New plan for Villa house New plan for Villa house (December 09, 2005)

Proposed development could test preservation ordinance

By Jon Wiener

The little house that started the historic preservation fight four years ago is back in the spotlight again.

The city council will hold a public hearing Tuesday night on a proposed five-unit residential development at 902 Villa St. The owner is offering to save the small 117-year-old house located there in exchange for leniency on parking requirements and rear setbacks for the new development.

Architects had nine different meetings with the city's development review committee before they finalized their plan for the house, now home to children's boutique House of Forgotten Treasures. Their proposal to save the building will present the first major test case for the city's voluntary historic preservation ordinance: Will it save the house from demolition, or prove right those who said the ordinance was not strong enough?

"I was hoping that this would be an illustration that a voluntary ordinance could actually be effective," said Vice Mayor Nick Galiotto, who also serves as president of the Mountain View Historical Association. "I'm very interested in the final result being the preservation of the original home."

Four years ago, owner Tan Sung Lu of San Jose bought the property and announced plans to demolish it and build a noodle house. But an outcry from neighbors led the city council to enact a controversial ordinance that prohibited any major construction work there and on 93 other aging buildings throughout the city.

"It was really the one that garnered all the attention," said zoning director Al Savay.

After the ordinance expired in April 2004, preservationists held their breath, expecting a slew of demolitions. They didn't happen, but when the city finally did enact a voluntary preservation ordinance last fall, most of the property owners on the city's register opted out of the program, which includes tax breaks -- $5,000 a year in the case of 902 Villa -- and limited exemptions from construction standards. Those that stayed on have yet to try to take advantage of that latter provision.

Lu is just the second property owner to apply for a historic preservation permit and the exemptions that come with it. The family of Douglas Byer, which owns property at 340 Palo Alto, received a historic preservation permit for that property, but were blocked from removing a redwood tree they said presented an impassable obstacle for Byer's wheelchair.

The proposal for 902 Villa calls for six parking spaces rather than the required 12, and shows the building coming to within five feet of the back property line rather than the mandated distance of 15 feet.

"We should definitely be able to offer some incentives that would encourage the property owner to engage in the preservation of a historic resource like that," said Galiotto.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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