City Council - Planning, Development, & Transportation Committee Hearing on Dockets #0796-#0800 and #1037-1040

Are you ready to go?

We're going to gather in. If everyone can stay seated until we have time here, that would be great. 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 livestreamed at boston.gov.

backslash city-council-tv and broadcast on Xfinity Channel 8, RCN Channel 82, Biles Channel 964. Written comments may be sent to the committee email at ccc.plandeb at boston.gov and will be made part of the record and available to all councillors. 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, the amazing Shane Pack at shane.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 Weintraub as a member of the Back Bay Architectural District Commission for a term expiring December 31st, 2029. Docket 0798, message and 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 confirmation of the reappointment of Kirsten Hoffman as an alternate member of the Boston Landmarks Commission for a term expiring June 30, 2026. Docket 0800, message and order for the confirmation of the appointment of Kirsten Hoffman as a member of Four Point Channel. Landmark District Commission for a term expiring June 30, 2026. These matters are sponsored by Mayor Michelle Liu and referred to the committee on April 15, 2026.

and Docket 1037, message in order for the confirmation of the appointment of Vineet Gupta as an alternate member of the Boston Landmarks Mission for a 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 Land Works 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 Four Point Channel District Commission for a term expiring June 30th, 2026. And docket, and lastly, but not least, 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 20th, 2026. I don't see any other counselors on, so we're going to get going.

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

Great. Thank you, Councillor Durkan. 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 budget discussions. So thank you for taking time to meet with us today. And thank you everyone who is here. We really rely so strongly on our volunteers and our commissioners and I've had the great work of working with several people you're going to meet today and I'm looking forward to working with two new commissioners who will be joining us. I'm happy to support everyone you're going to be meeting today. We'll start with two new members to the Boston Landmarks Commission, one member and one alternate. We have David Dixon who is representing the American Planning Association as a member. We have Vineet 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. 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 a tremendous We have a great amount of knowledge and great support for the Commission as a business owner, property management, and 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. 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 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 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.

She is our longtime chair of the Back Bay Architectural Commission for well over 10 years. 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 she'll also be serving on the Fort Point Landmark District Commission. Thank you all and Councilor Durkan, I again support all of these nominations going forward.

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

I think 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. 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 parts of my work on the council. throughout my time of the committee I've seen firsthand the impact of historic preservation and what it has on their neighborhoods in our city and Boston would not be the city it is today without this important work of these landmarks commissions and the historic district commissions 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 that the Landmark Submission has played over the last 50 years.

Historic preservation provides so many educational, cultural, and economic benefits to the City of Boston. and has helped protect the stories and history that define our neighborhoods. And also, I mean, we're celebrating the 250th. We're going to be drawing people from around the world. to celebrate Boston's history. 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 get to, I mean, this is a really important Thank you for joining us. It feels like every other meeting we have some monumental landmark designation that is going to help preserve the city. And so I'm really thrilled to get to do this work as the chair of planning, development, and transportation.

I do know that Rob Weintraub has a hard stop so I'm going to go to him first. I have reviewed all of the resumes of all of the appointees today. Rob is someone I didn't need an introduction to and I didn't need to read about because his work on the Backway Architectural Commission has been incredible. But Rob, I just wanted to give you a chance to 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.

It's my pleasure to be here. It's an honor to serve on the commission and to help our neighbors in the Back Bay maintain the consistency and architectural beauty of the Back Bay Historic District. David and I started at the same time. 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 in a pretty, I probably have the best track record of any commissioner in history. But I try and make each and every meeting and put my experience and knowledge and know-how into the decisions and comments that are made during the hearing. I feel that I'm a valuable member of the Commission given my knowledge of historic preservation.

My career spanning back almost 45 years specializes in historic preservation of Boston, mostly Back Bay, Brownstone. So I was intimately familiar with the guidelines prior to becoming a commissioner. and I look forward to serving in that capacity in the future as a commissioner.

Thank you so much, Rob. Obviously, I'm really proud to get to move your reappointment forward at the next meeting. And seeing that there are no other counselors here, 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. So next we'll go to David Sampson, who's being reappointed as an alternate member of the Back Bay Architectural District Commission. David, I wanted to give you a similar question. You know, why is this work important to you? And I want to thank you for all of your service to the city and the work that you do every day. And so just wanted to give you a chance to speak to why you like doing this work.

Yeah, thank you very much. Rob is right. We both started at the same time. We were sworn in on the same day. And it's been an honor. It's been... I have to say it's been a lot of fun to learn the ins and outs of the Historical Commission in the Back Bay, get to know all the commissioners and especially Joe. Joe's been a great help. I'm in the real estate industry and I also have developed in the city of Boston. Sitting on the commission has garnered me the ability to learn a whole lot more and put my uh shall i say two cents um in 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 I'm there every day. 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 going to stay that way. It's really nice and it was really a joy to help the church out. I helped raise over close to $100,000 to take that scaffolding down, which was up there close to almost, I think, eight or nine years.

And David, I have to admit that a lot of people have emailed our office, like, grateful that the scaffolding is down, and I didn't know what to thank. So thank you, David, for all of that.

Oh, you're welcome. It was just so great to get it down. And now we can see those brass horns up there, but yeah, you're welcome. It was my honor to do it.

Yeah, thank you so much and look forward to seeing you in the neighborhood. The Back Bay, it's such an honor to represent the Back Bay and it's such an honor to represent many of the historic districts in the city and so So thank you for all the work you do to preserve 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, who is being appointed to the Boston Landmarks Commission. Thank you, David, for all of your work. I have your resume here. and you are probably the most qualified person ever. I always say this like every single meeting, it's like there's always someone who like raises the bar. Thank you, David, for bringing your expertise and I mean this is an incredible resume so so so you're muted David 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 and I'm just curious, I want to thank you first and just curious what drives you to do this work?

Thank you very much for this opportunity, and thank the mayor, 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. And I would say I can't possibly raise the bar above Vinit, who's somebody I've known, liked, and respected for decades. I am really excited about this because 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 complementary, that's interdisciplinary, where different people are bringing their own passions, their own knowledge, their beliefs, their understanding, and finding common purpose. I think that is something that is so important for Boston. I'd love to be part of it at any level to be a little bit more specific. I've done a lot of planning for cities

where history and legacy were very important as was moving forward. And I was thinking just as I was listening, I did the post-Katrina planning for New Orleans, recent downtown planning for Memphis, Leesburg, Virginia, 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 New Orleans about places where freed and slaves and African Americans got together, the only city where that happened. The story in Memphis 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. I could go on. I won't keep going on. But a city like Leesburg with a tremendous history of the 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 builds on this legacy. So I 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 your resume. It's very exciting. Thank you for all the work that you do and 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 But I'm looking at our next resume, and we've got a Harvard Law grad. So it's like there's a lot of different expertise that's being brought to the table. I'm just grateful, David, for your stepping up and I'm excited to move forward your appointment at the next

I suspect this is 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, our living history today.

Absolutely. And I mean, even looking at like Rob Weintraub and like all of 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 and you have a lot of experience on like the transportation side as well and like Vinit is going to be such an amazing It's just really exciting to see the people who are going to be collaborating together, but also these district commissions, which are incredibly important too. to those details that make a neighborhood a neighborhood. So thank you, David, for stepping up and excited to watch some of the meetings where you'll be weighing in. Okay, so next we're going to go to Kirsten Hoffman. Kirsten, thank you so much for stepping up. It's incredible to just see all the work that you've done and you've

I mean you have been archaeologists, you're a lawyer, you've got, there's so many things that you've done and to hear Joe's introduction of all the things that that you've done and that you're stepping forward to do. So thank you for stepping forward as well. So you're being 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 I want to thank you for all of that service including to the Mission Hall Triangle Architectural District Commission, which is in my district. So, Kiersten, can you tell me a little bit more about like what drives you to this work and Obviously, you've been driven to this work for a long time, so can you tell me a little bit more about what brings you to this?

Yeah, so I started as an archaeologist way back right after high school and then, you know, got interested in 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 each individual project that involves a historic resource can really maximize the historic resource. for the benefit of the overall project and increased value as well. So Boston is an incredible city with an incredible history.

And I so appreciate the commitment of the Landmarks Commission, the City of Boston, and the Landmarks Commission staff toward working toward preserving our historic resources, especially right now 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. It's really exciting, again, just the marriage of all of these different personalities, of all of these different experiences, and all of these different sort of Just like, you know, it's just interesting like with your focus on 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 so that we have that perspective. And so 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 looking forward to moving forward both of your appointments at the next meeting. So look forward to seeing the debate and following everything that's happening in our district commissions. So next, we will go to someone that really does not need any introduction in the city of Boston. He's one of the few people that, 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 I'm so happy that he won't be far away. And I'm also so happy that when I was riding down the public garden bike lanes, I literally saw Vineet. I got my credit for being on my bike with Vineet a few weeks ago. And that was just, I mean, and so to see you here being appointed, 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 obviously I don't really need to go through your resume. You have decades at the city managing teams. I do think that it's really important to have your perspective at the Landmarks Commission. It's like, how do we preserve, ensure walkability, ensured mode shift, ensure that we are building a city for the future, while we preserve what is important about our past. And so can you share a little bit, Vinny, You know, why you still, why you're like, you know, still hanging on and still wanting to do a lot with the city of Boston. I thought you were retiring, but it seems like you're retiring is going to be, yeah, you never get to retire, so.

Thank you, Councilor, for the kind words. I should also mention that I've had I'm privileged to learn a lot from David Dixon, who's also over decades, and I'm really, really happy that I'll be able to work with him again. So, you know, Boston is in my heart. Even though I've retired from my previous role as Director of Planning for Transportation for so many years, I want to continue to serve the city of Boston and its residents in different roles. And this opportunity, and thank you for giving me the opportunity, 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 I got into transportation through various circumstances and I'm hoping to bring my experience as an architect and city planner in this role. and Wireless Director of Planning for Transportation, I have had the opportunity to initiate new public spaces throughout Boston's neighborhoods. In doing that, I have learned to appreciate the city's culture, its 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 review 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 its presence? So this experience, I believe, will help me contribute. and it has made me, given me a deeper 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 Vineet 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 going to bring all of your expertise to the Landmarks Commission. And it's funny. It's like saying, oh, David is the most qualified person who's ever stepped forward to do this work. It's funny because every single time we have done one of these hearings, I've been so floored. In the city of Boston, we don't lack people with expertise who want to roll up their sleeves and do this work. And I think that we're just so lucky that everyone steps up and continues to step up.

because every single meeting I'm always floored by the level of expertise that we have in our city and people that are willing to share it with our city departments and with our commission. So thank you, Vineet.

Thank you.

So there are two folks that are absent, Susan Goganian, Sue Goganian, and Kathleen Connor. Sue Goganian is not someone who... Everyone knows Sue Govanian. She is someone who... So I am planning to move forward her nomination. She has been on the Landmarks Commission before. I will share her resume with my colleagues just to make sure they... are comfortable with moving forward her nomination, but she is very, very well positioned and is very well known in the city. So I plan to move forward her appointment to the Boston Landmark Commission and to the Fort Point Channel Landmark District Commission. And then Kathleen O'Connor, it's a reappointment to the Back Bay Architectural District Commission. Joe, would you mind sharing who nominated Kathleen O'Connor for the Back Bay Architectural District Commission?

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 plan to move 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. They wouldn't have missed this for just anything, so I will plan to move them forward as well. I think I need to read the dockets again. Okay. And I'm planning to adjourn the hearing unless there's any questions from any of the appointees. Okay, seeing none, this hearing on dockets, oh sorry, is there any public testimony?

We do not have any, Madam Chair.

Okay, perfect. Okay, so this hearing on dockets 0796 through 0800 and dockets 1037 through 1040 is adjourned. Thank you so much.