(a) For professional members of the historic preservation commission, training in the following alternative areas of discipline may be substituted, should professionals in the areas described in section 78-27 be unavailable for service: planning, urban planning, American civilization, cultural geography or cultural anthropology. Such members may be appointed, provided reasonable documented efforts have been made to secure professional members as designated in section 78-27 and that substituting professional members have earned a master's level degree in their discipline and have two years of professional experience in it.

(b) All efforts to designate qualified commission members shall be based on the extent to which such qualified parties are available in the community. Registered electors may be appointed to fill the commission's professional positions without the specified professional requirements if the council can demonstrate it has made reasonable documented efforts to fill these positions. (Code 1979, § 8-369)