San Mateo neighborhood’s potential historic designation spurs conversation over property rights

“It’s a block that has a lot of integrity. The homes haven’t been modified that much, so I got together with some neighbors, and our group grew,” said Laurie Hietter, president and founder of the San Mateo Heritage Alliance, a local group aiming to preserve historic resources in the area.

“We thought that if we got the neighborhood nominated as a historic district, it might give a little more protection.”

Historic districts typically come with legal protections that ensure relevant buildings and homes remain visually intact with their surrounding structures. While downtown San Mateo and the Glazenwood district are the only designated historic districts in the city, other neighborhoods such as Baywood may still be eligible.

“In 1989, the city conducted a historic building survey … they didn’t have enough money to do the whole city,” Hietter said. “But the researchers and the preservation office acknowledged that there are several large, eligible districts west of El Camino.”

But for others in the neighborhood, such as longtime Baywood resident Anna Kuhre, the push for historical designation is shrouded in ulterior motives. The San Mateo Heritage Alliance, Kuhre said, is aiming to include about 444 neighborhood homes as part of the historic district and, if designated, they could be subjected to an unnecessarily high degree of scrutiny if a homeowner wants to update the exterior of their house.

“We don’t want to be forced into a historic district that is going to add more red tape. To get a building permit for a big remodel may take a year, year and a half,” Kuhre said. “That should take 60 days, 90 days tops,” she said.

Once it becomes a historic district, owners cannot individually opt their homes out of the designation and potential restrictions. But owners can still make changes to their individual homes, Hietter said. Only when a substantial number of homes undergo external-facing changes would it trigger a more arduous review process, such as an environmental impact report, she added. 

“Even if Baywood was designated as a historic district, it doesn’t mean someone can’t demolish their house,” she said. “It just means that once there is a significant threat to the entire district, the city has to conduct more studies.” 

However, the number of renovated or demolished homes that would constitute a significant adverse impact, as it is defined in the city’s historic preservation ordinance, is subjective and at the city’s discretion. 

The dispute surfaced enough times while drafting the city’s 2040 General Plan that staff announced at the Oct. 2 City Council meeting they will start creating clearer historic preservation policies at the start of next year. 

Currently, the California Register and National Register of Historic Places consider an area eligible for historic designation if it meets at least one of four general criteria. Baywood meets two of those criteria, Hietter said, referencing the authentic period architecture and its importance in the historical development of San Mateo.

Residents still have a say in whether they want their home to be considered a contributor, or part, of the historic district — to a point. A nomination package is sent to the State Office of Historic Preservation, after which advisory letters are sent to residents asking for comment. If more than half of residents object in their comments, the nomination will not be forwarded to the National Register. 

“My main concern was that the property owners would not get to vote on this or that we could not be exempted. We wanted a vote for fair representation,” Kuhre said, also expressing concern that this pursuit is a possible attempt to circumvent Senate Bill 9, a 2021 state law that aims to spur housing by allowing up to four residential units on a single-family lot that could be split.   

While the legislation makes exceptions for some landmarks and historic resources, cities such as Pasadena have received criticism — including a warning from Attorney General Rob Bonta — for approving overly generous designations, subsequently hindering the law’s potential impact.

But Hietter believes the historic designation won’t prevent the development of new housing, provided they adhere to certain aesthetic elements.

“Historic districts don’t prevent ADUs. It’s just about maintaining the character of the neighborhood,” she said.

The likelihood of Senate Bill 9 affecting the Baywood area is also low, as the lots are not very big and the cost to demolish the home and rebuild new units is quite high, she added. 

The city plans to begin their independent review and development of the designation policies in January 2024, with its completion dependent on community feedback, Interim Assistant City Manager Christina Horrisberger said.

“We are trying to get a clear and even designation process through … and letting that be informed by what’s already in place at the state and national levels to get lined up with that and of course, having our community weighing in,” she said.