10/03/2023 - Appointment Information
ERIN MENDENHALL
Mayor
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
P.O. BOX 145474
451 SOUTH STATE STREET, ROOM 306
SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84114-5474
WWW.SLCMAYOR.COM
TEL 801-535-7704
CITY COUNCIL TRANSMITTAL
______________________________ Date Received: 10/3/2023
Rachel Otto, Chief of Staff
Date Sent to Council: 10/3/2023
TO: Salt Lake City Council DATE 10/3/2023
Darin Mano, Chair
FROM: Rachel Otto, Chief of Staff
Office of the Mayor
SUBJECT: Board Re-Appointment Recommendation: Historic Landmark Commission
STAFF CONTACT: April Patterson
April.Patterson@slcgov.com
DOCUMENT TYPE: Board Re-Appointment Recommendation: Historic Landmark
Commission
RECOMMENDATION: The Administration recommends the Council consider the
recommendation in the attached letter from the Mayor and re- appoint Michael Vela member of the
Historic Landmark Commission.
ERIN MENDENHALL
Mayor
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
P.O. BOX 145474
451 SOUTH STATE STREET, ROOM 306
SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84114-5474
WWW.SLCMAYOR.COM
TEL 801-535-7704
October 3, 2023
Salt Lake City Council
451 S State Street Room 304
PO Box 145476
Salt Lake City, UT 84114
Dear Council Member Mano,
Listed below is my recommendation for the membership re-appointment for Historic Landmark
Commission.
Michael Vela to be re-appointed for a four year term starting from date of City Council advice
and consent.
I respectfully ask for your consideration and support for this appointment.
Respectfully,
Erin Mendenhall, Mayor
cc: file
Planning Recommendations
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PLANNING DIVISION
DEPARTMENT of COMMUNITY and NEIGHBORHOODS
MEMORANDUM
To: Mayor Mendenhall; Rachel Otto, Chief of Staff
From: Nick Norris, Planning Director; Michaela Oktay, Deputy Planning
Director
Date: October 2, 2023
Re: Historic Landmark Commission –
Appointee Recommendations from Planning
Planning has reviewed applications and interviewed the following individuals who recently
applied to the Mayor’s Office to be on the Historic Landmark Commission. We also are
recommending the reappointment of Michael Vela.
We have two open positions for D5 & D6. There were no applicants that applied from these
two districts that appeared to have demonstrated experience or a professional affiliation with
preservation, so they were not interviewed. If you would like to review their applications,
please let us know.
This memo provides a snapshot of the commission following a review of candidates we
recommend you put forward to the City Council for appointments.
Salt Lake City Historic Landmark Commission
Required members: 7-11
Vacancies: 4
Current Demographics:
2 women, 4 men, 1 non-binary
Racial diversity: 90% of the commission is Caucasian.
Geographic representation:
o District 1: Amanda De Lucia
o District 2: Emoli Kearns
o District 3: Babs De Lay
Carleton Getz
Michael Abrahamson
o District 4: Michael Vela (Reappointment Requested)
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o District 5: vacant
o District 6: vacant
o District 7: John Ewanowski
Related Experience
• Academic History/ Professor in Architecture & Planning: Michael Abrahamson
• Architects: Kenton Peters, Michael Vela, John Ewanowski
• History Professional: Amanda De Lucia
• Electrical Engineer/MBA: Carleton Getz
• Artist/Realtor/Broker: Babs De Lay
• Window Rehabilitation Expert: Emoli Kearns
Types of experience/demographics that would be helpful on the Historic
Landmark Commission:
• Code requires at least 2 Architects
• Architectural Studies
• Design: architecture, landscape architecture, urban design
• Gender and Racial Diversity
• Engineering/ construction experience
• Economics/Finance/Business
• Equity/inclusion/social justice
• History and/or Folk studies
• Humanities/arts/entertainment
• Land Use Law
• Non-Profit Arts/Humanities
• Public history/Section 106 Review
• Real Estate/Real Estate Appraisal
Candidate Review:
The following candidates have relevant experience that could benefit the decision-making
process of the Historic Landmark Commission.
We are recommending the following:
Alan Barnett
o District 2, Male
o Beneficial experiences: Historic Preservation, participation on city board.
o Professional Qualifications: BA in History, MA Historic Preservation
Planning Division remarks: Alan would be very beneficial as we embark on resurveying
our local and national register districts. He’s the State of Utah archivist who has a
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considerable amount of local and state history background. He is also familiar with how city
boards operate and should be able to apply standards to projects.
Jared Stewart
o District 4, Male
o Beneficial experiences: Urban Planning, previous boards and committee
participation, city knowledge, preservation experience
o Professional Qualifications: BA & MA Planning
Planning Division remarks: Jared is familiar with city commissions and
works in Tooele. He staffs their Historic Preservation Commission. He has a keen
interest in being on the commission, he comes highly recommended by SHPO.
Adrienne White
o District 7, Female, Hispanic, LGBTQ
o Beneficial experiences: preservation experience as a researcher, Sugarhouse
Community Council, several Preservation Utah Committees
o Professional Qualifications: BA Recreation Therapy, MA Recreation
Management (therapeutic)
Planning Division remarks: Adrienne has her own recent house genealogy services
business where she researches historic homes. She has also been involved with the
Preservation Utah Historic Properties committee that oversees their easements and
proposed work on those historic properties. She would be familiar with a strict review of
alterations with regard to the Secretary of the Interior’s standards.
Michael Vela (Reappointment)
o District 4, Male
o Beneficial experiences: Current HLC Commissioner, has 4 years experience on
the HLC plus he is a very qualified architect.
o Professional Qualifications: Masters in Architecture
Planning Division remarks: Mike has been a fantastic commissioner and
previous HLC Chair. He is thoughtful in offering advice and he is very good with
the public. We recommend his reappointment.
If the Mayor’s office would like to explore further applicants, please reach out to Michaela
Oktay.