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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-11-24 City Council (6)City of Palo Alto City Manager’s Report TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM: AGENDA DATE: SUBJECT: CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PLANNING AND COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT NOVEMBER 24, 1997 CMR:474:97 ¯ THE HISTORIC SURVEY OF PRE-1948 STRUCTURES AND PRELIMINARY FINDINGS CONTAINED IN THE SURVEY BACKGROUND REPORT The purpose of this report is to convey to the Council information on the progress of the historic survey of pre-1948 structures throughout the city that is now under way to update the City’s historic inventory; to describe how the survey is being conducted; to present preliminary observations and fmdings from the initial "windshield surveyS" as provided in the attached Survey Background Report; and provide background information related to the discussion of the broader policy issues identified in a companion staff report (CMR:475:97). BACKGROUND The City’s existing historic inventory of approximately 550 historically significant structures, including two historic districts, was completed in 1979 and has had only minor revisions and additions since that time. In June, 1996, Council approved a work program to update the historic inventory and revise the Historic Preservation Ordinance. Concerned that the existing Historic Preservation Ordinance and historic inventory did not adequately protect certain of the City’s historic resources, Council adopted Interim Regulations in October 1996, and extended them in August 1997, to remain in effect until May 30, 1998, when the revisions tO the Historic Preservation Ordinance are expected to be completed. The updating of the historic inventory is expected to be completed by September, 1998. The on-going effort to revise the. Historic Preservation Ordinance is discussed in a companion City Manager’s Report, CMR:475:97. CMR:474:97 Page 1 of 6 DISCUSSION Purpose of the Historic Survey and Inventory_ An updated inventory of significant historic resources is a prerequisite to all other actions, projects and measures of a community’s historic preservation program, and is the foundation for such a program. As such, the better the inventory is organized, constructed and maintained, the better the usefulness of the inventory’s fmdings and the credibility of a community’s historic preservation program. An updated inventory that is kept current can expedite mandatory project reviews governed by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Palo Alto is a Certified Local Government (CLG) through an Agreement between the city and the State Office of Historic Preservation. This project to update the City’s historic . resources inventory will satisfy an important requirement for continued participation in this State-administered program (see CMR:475:97, page 3). The understanding of the history and physical form of the City resulting from the historic survey can make an important contribution to community planning and policy development. It can be useful in planning for the protection of scale and character of neighborhoods, streetscapes, public spaces and view corridors, and in the adoption of tailor-made overlay zones to implement specific regulations and guidelines for distinct neighborhoods or districts. The survey information can be used for developing and sustaining a public education program regarding historic preservation. Information contained in materials generated by the historic resources survey and inventory can be valuable to home and business owners, Realtors, investors, architects, vendors and others who desire or need to make informed decisions when they market, invest in,. rehabilitate and/or maintain properties in the City. How the Survey is being conducted Evaluation Criteria. The consultants, Dames & Moore Group, are using the criteria used to establish eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places as the basis for the inventory. These established national standards provide a more objective basis for inclusion in the inventory than the standards in use in 1979 when the original historic inventory was completed. ParticiPation in various State and Federal historic preservation programs, including the State CLG program, is based on the completion of such a survey performed by qualified professionals using the national standards. ~. To qualify for the National Register, a property must represent a significant part of the history, architecture, archeology, engineering, or culture of an area, and it must have the characteristics that make it a good representative of properties associated with that aspect of the past. A series of historic "contexts," i.e., historical patterns that can be identified through consideration of the history of the property and the history of the surrounding area, will be CMR:474:97 Page 2 of 6 developed by the consultants based on historical research conducted by the consultants and volunteers. These may include, for example, the history of architects and builders who practiced in Palo Alto., the economic history of the City, and the role of ethnic minorities in the City’s history. The key to determining whether the characteristics or associations of any particular property are significant is to consider the property within its historic context. Each resource that is identified as being potentially eligible for inclusion in the inventory is classified, as a building, structure, objec~t, site, or district. A determination is made as to whether the resource posses physical features that make it significant within an identified historic context by one or more of four criteria: Criterion A: Events. Properties that are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of the City’s history; Criterion B." Persons. Properties that are associated with the lives of persons significant in the City’s past; Criterion C: Design/Construction, Properties that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity even though its components may lack individual distinction; or Criterion D: Information Potential. Properties that yield, or may be likely to yield, information important on the prehistory or history of the area. The standards being followed by the consultants in evaluating potential historic resources are described in National Register Bulletin # 15, How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. This document is being provided to City Council as an attachment to this report and can be seen at the Planning Division and at Palo Alto public libraries. Being listed, or eligible for listing, on the National Register of Historic Places is only a recognition of a property’s historic value and carries no inherent special protections except those granted by local ordinances. How properties that are included on the Historic Inventory are regulated will be determined by the Historic Preservation Ordinance adopted by City Council. The consultants will provide the City with a list of historic-resources within Palo Alto that meet these standards, that is, appear eligible for listing on the National Register. (Actual listing on the National Register only occurs after a detailed application is prepared and a nomination is made by the State Office of Historic Preservation and accepted by the Department of Interior.) The City’s existing historic inventory, as is the case with nearly all local historic inventories, includes many structures that are not eligible for the National Register but which the community values and wishes to preserve. Through the inventory update process, additional structures of this type may be identified. The Historic Resources Board (HRB) will make a recommendation to City Council of all properties to be included CMR:474:97 Page 3 on the updated historic inventory, and the final historic inventory will be adopted’ by City Council. The initial "windshield" survey. The purpose of the initial "windshield" survey is to establish priorities and develop a methodology for completing the intensive survey of pre- 1948 structures. In conducting the initial survey, the consultant team worked from color-coded maps developed from the City’s geographic information system data base that used assessor’s information to divide all parcels in the City on which there are structures int 3 categories: constructed in 1948 or later; constructed in 1947 or earlier; or already listed on the historic inventory. Each of the approximately 6,000 sites in the latter two categories were identified on maps to be used in conducting the "windshield" survey. The preliminary observations and fmdings of the initial "windshield" survey are presented in the Survey Background Report prepared by the consultants and attached to this report. The consultants are continuing to evaluate the content of the field maps in order to prepare a methodology and allocate resources for conducting the intensive survey. Following is a summary of the preliminary findings: The boundaries of the Professorville Historic District appear to warrant revision and expansion. Other residential areas in addition to Professorville are potentially eligible as National Register Districts. Some historically significant structures have undergone alterations that have resulted in a loss of historic integrity, and in some cases a complete loss of historic significance. Some large public structures and spaces may be eligible for listing on the National Register or may meet the criteria for local landmarks. The City is distinguished by an unusually large and superior variety of 1920s and 1930s houses. A substantial number of houses were built during World Wars I and II, when labor and materials were scarce. The City has an impressive array of architectural styles, including substantial and important modern architecture. CMR:474:97 Page 4 of 6 Bungalow courts and groups of cottages are a noteworthy residential building type. They appear in many parts of town and represent several styles and periods. The consultants for this inventory update are building on the work done by John Beach and Paula Boghosian for the original 1979 survey. Their report, Historical and Architectural Resources of the City of Palo Alto, referred to on page 3 of the Survey Background Report, is included for Council as an attachment to this report. The use of volunteers to conduct the intensive survey. An historic survey of this magnitude would be prohibitively expensive without substantial volunteer support.. The volunteer effort is being organized by Palo Alto Stanford Heritage (PAST) and Pal6 Alto Historical Association (PAHA). As of this writing, over one hundred people have volunteered to help with the intensive survey and many more are expected to join in the coming months. The kick-off meeting for the volunteer effort was held on October 9, 1997. At the second meeting on November 6, two tasks that do not require training were assigned to volunteers. Training sessions for specific tasks on the intensive survey are scheduled to begin December 4, and continue on January 15 and January 29, 1998. At least three additional training sessions are also planned, and more will be held as new volunteers continue to join the effort. The volunteers’ tasks are primarily field observations, library research, writing, photography and word processing. It is important to note that the role of volunteers is to gather and assemble information under the direction of the consultant, and all evaluations of the hi_storical significance of properties will be made by the consultant. All volunteers carry with them letters from PAST/PAHA that identify them as volunteers working on the Palo Alto Historic Survey and provide a phone number and contact person in the Planning Division for any questions about the survey or the role of the volunteers. All field observations, by both the consultants and the volunteers, are conducted from the public-right-of-way, and they will not enter private property. RESOURCE IMPACT The updating of the historic inventory is expected to result in a larger number of properties listed on the inventory, and, therefore, it may be expected that administering the City’s historic preservation program would require more City staff time and other resources. The actual impact on resources will depend on the specific provisions of the revised Historic Preservation Ordinance and on any additional preservation-related programs that the City may wish to implement. To the extent that having a current and accurate inventory of significant historical properties.facilitates the planning process in the City, it may have a beneficial effect on the efficient use of resources. POLICY IMPLICATIONS This report does not represent any change to existing city policies. CMR:474:97 Page 5 of 6 ATTACHMENTS A.Survey Background Report B.Historical and Architectural Resources of the City of Palo Alto (Council Members only) C.Bulletin # 15, How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation (Council Members only) _ Historic Resources Board Architectural Review Board Planning Commission Historic Preservation Ordinance Advisory Group Palo Alto Stanford Heritage Palo Alto Historical Association Board of Realtors, Palo Alto Chapter Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce Prepared by: Virginia Warheit, Senior Planner DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEW: CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: KENNETH R. SCHREIBER Director of Planning and Community Environment JFL%ING City Manage) CMR:474:97 Page 6 of 6 SURVEY BACKGROUND REPORT October 31, 1997 Overview This report is intended to present preliminary observations and findings resulting from an initial reconnaissance survey of Palo Alto’s pre-1948 historic resources. When completed, this initial survey will have looked at and annotated GIS-generated field maps involving nearly 6,000 properties, plus other features of the built environment, such as streets, street furniture and street trees; bridges, mid-block pathways and other public works; shopping centers; and subdivision platting. The field maps will be used to prioritize research activity and other tasks for the next phase of the survey project. The purpose of the survey is to identify all properties located in Palo Alto which appear to be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. At this point in the project, the observations and findings presented in this brief report should not be read as addressing all major elements and dimensions ofPalo Alto’s quite sizable inventory of significant historic resources. Rather, the intent is to summarize some highlights and outstanding features of the city’s historic urban fabric as they first appear in the field (that is, without benefit of research) and as they compare to other cities known to the consultants. A community’s historic resources can exist either as an individual property or as a coherent collection of properties, e.g., a tout ensemble or historic district. There are landmark proPerties,, ,which in most cases are well known, highly visible properties which have been formally designated~as such by a local legislative body, such as a city council, or by a state body, such as Califomials State Historical Resources Commission. Second, there are significant properties, which, by application of accepted standards and criteria such as those of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), are recognized for their historical and/or architectural significance. Third, there are contextual properties, which, while oftentimes viewed as being quite ordinary or commonplace, nevertheless possess local significance. And fourth, there are historic properties, which, while clearly older and perhaps still exhibiting an important architectural style or period of construction, nevertheless have lost their integrity and therefore are no longer significant. Urban Context Different pattems of urban development, periods and types of construction, architectural styles, building materials, landscapes, and the occupations and lifestyles of inhabitants--these aspects and other qualities of the built environment, when all put together, produce the distinctive collage which characterizes each city and urban community. When taking a close look at a city’s collage, one can find in certain cities that large pieces and patterns of historic urban fabric still remain, are fairly intact and generally are in good condition. By contrast, one also can find in certain other cities that only a few isolated fragments or remnants of historic urban fabric still exist. The composition of each _ci_ty’s collage is unique. _ The design and construction of the collage of a city reflects its refinement, subtlety and grace--or lack of same. In any- case, when looking at Palo Alto in this manner, we are attempting to not lose sight of the city as a whole as we survey and then evaluate the historical significance of its many pieces, patterns and qualities. Patterns of Urban Development One still sees, in both Mayfield and Barron Park, fragments of earlier communities and landscapes. For an outsider, Palo Alto probably is most easily understood as a major Peninsula railroad suburb possessing a downtown commercial district and adjacent, older residential neighborhoods originally built for a mix of social classes and income levels. .Development north of Embarcadero and west of Middlefield, part of Palo Alto’s original grid, is still fairly intact. The boundaries of residential districts north of Oregon Expressway tend to be defined as much by the juxtaposition of grids and the platting of subdivisions as by the presence of major thoroughfares and the creeks. There are a large number of residential properties with second units. Large lots with small, modest houses still exist in older parts of the city. Major expansion of the city to the south is very evident, built out as an automobile- oriented suburb with strip commercial and large-scale, predominantly middle-income residential developments. 3 Periods of Construction Residential construction in the late 19th and first part of the 20th century consisted mainly of houses custom-designed for specific individuals and houses constructed by small spec builders -- "building on a shoe string", all financed by local banks. In several parts of Palo Alto todayone frequently comes across houses and other structures built during the 1890s and through the teens. Palo Alto is distinguished by its unusually large and superior inventory of houses constructed during the 1920s- 1930s. The city possesses numerous houses built during World Wars I and II, when materials-and labor were scarce. Newer parts of the city are characterized by the presence of large-scale, postwar subdivision developments, financed by insurance companies. Architectural Styles As an older California city, Palo Alto’s built environment exhibits an impressive array of architectural styles. For those interested in obtaqning an overvieW and description of the city’s architectural styles, reference is made to John Beach’s highly informative essay appearing on pages 5-21 of the 1979 report, Historical and Architectural Resources of the City of Palo Alto. Palo Alto’s residential architecture appears to be particularly distinguished by an abundance of Victorian, Bay Area Tradition, Bungalow, Early California, Period Revival (Tudor, Normandy) and Ranch House styles. The city also possesses a substantial and important collection of Modem architecture (residential, commercial, civic and professional office). Among these are many exceptional postwar buildings not addressed by the present survey project, due to its 1947 cutoff date. Many of these significant postwar Modem buildings are vulnerable to inappropriate alterations or demolition. Building Types Somewhat parallel to, or consistent with, its array of architectural styles, Palo Alto possesses an extensive inventory of building types, e.g., residential, commercial, civic, professional office, religious, entertainment, educational, automobile service and agricultural. Among its residential building types, the city’s bungalow courts and groups of cottages are noteworthy. This vanishing breed exists in many parts of the city, in several styles and from several periods. Due to the citywide height limit of 50 feet, Palo Alto’s current inventory of residential and commercial highrise buildings remains small. Streets Streets are a principal land use in all American cities, including Palo Alto. Some of the city’s streets and major thoroughfares, such as E1 Camino Real, University Avenue, 5 Middlefield Road, Los Robles Avenue and La Selva Avenue, are of historical interest due to age and/or important events or persons associated with the roadway. Some streets are character-defining of an area, due to both their functional value in most directly and efficiently connecting origins with destinations of the motoring public and their corresponding traffic volumes and speeds.. Examples of this type in Palo Alto include Alma Street, Embarcadero Road, Oregon Expressway, Middlefield Road and Arastradero Road. Still other streets are memorable, because as we experience them routinely in our daily lives, they acquire a special quality or exhibit a particul_ar beauty. Each person can cite his or her own examples of memorable streets in Palo Alto. There is another class or kind of street, sometimes referred to as a great street, wherein an extraordinary confluence and combination of qualities occur. In Palo Alto’s residential areas, great streets are those very few places where the architecture, period and quality of construction, integrity of building materials, setbacks, landscaping, street trees and street width all seem to come together as particularly harmonious compositions. Examples of great residential streets in Palo Alto include Fulton Street (between Embarcadero Road and Seale Avenue); Coleridge Avenue (between Webster Street and Emerson Street); and Waverly Street (between Seale Avenue and Oregon Expressway). Categories of New Single-Family Residential Construction Beginning in the 1980s, and especially since the recent upturn in the California economy, Palo Alto has experienced a considerable amount of new single-family 6 residential construction in older neighborhoods of the city. Particularly in such older settings, many of these new houses_ appear to be too big, overstated and pretentious. Other examples of new single-family residential construction in Palo Alto include pattern book houses, intended to recall from the past more modest houses which typically belonged to the middle class; custom-designed houses which recreate earlier architectural styles, use of building materials and craftmanship more often associated with houses for the upper class; architect-designed houses without historical reference or pretense; and retention of the shell of an existing house, but gutting the interior only to replace it totally with a new floor plan, walls and building materials. Historic Districts Professorville already exists as a large, impressive National Register Historic District. However, based upon recent field observation, it appears to warrant some revisions and an expansion of its boundaries. There are other residential areas in Palo Alto which, at first glance, appear to be potentially eligible for listing as National Register Historic Districts. These areas include portions of Fulton,~Cowper and Coleridge Streets; a section of College Terrace; portions -- of-Crescent Park; Southgate; Primrose and Iris Streets (unusual late 30s/early 40s subdivision); and Coastland, Marion and the 2500 block of Webster Street (single builder 1947 subdivision). Alterations and Loss of Integrity As is the case in almost all other older communities, a substantial number of Palo Alto’s significant historic resources have experienced unfortunate and misguided 7 alterations, and, in some cases, a total loss of integrity. losses include the following: Examples of such changes and Alterations to the original morphology of a building, e.g., oversized addition with different roof line; Alterations to the original site design, e.g., a new garage in front yard; and Diminishment or loss of integrity, i.e., the historic property has lost its NRHP eligibility, but the alteration has not compromised integrity of neighborhood. Palo Alto Landmarks Currently Palo Alto possesses two categories of historic resources which it officially recognizes as landmark properties. These two categories are defined in the City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance as Category 1: "Exceptional building" and Category 2: "Major building". The listing and ranking of the city’s historic resources, including landmark properties, was initiated in 1979 with publication of the inventory and report entitled, Historical and Architectural Resources of the City of Palo A lto. A community’s landmarks also may consist of buildings, structures, objects and places which we see everyday or use routinely, which we find only in our own- community, and which hold special meaning due to size, appearance or location. Some examples of this kind of Palo Alto landmark include the following: The tank tower on Alma; The pump station on Palo-jklto Avenue at Hale; Modem and contemporary church structures; The "maze" at University and Alma; City Hall; and Residential and commercial highrise buildings. 9