Historic homes seeking preservation contracts

The former is locally known as the Joseph and Lettera DeBenedetti House. Built in 1893 in the national folk architectural style, it’s one of the oldest residential buildings in town and had already been designated a local landmark and contributing structure to the Mezesville Historic District.

The latter is a Spanish colonial revival home built in 1912 that may be Redwood City’s only residential structure with a primarily brick exterior. During the meeting, the commission approved local historic designation as well as a Mills Act contract for the home; only homes with historic designation qualify for the tax break, but homeowners can apply for both at once.

The application process entails a site visit, submission of a 10-year maintenance and improvement plan and public hearings with the Historic Resources Advisory Committee, Planning Commission and City Council, which has ultimate authority to approve requests. It costs about $3,000 to process Mills Act applications, but the city only charges homeowners $550 in hopes that more of them will apply. Mills Act contracts have an initial 10-year term, which is automatically renewed unless the city or property owner doesn’t want to renew, and the contract stays with the home even if it’s sold.

A property owner of a Mills Act home can save as much as 40 percent to 60 percent of the individual assessed tax valuation of the property, according to a staff report. The city would lose an estimated $800 to $1,200 a year in revenue for a Mills Act property valued at $1 million.

In Redwood City, 27 homes have been granted Mills Act contracts since the program was established in 1990.

Commissioners celebrated the program for preserving the city’s historic homes, especially at a time when remodels and teardowns are not uncommon in Redwood City. They only wished more residents knew about the program.

“We are a changing community so that’s why it’s pretty awesome when we get these requests,” Commissioner Ernie Schmidt said.

Joseph DeBenedetti, the original owner of the Joseph and Lettera DeBenedetti House, was born in Italy and moved to San Francisco in the early 19th century. He admired the homes in San Francisco and wanted to build one in a similar style when he later moved down to the Peninsula, said Associate Planner William Chui.

Laura Stewart is the third and current owner of the home.

“I’m not actually doing it for the tax benefit because I’ve owned the home for 21 years, but even though the house is in a historic district, getting it under contract and if I sell the house — which I don’t have any plans for — it will help guarantee maintenance hopefully on the house,” she said. “The house can’t be torn down, but it has to be maintained. That’s why I’m doing it.”

Chui said the home at 127 Finger Ave. is especially unique because of its brick exterior.

“The brick is patterned in an interesting way so it utilizes deliberately rough brick and irregularly shaped brick that are placed in different configurations and bump-outs so each elevation looks a little different,” he said, adding that the method of brick assembly is called skintling.

The home was recently purchased by Anne Park and her husband, and the two have lived in Redwood City on and off for 20 years.

“We really wanted to have a property that is like a piece of history in Redwood City and to maintain and restore it,” she said. “That’s one of the reasons why we purchased it and we want to take advantage of the tax benefits as well to restore it.”

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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