city.

So I plan to move forward her uh appointment to the Boston Landmarks Commission and to the Ford Point Channel Landmark District Commission.

Um, and then Kathleen O'Connor, it's a reappointment to the Back Bay Architectural District Commission.

Um, Joe, would you mind sharing who nominated Kathleen Connor for the Back Bay Architectural District Commission?

Uh yeah, uh Kathleen Connor, she is nominated by the Back Bay Association, and she is a reappointment.

She served for well over 10 years and for well over 10 years in the capacity as the chair of the Back Bay Architectural Commission.

Wonderful.

So yeah, I'll I plan to move those uh both of those dockets forward as well, and I'm grateful that they are willing to step up and serve.

I believe they're both traveling right now, and you know, they wouldn't they wouldn't have missed this for just anything, so I will I will plan to move them forward as well.

Um, and um I think I need to read the dockets again.

Um, okay.

And um, I'm planning to adjourn the hearing unless there's any questions or any from any of the appointees.

Okay, seeing none, uh, this hearing on dockets.

Oh, sorry, is there any public testimony?

Um, we do not have any, Madam Chair.

Okay, perfect.

Okay, so this hearing on dockets oh not oh seven, nine six through zero eight zero zero, um, and dockets one zero three seven through one zero four zero is adjourned.

Thank you so much.