HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2308-1968
City Council
Staff Report
Report Type: SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY
Lead Department: City Clerk
Meeting Date: September 18, 2023
Report #:2308-1968
TITLE
Appointment of Candidates for the Architectural Review Board
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends City Council vote to appoint one candidate to the Architectural Review Board
with a term expiring on March 31, 2024.
BACKGROUND
Boards and Commissions are established as advisory bodies to the City Council, made up of
community volunteers that provide essential feedback on matters of importance to the
community. The City Clerk’s office advertises and recruits for vacancies, the Council considers
the applications, interviews desired candidates, and makes appointments for the open
positions.
Board Member Osma Thompson resigned from the Architectural Review Board effective
September 1, 2023. As such, the current vacancy staff is requesting to be filled is:
• One (1) position on the Architectural Review Board, with term expiring March 31, 2024
A total of six applications were submitted during the recruitment period. Interviews were
conducted at the September 5, 2023 City Council meeting. Video recordings of the interviews
are available on our City of Palo Alto YouTube Channel 1.
Membership Requirements
Per PAMC 2.21.010 2, the Architectural Review Board (ARB) requires at least three of its five
members to be architects, landscape architects, building designers or other design
professionals. All four current Board Members are architects. As a result, the current ARB
1 City of Palo Alto YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@cityofpaloalto
2 Palo Alto Municipal Code 2.21.010: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/paloalto/latest/paloalto_ca/0-0-0-
61294
Members fulfill these requirements.
Architectural Review Board: One position
Term ending March 31, 2024
• At least three members must be architects, landscape architects, building designers or
other design professionals. (Fulfilled by current members)
• No Palo Alto residency requirement (PAMC 2.21.010)
• Applicants
1. Alex Lew
2. John Kunz
3. Mousam Adcock
4. Naveen Govind
5. Sam Zucker
6. Stephen Sun
PUBLIC OUTREACH
Palo Alto Municipal Code 2.16.060 requires public notification regarding vacancies of the
Commissions as follows, “The City Clerk shall exercise their discretion in choosing the method
of advertisement that will most effectively reach potential candidates.” Based on the
September 14, 2021 Policy & Services Committee meeting report3 regarding Board and
Commission Member demographics and community representation the City Clerk’s office
expanded recruitment efforts through additional means to “most effectively reach potential
candidates.”
The Architectural Review Board special recruitment invited applications from June 30, 2023
through August 14, 2023. The vacancy was advertised through various methods in partnership
with the City Manager’s Office, Communications Office. This included paid digital/print
advertisements in the Daily Post, Palo Alto Weekly, and social media; City communications
channels including the website, social media, Nextdoor, LinkedIn, and digital newsletter; in
physical locations of the Palo Alto Libraries and Community Centers; and, distributed by e-mail
to community-based organizations and community member networks.
APPROVED BY:
Mahealani Ah Yun, Interim City Clerk
3 Policy & Services Committee, September 14, 2021, Agenda Item #3;
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/agendas-minutes-reports/item-
presentations/2021/20210914/20210914pptpsr-item-3.pdf