San Mateo homeowner hopes to protect historic integrity

The house is not designated as a historic structure on the National Registry, though it has been listed as “potentially eligible” in a 1989 citywide survey of historic resources.

The home requires significant investment and maintenance work, but Schwartz said he is willing to do so, given its contribution to San Mateo history. He started the process of qualifying for the Mills Act, a state law that allows jurisdictions to offer property tax relief for owners of historic structures if they agree to maintain and preserve the house. The 76-year-old resident said he not only hopes to receive Mills Act status but wants to make sure the home is protected for whoever owns it next.

Even though the Mills Act is a state policy, each local jurisdiction must create their own specific criteria and process. Like many cities in the Peninsula, the city doesn’t have a formalized Mills Act program. While it’s still possible to achieve the status, not many do, and it typically takes lots of money, time and patience, Schwartz said. Filing fees would likely require a $20,000 deposit — not to mention other professional consulting fees — and it is unclear what kind of tax savings he could expect.

“I’d have to put up $25,000 for the possibility of, over 10 years, getting $3,400, which is required to be applied to maintain the house, which I’m very happy to do, but it wasn’t much of a business deal to me because there wouldn’t be a promise of getting back the $20,000,” he said.

Community Development Director Zach Dahl said the City Council will start looking at updating its historic preservation policy soon, as outlined in the General Plan, however, the discussion probably won’t specifically address the Mills Act process for awhile. Currently, there are three buildings in the city with Mills Act status, including the Vollers House on North Claremont Street.

Schwartz added that without a formalized process to follow, even city staff are in a tough situation.

“The people the city assigns to me are perfectly willing to help. They’re not trying to obstruct me …. it’s just not clear what they’re supposed to do,” Schwartz said.

Most Peninsula cities are in the same boat, said Jennifer Pfaff, president of the Burlingame Historical Society and a city planning commissioner, adding that staff’s planning resources are allocated more to building newer housing.

“Most cities in San Mateo County have the Mills Act bookmarked in their General Plan, but they have had no time or opportunity to flesh out how the Mills Act can be accessible to anybody,” Pfaff said.

Burlingame’s Planning Commission and City Council discussed the topic last year, but Pfaff said staff haven’t had an opportunity to look into it given other higher-priority state-level housing mandates.

“Our staff are very thin, and cities like to keep them lean now … and so it’s so unevenly biased to building new and getting rid of old housing,” Pfaff said.

Schwartz said he is still happy to maintain the house but doesn’t know if the next owner will feel the same way.

“It is surrounded on three sides by three-story apartment buildings and condos,” Schwartz said. “So I’m concerned that the next owner will build an apartment building instead.”