Position Description for Member of the Design Advisory Board
The Design Advisory Board consisting of five (5) members and two (2) alternates is created by Burlington Comprehensive Development Ordinance (CDO) Section 2.5.1 (under the authority granted by 24 V.S.A. §4433) with the following duties and authority:
- Upon request of the Development Review Board or the administrative officer, review requests for certificates of appropriateness in accordance with the design review standards specified in the CDO, and prepare written advice and recommendations to the board.
- Review may include, but is not limited to, applications involving site plan and design review, applications involving historic buildings or sites, and applications reviewed under the Major Impact, Planned Development, and Subdivision provisions of the CDO.
- Serve as the City's Historic Preservation Review Committee to advise the administration of Burlington's Certified Local Government Program (CLG).
- Perform other responsibilities as assigned by the City Council.
Members of this board must meet the following criteria:
- “Should be residents of Burlington,” but at least a majority of the Board must be Burlington residents, 24 VSA 4433;
- A majority of the members shall be professionals from any of the following fields: architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, planning, contracting, archaeology, or real estate development;
- To the extent possible, at least two (2) of the members shall be professionals from the disciplines of history, architectural history, architecture or historical architecture.
Members of this board will be appointed for three (3) year staggered terms.
Historically, this board regularly meets twice each month on the second and fourth Tuesday, beginning at 3 pm for approximately 2 hours. In addition, the Design Advisory Board has a standing subcommittee - the Historic Preservation Review Committee (HPRC) - with the responsibility of advising the City on matters related to historic preservation.
In addition, members of this board will be expected to:
- Attend all scheduled meetings, or if a meeting must be missed, let the chairperson know ahead of the meeting if they will not be able to attend;
- Review any materials provided to the board ahead of time;
- Notify the chairperson and/or the city staffperson assigned to the board of any accommodation for a disability that may be required in order for the person to serve;
- Act from a spirit of cooperation and with respect towards other board members, staff members, and members of the public appearing before the board;
- Avoid actual or apparent conflicts of interest or bias;
- When deciding a controversy or responding to a request, conduct themselves in a fair and impartial manner;
- Comply with all aspects of the Vermont Open Meeting and Access to Public Records laws;
- Consider fairly the interests of all individuals and organizations whose interests may be affected by their actions as a city official.
- Have familiarity with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation (desired).
- Read and interpret maps, site plans, aerial photographs, building elevations and other related plans and drawings.
- Conduct site visits as necessary.
