Beaufort council says no to preservation group’s candidate for historic district panel
For the first time in decades, the leading voice for preservation in Beaufort — the Historic Beaufort Foundation — will not have a representative on the city panel that vets building projects in the city’s 300-acre historic district.
On Tuesday, the city council unanimously appointed Eric Berman of Berman Property Group, a real estate investment firm, and Grady Woods, an architect with Grady L. Woods Architect LLC to the five-member Historic District Review Board.
But the vote may have been more notable for who was not selected to return: Maxine Lutz, the Historic Beaufort Foundation’s former executive director. Lutz had sought to be reappointed.
For more than 40 years, Historic Beaufort Foundation has had a representative on the Historic District Review Board. Historic preservation advocates left the meeting disappointed with Lutz not being reappointed. The city’s acting mayor said the shakeup in the appointment process will make it more fair and that candidates with preservation backgrounds will continue to be appointed.
The city’s Historic District Review Board (HDRB) is charged with reviewing applications for renovations and demolitions in the Beaufort National Historic Landmark District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. The Historic Beaufort Foundation (HBF) is a not-for-profit and the leading preservation organization in the city.
Since 1979, the City Council had filled one seat on the board with a nomination from the HBF, a process that had been made official in city code in 2004.
But on Sept. 12, the City Council voted 3-2 to end that practice, with some council members questioning the fairness of appointing candidates from a specific group to a seat while excluding candidates from other organizations with building or business interests. Opponents argued having HBF at the table is critical for a city panel whose aim is preservation.
The relationship between the city and the HBR has been complicated in recent years by the group’s legal challenges of decisions made by city panels — including the HDRB — on development projects planned in the historic district including a hotel, parking garage and apartments.
Three days after the city’s decision to end the dedicated seat for HBF, Mayor Stephen Murray resigned, saying he was tired of the lack civility permeating discussions over development projects in the historic district.
The City Council, even though it is no longer required to fill a seat with an HBF-nominated candidate, is still is accepting nominations from HBF, and HBF members held out hope that Lutz, the HBF candidate, would be reappointed. Lutz was among six candidates seeking two seats.
Without comment, the City Council members unanimously voted to place Berman and Woods on the board. Acting Mayor Mike McFee, a realtor, abstained from the vote on Woods, saying he previously sold a house to Woods which qualified as a business relationship with the candidate.
The three-year terms begin immediately and will expire June 30, 2026.
Lutz was HBF’s executive director for six years and the second in charge for 13 years prior to that. “I wanted to continue and I certainly have the long-time experience and passion for it,” said Lutz after the meeting, adding she was disappointed in the council decision.
She thought she had the council’s trust, she added.
McFee, the acting mayor, said, “I don’t think we’ve lessened the board’s capability.” Candidates with professional status such as being an architect or having preservation backgrounds still must be appointed to two of the seats, he said. The other seats must be held by residents who live in the historic district or own property in it.
The discussion regarding the HDRB appointment process arose while the city was implementing reforms in its development process that includes several boards with a hand in reviewing and approving developments.
The city also is creating a stand-alone planning commission that will combine duties currently handled by two panels, the Metropolitan Planning Commission and the Design Review Board. Those panels would be disbanded once the new planning commission is operational.
