Workshops begin for historic preservation in San Mateo

Earlier in the year, the council set aside more than $300,000 to update its historic preservation policy, largely in response to an ongoing battle between those who want more protections for what they consider historic structures and those who say the efforts infringe on homeowners’ property rights, as they could be subject to the new rules without their consent. The workshops are part of the community outreach portion, which has a $47,000 allocation.

The divide has wreaked havoc among residents in the city over the last couple years, particularly in the Baywood neighborhood, where members of the San Mateo Heritage Alliance group have pushed to expand a historic designation to more than 400 houses in the neighborhood. Such a designation could trigger additional review and require approval if owners want to substantially alter the exterior of their homes or make changes that don’t align with the design of the surrounding houses.

Neighborhood contention over historic districts is not unique to San Mateo. Several neighborhoods in San Francisco, including North Beach, as well as Palo Alto, San Jose and Pasadena have also tried to obtain a historic status, with residents often divided over whether the effort is rooted in good faith or in an attempt to control how the area gets developed.

In June, the San Mateo City Council discussed how the city would designate historic districts — which it currently doesn’t do — and how the review process would be executed. It would also stipulate that criteria for a historic designation would follow the state’s criteria, in addition to city-specific conditions.

During the workshop July 29, Rincon Consultants discussed the history of historic preservation, including efforts in the early part of the 20th century to prevent the demolition of the original Penn Station building.

“The fight for Penn Station really ushers in this idea of historic preservation as a policy movement and helped usher in the modern era of historic preservation, which included the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966,” Rincon Consultants Architectural Historian Julie Ann Murphy said.

Murphy also discussed some of the standards outlined by the Secretary of the Interior’s Office on how to approach treatment — including restoration and rehabilitation approaches — as well as what local historic preservation ordinances typically include.

“At the local level, many communities who have historic preservation ordinance require approval for demolitions and for proposed work on a designated historic resource,” Murphy said. “Typically they have a reviewing body comprised of local citizens appointed by city government that review and approve proposed changes to a historic building. Most communities that have this function … try to discourage the demolition of historic buildings and require a permit for demolition to be approved by a reviewing body.”

The workshop is one of four to be held between this year and the beginning of next.