BC feted for historic preservation projects

Two projects aimed at maintaining the historic character of Boulder City have resulted in the city being the recipient of an award named for the person who designed the city in the first place, Saco Reink DeBoer.

The 2024 DeBoer Excellence in Planning Award winners were formally presented during the 52nd Annual Nevada State Planning Conference.

The Boulder City Historic District Design Guidelines and Interactive Webmap project was awarded Outstanding Cultural or Environmental Plan for “excellence in preserving cultural heritage and promoting environmental sustainability” by the Nevada Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA).

According to historical information on DeBoer, he was a Dutch landscape architect who, suffering from tuberculosis and on the advice of his doctor, emigrated to the U.S. in 1908 to be treated at a Dutch-owned facility in New Mexico. When that clinic moved to Denver in 1909, DeBoer moved with it and planned the landscaping for their new building. That led to him being named as the official landscape architect of Denver from 1910 until 1931.

He came to Nevada in 1930 under contract by the federal government to design a model city. His original design was deemed too expensive but large parts of it remain to this day including the location of the Bureau of Reclamation building and the parks to its south. The large amount of green space and public parks in Boulder City are directly related to DeBoer’s original plan.

In May 2024, the city adopted new exterior design guidelines for the Historic District. According to the city, the guidelines, “Provide clear standards for preserving, rehabilitating, restoring, and reconstructing historic buildings, and apply to all properties within the Historic District, regardless of use.”

These guidelines provide standards for the preservation of the contributing properties within the Historic District (i.e., those that remain largly unchanged from when they were built and so “contribute” to the district’s historical designation) and less stringent standards for non-contributing property.

According to the city, the idea on non-contributing properties is to encourage retaining the historic elements of their properties and help bring them back to contributing status.

The city’s Interactive Webmap allows property owners to easily determine the historic status of their home, access applicable design guidelines, and find other important information regarding their property.

“Protecting the properties within Boulder City’s Historic District has been a priority for city leaders and the staff members in the Community Development and Public Works departments,” said Michael Mays, acting city manager. “It is especially rewarding to receive this year’s DeBoer Excellence in Planning Award for our efforts in the planning community, but also because the DeBoer name is so well- respected in our city.”

City Planner Nakeisha Lyon accepted the award on behalf of Boulder City.

Boulder City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance requires that any exterior changes within the historic district visible from a public street must comply with the Historic Preservation Exterior Design Guidelines and obtain a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) prior to the review and approval of any applicable building permits. A COA might require administrative approval or approval by the Historic Preservation Commission.