Boise city elections are nearly here! Election Day is November 5th. In anticipation, we wanted to get each candidate’s stance on the place that historic preservation has within our growing city. Read on for our question and each candidates reply (listed alphabetically by last name).
Boise growth has revealed tensions when the presence of historic buildings conflicts with new construction. How would you work proactively to protect Boise's historic places?
Mayoral Candidates
Dave Bieter
“During my time as mayor, we’ve worked hard to triple the historic districts across the city. Last year, we issued an emergency ordinance to protect important historic structures on Main Street in the east downtown neighborhood which led to the creation of our newest historic district. We also created a new pedestrian/commercial zone to guide future developments away from historically significant areas to other parts of the city. Moving forward, I will recommend we identify other neighborhoods and structures that require this same type of protection in order to inform whether new historic districts need to be formed. I will also continue to monitor how effective the alternative building code is in preventing the complete demolition of the city’s historic structures. Furthermore, as part of our Grow Our Housing initiative, we will continue to look for opportunities to issue rehabilitation grants or acquire historic multifamily housing structures, which are often an important source of affordable housing. I will continue to build upon all of these policies and practices to protect historically important neighborhoods and structures across Boise.”
Brent Coles
“I am sick that we are tearing down our history. I would stop the up zoning of properties with historic significance. I would support Historic Districts. I support a demolition permit requirement for buildings and properties with historic significance. I would veto any attempt to move the Historic Log Cabin. As you know I am a City planner and I believe in saving the heart of a city.”
Adriel Martinez
"I am a person who loves and enjoys learning about history. I have a minor in history from Boise State University. I grew up watching the history channel when it was real history. I know that we must remember history in order to not repeat mistakes of the past, as history tends to repeat itself. As mayor I will preserve as much Boise history as legally possible in order for future generations to learn about their city. I will make sure certain city areas are rezoned to historically protected sites. I will not let developers come in destroy these areas. I will diligently protect what little history is left in Boise. I will not sell our city to the highest bidder. History is one of the most important parts of a society and must be preserved no matter the cost.”
Lauren McLean
“Thank you for the opportunity to answer the question. In this moment of rapid growth, it's imperative that the City of Boise do a couple of things:
1. We need to disincentivize demolition. Instead of the easiest and cheapest option for developers and owners, demolition should be the course of last resort, and the bar should be set high. Demolition has significant and irreversible impact on a neighborhood: our permitting process should reflect that and developers should shoulder the impact. Buildings with history should be difficult to tear down and send to the landfill; historic buildings with living units should be even more difficult to demolish. I've been happy to begin revising the demolition ordinance in my capacity as City Council President, and I look forward to advancing this issue further.
2. We've got to figure out new ways to integrate additional units of housing into our neighborhoods with design and density that residents can feel good about. I believe we can protect (and enhance!) the unique fabric of our built environment, embrace creative adaptive reuse, and find multitude ways to create more homes for more people.
3. We need to continue (and expand, given their relatively modest budget) our investment in Boise City's Department of Arts & History and, by extension, our community of makers, artists, and historians. Boise's unique sense of place must be protected vigilantly in this moment of growth and in perpetuity. I see A&H as the city's vanguard in this effort.”
Courtney Nielsen
“Thank you for reaching out to me. To answer your question, to preserve the historic character of the outside of the building I think is immensely important. The inside of the buildings I believe deserve to be modernized by the owners and brought up to code. I volunteer with the Idaho State Historical Society and I'm all about preservation of historic buildings.”
City Council Seat 1
Karen Danley
“I have attached my literature which states my platform. Three of my stated goals apply directly to your question asking about my commitment to proactively protect Boise's historic places.
1. The following two statements show I am an advocate for listening to our neighborhoods voice. I have a proposed amendment to the Boise City Code which would change our electoral process to focus more on the neighborhoods rather than business and development. The proposal is to change from electing our city council members at large to electing them by districts so each area of town has someone from their area who understands the priorities, history, and culture of the neighborhood.
A. "Serving as a stronger voice for our underrepresented neighborhoods."
B. "Balancing the needs of the current residents while welcoming the new residents."
2. My literature also states, "Sustainable growth that offers diverse housing choices and preserves neighborhood character." In order to preserve neighborhood character, the history and culture must be preserved.
I can give you two examples of how I have already proactively protected our historic places.
1. Chair of the Oregon Trail Reserve: I serve on the Ada County Open Space and Trails Board. I volunteered to chair the Oregon Trail Reserve. We are focusing on educating users of the history and culture by implementing informative placards along with recordings of pioneers poetry, music, and quotes.
2. Log Cabin: If I am honored to serve Boise on city council, I will work with Preservation Idaho to determine the best way to protect Boise's history by preserving the log cabin in its present location.
If chosen to help lead Boise, I will be honored to work with Preservation Idaho to protect Boise's history and culture.”
Tecle Gebremichael
“Protecting historic buildings is so important as Boise grows. I have watched firsthand the destruction of a nation's history through war and violence, and it cannot be recaptured. I would suggest that we make it harder for our special buildings to be torn down. We should reward re-use and creative solutions to include historically significant buildings. If we do not, Boise becomes like any other place.”
Brittney Scigliano
“I would start with working to establish a demolition review ordinance. This review process will the be the first step in protecting historic places that have not yet been registered. Secondly, I would start the process of surveying the list of potential historic eligible structures the city already has. The list is comprehensive and would alleviate potential conflicts with future development. Historic structures offer more than just a connection to our past. Preservation is sustainable, offers affordability and is conservation at its finest.”
City Council Seat 3
Jimmy Hallyburton
“I am a third-generation Idahoan, and I’ve seen our city change immensely over my lifetime. Not all the changes have been in the interest of public health, architectural value, or the preservation of culture in our city. During my 20s, I spent much of my life on the road, traveling the country as a firefighter for the Idaho City Hotshots. Wherever the fires were the biggest, that’s where we went. I’ve seen a lot of cities, but the only ones I remember are the ones that held and displayed their unique identity by preserving and creating architecturally and historically significant spaces.
I see the growth in Boise, and I am tremendously excited to find ways we can leverage that growth to reinforce the values and identities we cherish about our city the most. At the same time I am fearful that, like many of the forgettable cities I passed through while fighting fires, Boise might lose the historic places and architecture that make it so unique.
As Boise our unique home continues to grow, our leadership and our residents must work diligently to hold onto our heritage, history, and culture; while remaining inclusive and open to positive change that builds new culture. In my experience, our city can best accomplish that by bringing a wide variety of community stakeholders to the table while actively seeking opportunities for every voice to be heard in the Historic Preservation Approvals process and when negotiating with new construction and development.
I also believe we need to put safeguards in place that enhance and reflect the comprehensive plan shown in Blueprint Boise while protecting historically significant buildings. Policies, ordinances, zoning and the adoption of new historic districts must be something Planning and Zoning, the Historic Preservation Commission, and City Council work with citizens, historic organizations and developers to explore and establish.
Last week I spend 2 hours touring the Masonic Temple with preservationist Justinian Morton. I left in awe of the architectural masterpiece, and concerned about its future and the future of similar historic structures. I’ve spent my entire life in Boise and this was the first time I had the opportunity to truly understand and appreciate what was inside of the building. One of the greatest dangers our cultural and historic places face is that our larger community doesn’t know what they’re missing, and I think the City of Boise, and the community as a whole, must do everything we can to highlight, educate and create access to Boise's incredible historic places.”
Meredith Stead
“Especially when we can get land owners on board, I am very encouraging and supportive of preserving our historical buildings and properties. I was lucky to sit on the Planning and Zoning commission when we had the opportunity to recommend approval of the new East Main Historic District. This was a wonderful example of how we can work within our system to preserve historically significant buildings. It can be frustrating for all parties when we try and work to preserve a building after plans to move forward with a new development or renovation are in place. We set ourselves up for better success when we can work preemptively to protect historical buildings. I hope we see more historical districts around Boise so we can proactively protect the buildings that are important to us.”
City Council Seat 5
Elaine Clegg
“I have worked proactively to protect historic resources for many years. I was active in proposing the residential historic districts in the north and east end before my first election and was able to vote affirmatively to enact them after I was elected. They remain the only largely venacular residential districts in the state to my knowledge. These districts have illustrated many of the tensions of preservation and offered lessons in improving the process. For instance, what are the appropriate materials for venacular vs. monumental buildings; what are the most important attributes and how can those be preserved in the face of demands for functionally modern homes? I have worked to find the right balance to make these districts work.
The questions that have been arising more often recently have been whether demolition can be delayed and ultimately deferred while still meeting the demands of growth. I supported bringing forward a demolition review ordinance for consideration, although it was not ultimately adopted. Using what we have learned since then I will work on a more comprehensive package of ordinances if re-elected such as the following:
1. Identify and locally landmark buildings which are neither landmarked nor in an historic district.
2. Require a delay or process to determine appropriateness of demolition for landmarked buildings.
3. Require deconstruction and salvage if demolition goes forward.
4. Develop form based standards for what can replace a building that is landmarked or in an historic district that protects the character of the surroundings if demolition goes forward.
5. Explore an incentive program for renovation of historic structures.
6. In return for these restrictions explore density allowances or bonuses over the base zone to answer the growing need for additional housing.
I would propose to examine these ideas and others that may come forward from the community in a collaborative process with a broad array of stakeholders to find consensus on a package that could be successfully adopted.”
Debbie Lombard-Bloom
“I think it's best if I start at the beginning. My childhood mission involved loading up in the car and heading out to far off areas of the State of Idaho. My father, an Architect by profession Ernest Lombard's passion, is documenting and luckily saving at least one historic ghost town. My dad was teaching us to care for our history and try to preserve as much of it as we could, but I'm sure the main reason we tagged along was to" stand for scale" in the photographs. Emphasis on architecture and preservation in our family draws me to buildings and the timelines they distinguish in our communities. I understand we can't save all buildings but finding social value in preserving pockets of time for future generations to appreciate in a worthy goal. It has always been the citizens of Boise that shape our cityscape in times of critical change. We had the pressures of change in the late 70s early 80s when the citizens, including my father, stepped in and worked with the elected officials and developers to carve a path for the downtown we are currently enjoying. I've seen the process; it's not new, we have a blueprint for how to mitigate the negative impacts of growth on historic buildings and spaces to the best of our collective abilities. Within this idea of preservation, I would like to see us start the focus on structures of significance and include more recent buildings that tell a story. The narrative of our historic warehouse district continuing to the river with the Log Cabin and Anne Frank Memorial untouched is significant. We are attempting to alter a historical corridor for a building we can place on an alternate location. As our citizens put their values on open space and illuminate the mantra of Once gone, it's gone, so too we can place value of the place of buildings and timelines”