Boston City Council Committee Hearing on Historic Commission Appointments - June 5, 2026
Boston City Council Committee Hearing on Historic Commission Appointments - June 5, 2026
The Boston City Council Committee on Planning, Development and Transportation, chaired by District 8 City Councilor Durkin, held a virtual hearing on June 5, 2026, at 10:01 AM to consider the confirmation of multiple appointments and reappointments to the Boston Landmarks Commission, Back Bay Architectural District Commission, and Fort Point Channel Landmark District Commission. No public testimony was offered, and the committee heard remarks from the Director of Design Review, staff, and the appointees themselves.
Discussion Items
- Joe Cornish, Director of Design Review for the Boston Landmarks Commission, expressed strong support for all appointees, highlighting their qualifications and contributions. He noted David Sampson's role in fundraising to remove scaffolding at the First Baptist Church in the Back Bay and Kirsten Hoffman's extensive service across multiple commissions.
- Elizabeth Serva (unclear title) also voiced support for all candidates, stating they bring expertise that will complement the commissions.
- Councilor Durkin praised the work of the commissions and the importance of historic preservation, noting May 2026 was recognized as National Historic Preservation Month and the 50th anniversary of the Boston Landmarks Commission.
- Rob Weintraub (reappointment to Back Bay Architectural District Commission) spoke of his honor serving, his 45-year career in historic preservation, and his near-perfect attendance record over ten years.
- David Sampson (reappointment as alternate to Back Bay Architectural District Commission) shared his enjoyment of learning the commission's work and his role in raising nearly $100,000 to remove scaffolding from the First Baptist Church.
- David Dixon (new appointment to Boston Landmarks Commission) emphasized the value of interdisciplinary collaboration and his experience planning for historic cities like New Orleans, Memphis, and Leesburg, Virginia.
- Kirsten Hoffman (reappointment to Boston Landmarks Commission and appointment to Fort Point Channel Landmark District Commission) described her background in archaeology, law, and real estate development, and her appreciation for the city's commitment to preservation.
- Venit Gupta (new appointment as alternate to Boston Landmarks Commission) noted his career as an architect and transportation planner for Boston, his focus on context and urban fabric in development review, and his eagerness to contribute to Boston's evolving history.
- Two appointees were absent: Susan Goganian (appointment to Boston Landmarks Commission and Fort Point Channel Landmark District Commission, previously served) and Kathleen Connor (reappointment to Back Bay Architectural District Commission, long-time chair representing the Back Bay Association). Councilor Durkin indicated she would move forward their nominations based on their known qualifications.
Key Outcomes
- Councilor Durkin announced her intention to forward all appointments and reappointments to the full City Council for confirmation at the next meeting.
- No formal votes were taken during the hearing.
- The hearing was adjourned after confirming there were no questions or public testimony.
Meeting Transcript
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.
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