REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
September 1, 2016
FROM: JENNIFER K. CLARK, AICP, Director
Development and Resource Management Department
THROUGH: DANIEL ZACK, AICP, Assistant Director
Development and Resource Management Department
BY: KARANA HATTERSLEY-DRAYTON, M.A., Historic Preservation Project Manager
Development and Resource Management Department
SUBJECT
Title
CONTINUED HEARING to consider adoption of a resolution related to the designation of a property to the Local Register of Historic Resources
1. ***RESOLUTION- Designating the Albert C. Wilke Home located at 532 E. Terrace Avenue, Fresno, California to the Local Register of Historic Resources (Council District 1)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
The Historic Preservation Commission recommends that the City Council adopt the attached Resolution designating the Albert C. Wilke Home located at 523 E. Terrace Avenue to the Local Register of Historic Resources pursuant to Fresno Municipal Code 12-1607 and 12-1609.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The owners of the Albert C. Wilke Home have requested in writing that their home be considered for listing on Fresno’s Local Register of Historic Resources. The property was evaluated with respect to the historic resource criteria of the City of Fresno’s Historic Preservation Ordinance, Article 16 of Chapter 12 of the Fresno Municipal Code, and was publicly noticed in the Fresno Bee as required by the Ordinance. The Historic Preservation Commission held a noticed public hearing on July 25, 2016, and concluded that the property was eligible for listing on the Local Register under Criteria i and iii. The Commission hereby forwards the nomination to the City Council for consideration.
BACKGROUND
The Albert C. Wilke Home is a full two-story Prairie style residence which was constructed in the St. Francis Wood Tract in 1923. The home stood vacant until 1926 when it was rented to Albert C. and Isabell Wilke who lived there until 1931. A.C. Wilke was a Department Manager for Radin and Kamp Department Store. The home is located on one of the most architecturally impressive blocks in the City within the proposed Terrace Gardens Historic District, as identified in the 1991 Tower District Specific Plan. A character defining feature of the home is the original wood windows that have articulated multi-light upper sashes. The home has high integrity to its period of significance and appears individually eligible under Criterion i (as a contributor to the proposed historic district) and under Criterion iii as an excellent example of a property type, the Prairie Box, which was constructed in Fresno in the early 20th century.
Local Register Criteria and Protocols:
The City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance is found at Article 16 of Chapter 12 of the Fresno Municipal Code. Section 1607 outlines the criteria for designation of a resource to the Local Register of Historic Resources. A “historic resource” is “any building, structure, object or site” which is generally more than fifty years of age and “possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association, and:
(i) Is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or
(ii) Is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or
(iii) Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction, or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values; or
(iv) Has yielded or may be likely to yield, information in prehistory or history.
The City’s criteria for assessing significance are patterned after the National Register of Historic Places (1966 as amended) which uses letters A-D for significance. Fresno’s Local Register is also similar, although not equivalent, to the California Register of Historical Resources which uses a numbering system of 1-4 for criteria. Although the concept of “integrity” is not specifically defined in the City’s Ordinance, it is implicitly understood to follow the National Register which defines “integrity” as “the ability of a property to convey its significance.” “To retain integrity a property will always possess several and usually most, of the aspects.” (“How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation” 1988:44).
The process for designating a historic resource is outlined in FMC 12-1609. In brief, a request to designate a resource to the Local Register may be made by the Council, the Commission, the Secretary to the Commission, the property owner, or an authorized representative of the owner (12-1609(a)). Applications for listing use the state protocol for survey forms with both a DPR 523A (Primary) as well as a DPR 523B (Building, Structure, Object Form) (12-1609(a)(1-9)). A notice must be published in a local newspaper at least ten days prior to the hearing and sent to the property owner as well. Commissioners must also physically visit the property prior to the Commission hearing (12-1609(c)(1)).
Benefits of listing a property on Fresno’s Local Register of Historic Resources include use of the State Historical Building Code, some flexibility under the City’s zoning codes, raised property values and (for commercial properties) eligibility for federal tax credits.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
The designation of historic properties is not a “project” for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as it will not result in a direct or indirect change in the environment.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not considered because this agenda item does not include a bid or award of a construction services contract.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no additional impact beyond the expenditure of staff time.
Attachments:
Designation Criteria for the Local Register of Historic Resources (FMC 12-1607).
State of California Primary and BSO Forms for the Albert C. Wilke Home, 523 E. Terrace Avenue, Fresno.
A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Fresno, California, Designating the Albert C. Wilke Home, 523 E. Terrace Avenue, Fresno, to the Local Register of Historic Resources.