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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-03-15 City Council (10)City of Palo Alto City Manager’s Report TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PLANNING AND COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT DATE:MARCH 15, 2004 CMR:182:04 SUBJECT:REVIEW OF NOMINATIONS OF GREENMEADOW AND GREEN GABLES NEIGHBORHOODS TO NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES This is an informational report: No Council action is required BACKGROUND On February 27, 2004, the City received two letters from the State Office of Historic Preservation referring applications for nomination of the Green Gables and Greenmeadow neighborhoods as historic districts to the National Register of Historic Places. Both applications were initiated by the Eichler Historic Quest Committee. The letters from the State request review and comment on the applications by the City in compliance with its participation in the State’s Certified Local Government Program. The provisions of a Certified Local Government require the Mayor to provide comments on the proposed National Register applications and to submit a report of the City’s Historic Resources Board (HRB) to the State prior to consideration of the applications by the State Historical Resources Commission. The report to the State from the HRB should indicate whether or not the Board considers the proposed districts meet the criteria for listing on the National Register. The State will be sending all the property owners in both neighborhoods a letter in late March explaining the National Register process and what the designation means and announcing a community meeting scheduled to be held on April 3 and conducted by the State Office of Historic Preservation. The State Historical Resources Commission will consider the application for designation of both areas at its April 28 meeting in San Francisco. If the nominations are approved by the State Historical Resources Commission, they will subsequently be forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register in Washington, D.C for final review and approval. CMR:182:04 Page 1 of 3 DISCUSSION Staff has placed review of the two applications for National Register nomination on the March 17, 2004 HRB meeting agenda, consistent with the City’s agreement with Eichler State as a Certified Local Goverment. Public hearing notices of the meeting (Attachment A) were sent to all property owners within the potential district boundaries in both the Greenmeadow and Green Gables neighborhoods. The HRB’s review will be limited to comment on the adequacy and accuracy of the nomination applications under the National Register’s nomination criteria. In order to recommend listing to the National Register as districts, the HRB must conclude that the majority of homes in the Green Gables and Greenmeadow neighborhoods have retained their historic integrity and convey a strong sense of past time and place. According to the applications, the Green Gables and Greenmeadow subdivisions were chosen by the Eichler Historic Quest Committee for nomination because they are among the earliest and most unaltered of the Bay Area Eichler subdivisions. It should be noted that listing on the National Register is an honorary status only. As the two attached bulletins (Attachments B and C) from the website of the National Register of Historic Places indicate, designating either neighborhood on the National Register would not impose any new restrictions on the modifications owners can make on their homes nor would it require that they offer tours of their property. Subsequent to review and comment by the HRB, staff will prepare a letter to the State to be signed by the Mayor transmitting the HRB’s report. The report and the letter will be forwarded to the full Council in its April 5 packet prior to submitting to the State Historical Resources Commission. ATTACHMENTS Attachment A: Notice of" Public Hearing for Historic Resources Board meeting of" March 17, 2004 Attachment B: Results of Listing in the National Register Attachment C: How Does the Federal Government Designate Properties as Historic? Ju ee~rgno,Manager CMR:182:04 Page 2 of 3 S eve E~ie, Director of Planning and Community Environment Emily Harrison, Ass"~t dit~-Manager CC:Historic Resources Board Barry Lee Brisco State Office of Historic Preservation CMR:182:04 Page 3 of 3 NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING of the City of Palo Alto HISTORIC RESOURCES BOARD Dear Green Gables Property Owner The City of Palo Alto has received the attached notice from the State Office of Historic Preservation that your property is included in an application initiated by the Eichler Historic Quest Committee to nominate the Green Gables neighborhood to the National Register of Historic Places. The State has referred the application to the City for review and comment by the City’s Historic Resources Board. The Historic Resources Board is required to provide a report to the State indicating whether or not the Board considers the proposed district to meet the criteria established for listing on the National Register. Designation of a district is an honorary recognition acknowledging that the district is worth conserving. Owners can do anything they wish with properties listed on the National Register as long as no Federal license, permit or funding is involved. Property owners are not required to open their properties to the public, restore them or even maintain them. The Historic Resources Board will be reviewing the application at its March 17, 2004 meeting. The meeting will be held at 8 A.M. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall located at 250 Hamilton Avenue, and the public is welcome and encouraged to comment on the application at that meeting. Attached is also an agenda for the meeting. A copy of the complete application forwarded to the City by the State is available at the Department of Planning and Community Environment at City Hall on the 5t~ Floor. The State will also be sending you a separate letter in late March explaining the National Register process and what the designation means and notifying you of a community meeting to be held on April 3rd sponsored by the State Office of Historical Preservation. The State Historical Resources Commission will consider the application for designation of the Green Gables neighborhood to the National Register of Historic Places at its meeting on April 28th in San Francisco. If you have questions regarding the City process for review of the application, please contact Julie Caporgno, Advance Planning Manager, at (650) 329-2679. ATTENTION: This notice, originally sent out on March 4, 2004 has been revised to correct a misstatement regarding the State’s referral process. The State will NOT be distributing ballots to homeowners for a vote on the potential nomination of the Green Gables neighborhood to the National Register. The State process for listing will be described in the letter to-be mailed in late March and will be a topic of discussion at the meeting sponsored by the State on April 3ra. STATE OF CALIFORNIA - THE RESOURCES AGENCY OFFICE OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION P.O. BOX 94")896 SACRAMENTO, CA 94296-0001 (9i6) 653-6624 FAX (916) 653-9824 calshpo @ ohp.parks, ca. gov ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor Office of the Mayor City of Palo Alto 250 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 To Whom It May Concern: RE:Chief Elected Local Official Review and Comment on Nomination to the National Register of Historic Places Green Gables r.J’l c~ Pursuant to the Certified Local Government Agreement between this office and your governmental entitY, we are providing you as the chief elected local .official with a sixty-day review and comment period before the State Historical Resources Commission considers this application at its meeting on Wednesday, April 28, 2004, in the Ventana Ballroom, located in the Golden Gate Club, 135 Fisher Loop, Presidio, San Francisco, CA, 94129. This room is accessible to people with disabilities. Please review the enclosed information and send your comments on the enclosed "Review and Comment Report" form to this office fifteen (15) days before the State Historical Resouces Commission meeting, in order that the State Historical Resources Commission will have it available during consideration of the property. As a Certified Local Government under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, the chief elected local official is required to provide comments on the proposed National Register application and to submit the report of the local preservation commission. Your Commission, after reasonable opportunity for public comment, shall prepare a similar re.port as to whether or not such property, in its opinion, meets the criteria for the National Register. If you have questions or require further information, please contact the National Register Unit at (916) 653-6624. Supplemental information on the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources is available at our website at the following address: http :/iohn. c al-p arks. ca. ~ov/re ~i ster Thank you for your assistance in this program. Sincerely, Dr. Knox Mellon State Historic Preservation Officer Enclosures:NR CLG Chief Local Nomination, Comment Form MEETINGS ARE CABLECAST LIVE ON GO VERNMENT A CCESS CHANNEL 26 Wednesday, March 17, 2004 REGULAR MEETING - 8:00 AM City Council Chambers Civic Center, First Floor 250 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 ROLL CALL: Board members: Beth Bunnenberg, Chair Roger Kohler, Vice-Chair Martin Bernstein Michael Makinen Carol Murden Susan Haviland Patricia DiCicco City Council Liaison: Jim Burch Staff: Julie Caporgno, Advance Planning Manager Dennis Backlund, Historic Preservation Planner Diana Tamale, Staff Secreta~. PROCEDURES FOR PUBLIC HEARINGS Please be advised the normal order of public hearings of agenda items is as follows: ¯Announce agenda item ¯Openpublic hearing ¯Staffrecommendation ¯Applicantpresentation - Ten (10) minutes limitation or at the discretion of the Board. ¯Historic Resources Board questions of the applicant/staff ¯Public comment - Five (5) minutes limitation per speaker o1" limitation to three (3) minutes depending on large number of speakers per item. ¯Applicant closing comments - Three (3) minutes ¯Close public hearing ¯Motions/recommendations by the Board ¯Final vote ORAL COMMUNICATIONS. Members of the public may speak to any item not on the agenda with a limitation of three (3) minutes per speaker. Those who desire to speak must complete a speaker request card available from the secretary of the Board. The Historic Resources Board reserves the right to limit the oral communications period to 15 minutes. Page ! of 3 AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS. The agenda may have additional items added to it up until 72 hours prior to meeting time. APPROVAL OFMINUTES. Approval of minutes of Historic Resources Board meetings held November 5 & December 3, 2003 and January 7, & March 3, 2004. NEW BUSINESS. Public Hearing 51 Encina Avenue [04-HRB-02]: Application by the Palo Alto Medical Foundation for Historic Resources Board review and recommendation to the Director of Planning and Community Environment pursuant to Municipal Code 16.49.050 regarding a proposal to construct a new two-car garage at the rear of a parcel containing the Greet House, a structure listed on the City’s Historic Inventory in Category 2 and located in the CS Community Service zone district. The proposed garage would replace a circa-1900 barn that has been determined by a qualified consultant to be individually ineligible for the California Register of Historical Resources. (This item was continued from March 3, 2004 meeting at the request of the applicant) 490 Kingsley Avenue [04-HRB-03]: Application by V. S~hutte Design, in behalf of John and Susan Paul, ov~aaers, for Historic Resources Board review and recommendation to the Director of Planning and Community Environment pursuant to Municipal Code 16.49.050 regarding a proposal that includes a two-story rear addition facing Cowper Street, two new columned rear entry porches, two new ~ound-floor balustrades facing Kingsley Avenue, and fenestration modifications on a formal Mediterranean Revival single-family residence constructed in 1920. The property is located in the Professorville Historic District and in the R-1 (929) Zone District. OTHER BUSINESS: Green Gables and Greenmeadow Residential Neighborhoods: Historic Resources Board review and comment to the California State Historic Preser~’ation Office, as required by the City’s Certified Local Government agreement with the State of California, regarding a nomination by the Eichler Historic Quest Committee of two Eichler neighborhoods to the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register nomination forms for Green Gables and Greenmeadow are available for review at the Planning Department reception desk on the fifth floor of City Hall. The nomination forms list the addresses of all properties included in the nomination. BOARD ITEMS. T T rS TA FF AA ~ 0 UNCEMEA TS. STATUS REPORTS ON HISTORIC PROJECTS/SITES. COR_RESPONDENCE. REPORTS FROM OFFICIALS. Page 2 of 3 BOARD MEMBER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, AND/OR ANNOUNCEMENTS. * Historic Resources Board representative at City Council meetings: Meeting date Representative Agenda changes, additions and deletions. The agenda may have additional items added to it up unti! 72 hours prior to meeting time. Questions. If interested parties have an), questions regarding the above applications, please contact the Planning Division at (650) 329-2441. The files relating to these items are available for inspection weekdays between the hours of S:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM and staff reports will be available for inspection on 2:00 PM the Friday proceeding the hearing. ADA. Persons with disabilities who require auxiliary aids or services in using City facilities, services or programs or who would like information on the City’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may c~ntact (650) 329-2550 (voice) or (650)328-1199 (TDD) Page 3 of 3 National Register of Historic Places Brochure Attachment B Results of Listing in the National Register: ¯Listing in the National Register honors the property by recognizing its importance to its community, state, or the Nation. ¯ Federal agencies, whose projects affect a listed property, must give the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation an opportunity to comment on the project and its effects on the property. See "Federal ¯Owners of listed properties may be able to obtain Federal historic preservation funding, when funds are available. In addition, Federal investment tax credits for rehabilitation and other provisions may apply. ¯ Owners of private property listed in the National Register have no obligation to open their properties to the public, to restore them, or even to maintain them, if they choose not to do so. Owners can do anything they wish with their property provided that no Federal license, permit, or funding is involved. Skamokawa Historic District, Skamokawa, WA (Jacob Thomas) Two Spot Logging Train, Flagstaff, AZ (Cline Library Special Collections and Archives Department. Fronske Collection. Northern Arizona University) http ://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins/brochure/2/17/2004 My Property is Important to America’s Heritage What Does That Mean? Answers to Ques.. Attachment C How Does the Federal Government Designate Properties as Historic? Listing in the National Register of Historic Places The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 assigns the National Register of Historic Places a central role in recognizing buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects significant in American history, archeology, architecture, engineering, or culture, and identifying them as worthy of preservation. Anyone can prepare a nomination to the National Register, working with the Stme Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) in their State. State and Fedcr~! His!oric Preser~;ation ()!~fice,,", (FPOs) also survey and evaluate properties in their jurisdictions, determine which of these properties are eligible for listing, and prepare nominations to the Register. Nominations submitted through the States must first be approved by a Review Board appointed by the Governor before being reviewed by the National Register staff. If the professional staff at the National Register concludes that the property meets the criteria for evaluation, it is recommended for listing to the Keeper of the National Register. ¯Listing in the National Register honors the property by recognizing its importance to its community, State, or the Nation. ¯Private property owners can do anything they wish with their property, provided that no Federal license, permit, or funding is involved. ¯Owners have no obligation to open their properties to the public, to restore them, or even to maintain them, if they choose not to do so. ¯Federal agencies whose projects affect a listed property must give the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation an opportunity to comment on the project and its effects on the property. ¯Owners of listed properties may be able to obtain Federal historic preservation funding, when funds are available. In addition, Federal investment tax credits for rehabilitation and other provisions may apply. http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins/myproperty/2117/2004