Editor,
The San Mateo Heritage Alliance appreciates the city of San Mateo’s effort to draft a Historic Preservation Ordinance and Context Statement in fulfillment of long-standing General Plan commitments. Historic preservation has been cited as a civic goal for decades, and we hope this ordinance marks a meaningful step toward recognizing and safeguarding the historic and cultural resources that give San Mateo its character.
We were especially encouraged by the City Council’s suggestion to establish a new reviewing body composed of qualified professionals, rather than assigning historic review to an existing commission. Thoughtful expertise will be essential if preservation decisions are to be fair, consistent and credible.
As the ordinance moves forward, however, details will matter. Those details will ultimately determine whether preservation works as intended — or not at all.
For example, the ordinance references a Historic Resources Inventory. The city and state previously specified in 1988 that the 1989 Historic Building Survey constitutes San Mateo’s inventory. In the current draft, however, the inventory appears to be established by resolution.
This raises basic but important questions: Which resolutions? And which resources, exactly, are included?
As written, it is unclear whether properties identified in the 1989 survey — including those listed in or eligible for the National Register — are even part of the inventory. A 1995 resolution expanded recognition to all individually eligible buildings citywide. Will those eligible properties be included under the new ordinance?
We also note several state-recommended provisions are missing, the ordinance offers little guidance on what types of resources merit protection and the city’s review process remains undefined. These are not minor omissions. We have asked the city for clarification and look forward to a revised draft that provides greater clarity, consistency and public confidence.
Laurie Hietter
San Mateo
The letter writer wrote this on behalf of the San Mateo Heritage Alliance.
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(1) comment
Thank you, Laurie, for working tirelessly to help ensure San Mateo’s rich history is preserved. We need to ensure that our treasured resources, including Founding Era homes, are included in the inventory. The inventory was started 36 years ago in 1989. The results must be included. We need to make sure that the biggest city doesn’t have the weakest ordinance.
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