The Boston Landmarks Commission expressed frustration with Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration this month, arguing that senior city officials are interfering with the body’s work and oversight role in a letter to Wu dated April 9.
The letter, which was first reported by the Dorchester Reporter, is signed by commission chair Bradford C. Walker, vice-chair Justine Orlando, and 14 other mayorally appointed members of the commission, which oversees historic preservation and identifies and maintains landmarks and architectural conservation districts in Boston. In it, the commissioners write they “have observed in recent years a disregard by the City of Boston administration for the Commission’s legislative mandate and established procedures and guidelines.”
“We fully understand that the City has many important priorities. ... But City government must operate within the established legal frameworks when balancing potentially competing goals; City government cannot circumvent legislative requirements or established processes to further one interest over another,” the commissioners wrote in the letter, which was obtained by the Globe.
The commissioners identified six instances in which they said city officials undermined the commission’s authority, including the mayor’s controversial plan to redevelop White Stadium with the private company Boston Unity Soccer Partners, to overhaul the site and make it the home of a new, professional women’s soccer team. A local environmental nonprofit and more than a dozen residents filed a lawsuit against the city and other leaders involved in the plan earlier this year in an effort to halt the project. But a judge ultimately ruled the redevelopment plan could move forward.
As a Boston landmark and a site included on the National Register of Historic Places, Franklin Park falls under the commission’s purview, the commissioners wrote, and any alterations to the landmark require the commission’s approval. However, the commissioners wrote that the commission was only allowed to review half the White Stadium project — the Boston Unity Soccer Partners portion — with city officials saying another portion overseen by Boston Public Schools was not under the commission’s jurisdiction.
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The commissioners also argued that city administration has “impeded” commission staff in the process of considering whether to designate Boston City Hall as a landmark, and that city officials inappropriately intervened by instructing the commission to pull consideration of Hotel Buckminster from the commission’s agenda during a July meeting, with no explanation. The hotel has since been designated a landmark, but only after “public outcry” that resulted from the city’s actions, the commissioners wrote.
The letter pointed to the backlog in appointing and reappointing members to the commission and requested that the commission be involved in the review and approval of an ongoing redesign of the Arborway, the northern end of which slightly overlaps with the Emerald Necklace, which is a Boston landmark.
The commissioners also accused the Boston Inspectional Services Department of not abiding by the Article 85 “demolition delay” statute of the city’s Zoning Code, which requires a 90-day waiting period before ISD can issue demolition and building permits for certain buildings, to allow time to explore demolition alternatives. The letter also alleges that ISD has issued building permits for sites before issuing demolition permits, and allowed construction and demolition to occur without permits.
“We do not believe that historic or cultural priorities should take precedence over the City’s other priorities, just that historic and cultural resources should be considered in line with applicable law, including the Commission’s enabling legislation and Article 85,” wrote the commissioners.
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The Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, chief of the Environment, Energy, and Open Spaces cabinet; Murray Miller, director of the Office of Historic Preservation; Joe Cornish, director of design review on the commission; all 13 members of the Boston City Council; and Alison Frazee, executive director of the Boston Preservation Alliance, are all copied on the letter. White-Hammond is leaving her position at the end of the month to lead the New Roots AME Church in Dorchester.
In response to a request for comment, a city spokesperson said in an email, “The shared work of the City and the Landmarks Commission in preserving and promoting the vibrant history and culture of Boston’s neighborhoods is part of what makes the City such a wonderful place for residents and visitors. We are reviewing the letter and believe it highlights areas to improve communication and collaboration.”
Ten days after the commission sent the letter to the mayor’s office, Rosanne Foley, who has been the executive director of the Boston Landmarks Commission since she was appointed to the position by then-mayor Martin J. Walsh in 2015, left her role. The Globe was not immediately able to confirm whether she voluntarily left the job or if her employment was terminated, and if her departure was related to the letter.
In response to questions from the Globe, a city spokesperson confirmed Foley’s last day of employment with the city was April 19 but would not provide any additional information, saying the administration does not comment on personnel matters.
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Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold.