Redwood City homes secure historic status

Built in 1912 in the Mt. Carmel neighborhood, the former is considered an “outstanding example” of the Craftsman-style and is also an unusual example of the style because it has two stories, according to the historic evaluation of the home. 

The home on Whipple Avenue was built in 1923 and belonged to Otis Carrington, a Sequoia High School music teacher — the school’s auditorium is named after him — and composer of operas written for children. Located in the Edgewood Park neighborhood, the home is considered to be an adaptation of the Prairie School architectural style that also combines classical architectural elements, according to the evaluation.

Also located in the Edgewood Park neighborhood, the home on Edgewood Road was built in 1933 and is considered an “outstanding example” of the Spanish Colonial Revival-style as “the majority of the exterior and interior features are evocative of this architectural style,” according to a staff report. The home was built by and resided in by August J. Fromm, who was the builder, owner and manager of the Sequoia Hotel downtown, and it was designed by Chester H. Treichel, a prominent Bay Area architect known for residential design in the 1930s, according to the report.

According to city code, historic designation is for buildings that can claim at least one of the following criteria: it exemplifies or reflects special elements of the city’s cultural, aesthetic or architectural history; it’s associated with persons or events that are historically significant, it embodies distinctive characteristics of a style, period or method of construction, or was built or designed by notable people in the industry. 

Mills Act contracts, widely considered one of the most effective historic preservation incentives available in the state, offer yearly property tax breaks to the owners of historic structures so they can use the savings on the long-term maintenance of the property. Homeowners can save as much as 40% to 60% of the individual assessed tax valuation of the property and must submit a 10-year schedule of proposed maintenance and improvements, according to the report.

Mills Act contracts last a minimum of 10 years and one additional year is automatically added to the contract term annually unless the city and/or property owner decides not to do so. The contract also transfers with the property if it’s sold.

The city’s Mills Act program was established in 1990 and has since granted 32 contracts in the city, including the aforementioned ones. 

Officials have said in the past that it’s difficult, though not impossible, to tear down or make exterior modifications to a home that has been designated as historic, though second-story additions and remodels to interiors of homes have been successfully completed on historic properties. 

Over the past couple of years, the Mt. Carmel neighborhood, where one of the latest Mills Act homes is located, has seen an increase in teardowns. Residents often complain that the teardowns are of old homes, often in the Craftsman-style, which are then replaced with much larger homes that are incompatible with the neighborhood. 

There was an effort last year to establish the entire neighborhood as historic, but the council ultimately decided to preserve neighborhood character by instead imposing limits on home size, which it did earlier this year, and by establishing design guidelines, a long-term process expected to wrap up in 2020.

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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