Preserving our past, building our future in San Mateo County

But we don’t have to go that far back to find important evidence of the history of our communities.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that local agencies review buildings 45 years or older for historical significance. That’s 1975! This provides a different perspective to what we might typically think of as old. Buildings do not have to be 80 to 100 years old to have historic value in our communities. Residences, government and commercial buildings constructed in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s were often of a different style, character and materials then those constructed before them and those built today. Buildings don’t need to be the work of famous architects or owned by railroad tycoons like William Ralston or Timothy Phelps to have relevance. Even newer, seemingly ordinary structures tell our story. A significant portion of the housing stock in our towns were built post-World War II through the 1970s. Neighborhoods from that era are now visual reminders of the people who lived here. With new and different industries in the region, population growth and ongoing development, new architecture is rapidly replacing older examples.

Buildings and structures that are good examples of architectural style of the recent past or have characteristics not commonly used today help us visually understand about the development of our cities and connect us to that story. They tell us how we got here and remind us that we are part of a chain of communities and neighbors who have settled in this area.

How do we ensure we understand our collective past? By capturing what we still have. In Belmont and San Carlos, we have not updated our historic building lists in years. It is time we do that; take inventory of what we have now and record it. Preserving and documenting historic buildings does not mean owners cannot update and improve their properties; communities continue to grow and change. Nothing stays fixed in time, nor should it, but it’s crucial to record our current environment before it’s too late.

And once we have taken inventory and studied our current built environment, let’s share it! We believe that programs like walking tours of historic areas or interactive websites showing who lived in our neighborhoods and how they came to be developed allow us to learn about the similarities and differences we have to those who lived here before us.

In just a few years both Belmont and San Carlos will turn 100 years old. Let’s celebrate and embrace our history. It is not about pitting growth versus preservation. It is about finding a balance to better understanding our history, connecting ourselves to that past, and envisioning our future communities. We are committed to doing just that.

Julia Mates is a member of the Belmont City Council. Adam Rak is a member of the San Carlos City Council.