|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Nearly two decades after the city of Mountain View adopted its Historic Preservation Ordinance, city officials are looking to revise the strategy for protecting buildings of historical significance, including a fresh look at the list of properties worth preserving.
The 2004 ordinance provides a legal framework for designating a property as a historic resource, spelling out the criteria for adding and removing properties on the register as well as allowed modifications to buildings. It also provides incentives for restoring and maintaining these old properties.
The impetus to revisit the ordinance stems from a concern to keep the city’s historic resources up to date, said Eric Anderson, advanced planning manager for the city. The last citywide survey of historically significant buildings was conducted in 2008. Buildings older than 50 years might now be eligible, he said.
Planning staff are also taking a close look at the rules because of new state policies and possible interventions, as an updated register could deter the state from superseding local zoning rules.
“The council is concerned that if we don’t have our historic ducks in a row, that if we don’t have clear historic policies and a clear historic register, that some of those state actions may come in and affect our physical heritage,” Anderson said. “We need to make sure that we have our register up to date in order to maintain discretion over those projects.”
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) also requires the city to identify projects that affect historic resources. Projects that propose the demolition, relocation or alteration of a building, particularly to its exterior, might be subject to a CEQA review. Part of the proposed revisions to the Historic Preservation Ordinance would help clarify and tie together some of the requirements already mandated by CEQA, Anderson said.
Out of 94 historic properties identified by the city, 47 are on the local register, according to a 2021 council report. The vast majority of the registered properties, 44, are privately owned, while three are city-owned. Building restrictions and concerns about a property’s resale value have kept some owners from listing their property on the register. The city and state have both offered tax incentives to mitigate these issues, and the City Council is considering other kinds of permitting and variances for historic buildings, Anderson said.
For Mountain View residents Jonathan Davis and Lubab Sheet-Davis, the designation of their house as a historic resource has been a source of joy despite some of the restoration work needed to comply with ordinance standards. Built around 1910 by Herbert Childs, president of the Pacific Press, the house has deep connections to the city’s early history.
Initially, Davis and Sheet-Davis were daunted by the prospect of purchasing the property when it came on the market in 2015, but tax incentives drew them in. Under contract with the Mills Act, they receive some tax relief in exchange for maintaining the property’s historical character, a situation that likely deterred developers who were interested in the lot size, which is one-third of an acre. “Had it not been for the historic preservation measures, this place probably would have been subdivided, redeveloped or other things,” Davis said.
In addition to updating the local register, the City Council also is planning to nominate properties along Castro Street to the National Register of Historic Resources. The commercial properties are: 124 Castro St. (Afuri Ramen and Dumpling), 171 Castro St. (for lease), 191 Castro Street (Eureka!), 194-196 Castro St. (Agave Mexican Bistro, also known as the Jurian building), 201 Castro St. (Red Rock Coffee), 275 Castro St. (Beyond Threads), 292 Castro St. (Icicles) and 301 Castro St. (for lease).
The council originally wanted to designate downtown Mountain View as a historic district, but not enough buildings met the criteria of historical significance. Instead, the city is looking at eight commercial buildings on Castro Street, which can only be added to the register with the owner’s consent.
“Their rationale for doing this is really just to further ensure that these buildings are protected, especially (when there is) the potential for the state to supersede local requirements,” Anderson said. “It also just kind of further reinforces the historic importance of downtown Mountain View, which is something that council has been really interested in promoting and establishing,” he added.
The plan is to complete the ordinance and local register update by June 2024, according to a 2022 council report, although Anderson said there have been some delays in the project’s implementation, with survey work and study sessions likely occurring in the fall of 2023.
'Not just a grocery store': Moffett commissary in Mountain View gets temporary reprieveFebruary 19, 2026 1:48 pm
