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Architect Brian Emerick may be stepping down as chairman of Portland’s Historic Landmarks Commission this month, but that doesn’t mean he’ll stop advising city officials.

Emerick has served two four-year terms on the commission that weighs in on development in the city’s dozen or so historic districts. His tenure has run the gamut of economic cycles, from before the Great Recession to the building boom today.

Now he’ll take that experience in a somewhat different direction 鈥� one less time-consuming 鈥� as a member of a city task force charged with setting policy for Portland’s 1,800 unreinforced masonry buildings. He also will spend more time serving as a principal at Emerick Architects, which he co-founded with his wife, Melody Emerick.

Brian Emerick is looking forward to seeing the continuation of efforts that his leadership at the Historic Landmarks Commission has put in motion, as detailed in the State of the City Preservation Report that was presented to Portland City Council last week.

Among the goals set forth for 2016 for the Historic Landmarks Commission is the hire of a full-time senior preservation planner, which the city has needed for some time, Emerick said.

鈥淲e’ve got some incredibly dedicated volunteers that are high performers, but at the same time there’s only so much you can do as a volunteer,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou have to have staff to write the guidelines you really need, or if we had a dedicated city planner that has the bandwidth for that.鈥�

Emerick said Seattle has 鈥渁 number of preservation planner positions,鈥� but Portland probably has more historic structures 鈥� many built in the early 1900s.

鈥淧ortland has the same if not more historic resources than Seattle,鈥� he said. 鈥淎fter the Lewis and Clark Exposition in 1905 we had a huge growth spurt here and we kind of eclipsed Seattle at that point.鈥�

Another recommendation in the city preservation report is to establish design guidelines for the Skidmore / Old Town Historic District 鈥� something the Historic Landmarks Commission has tried to do for years.

鈥淎bout seven years ago we engaged in a pretty public process to rewrite the Skidmore / Old Town guidelines (for) a pretty big important area 鈥� our most historic area downtown,鈥� Emerick said. 鈥淏ut it got really waylaid for political reasons and has been sitting in a manner of stasis for a number of years.鈥�

With a different City Council now in place, a final draft of the Skidmore / Old Town guidelines will go before the council for adoption in February, Emerick said. Plans also are under way for development of a final draft of Old Town Chinatown Historic District guidelines by the end of next year.

The way city code is written right now, Emerick said, each historic district needs to have its own guidelines because each one is unique.

鈥淏ut it also kind of puts a burden on the city because then (officials) have to write specific guidelines for each district,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I think that definitely having two done for the most important (historic districts) will really help to set a standard to make the others easier to create. That would be the idea.鈥�

The Historic Landmarks Commission is concerned with historic preservation, but is pro-development in that it wants to see historic districts and places active and thriving, Emerick said. That includes infill efforts.

鈥淏ut at the same time we’re trying to plan for the landmarks of tomorrow,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he city says these are really important places and we want to make sure they will last another 100 years and really strengthen rather than take away from it.鈥�

Another priority listed in the city preservation report is to update the city’s Historic Resource Inventory. That hasn’t happened since the late 1980s, Emerick said, and hasn’t included eastern parts of the city.

The city preservation report also states the need to secure funding and public support for retrofits of the many unreinforced masonry buildings, particularly in the downtown area, and also recommends seeking a balance between preservation and density.

City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who oversees the work of the Historic Landmarks Commission, said Emerick’s work has been essential.

鈥淏rian has done an outstanding job and it’s a job that takes up a lot of spare time,鈥� Saltzman said. 鈥淚 appreciate the work that he and other members have done 鈥� like the issues around Mount Tabor and the Washington Park reservoirs, advice that was well-heeded by us. He’s done a great job.鈥�

Emerick also received high praise from Jessica Engeman, a preservationist with Venerable Properties who also serves on the Landmarks Commission.

鈥淗e’s been a fabulous commissioner, a very gifted architect, a great moderator and facilitator,鈥� Engeman said. 鈥淗e really understands how buildings come together and the kinds of details that take a building from ordinary to outstanding.鈥�

Many people think the Historic Landmarks Commission is primarily concerned with historic buildings, Engeman said, but most of its work concerns new construction in historic districts.

鈥淏rian has taken it to the next level in terms of his expertise,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e provides feedback on new construction that responds to the DNA of the historic district.鈥�

Serving on the Historic Landmarks Commission has been an honor, Emerick said. He became involved at the urging of late Venerable Properties founder Art DeMuro, a good friend who also was Emerick Architects’ first client 16 years ago.

鈥淎rt passed away a few years ago, but he was a great mentor and helped me when I became chair,鈥� Emerick said. 鈥淗e set a good precedent and helped strengthen the commission, and I’ve tried to do my best to carry that ball forward and make it even stronger than I found it.鈥�