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SR 02-12-2019 7A City Council Report City Council Meeting: February 12, 2019 Agenda Item: 7.A 1 of 1 To: Mayor and City Council From: Lane Dilg, City Attorney, City Attorney’s Office Subject: Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance Adding Section 9.56.320 to the Santa Monica Municipal Code Designating the 11th Street Historic District Recommended Action Staff recommends that City Council adopt the attached Ordinance. Executive Summary At its meeting of January 22, 2019, the City Council introduced for first reading an ordinance adding Section 9.56.320 to the Santa Monica Municipal Code designating the 11th Street Historic District. The ordinance is now presented to City Council for adoption. Prepared By: Elsa Kapsinow, Executive Assistant to the City Attorney Approved Forwarded to Council Attachments: A. Ord - PCD - 11th Street Historic District - 02.12.2019 - 2nd Rdg B. Written Comments 1 City Council Meeting: February 12, 2019 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER _________ (CCS) (City Council Series) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA ADDING SECTION 9.56.320 TO THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE DESIGNATING THE 11TH STREET HISTORIC DISTRICT WHEREAS, historic preservation is a defining community value for the City of Santa Monica (the “City”); and WHEREAS, the value reflects the community’s consensus that the City’s unique identity and character springs from its long and rich history; and WHEREAS, the community’s present and future welfare depend, in part, upon understanding the City’s history and evolution as a unique community; and WHEREAS, retention and preservation of historic resources also promotes the public health, safety and welfare by revitalizing neighborhoods and business districts, enhancing the City’s economy, improving local aesthetics, and enriching the City’s culture and aesthetic standing; and WHEREAS, the City’s Landmark Ordinance was first adopted in 1976 to: protect improvements and areas that represent elements of the City’s cultural, social, economic, political and architectural history; safeguard the City’s heritage as it is embodied and reflected in such improvements and areas; foster civic and community pride; protect and 2 enhance aesthetics and attractions; and promote the education, pleasure and welfare of City residents and visitors alike; and WHEREAS, the City’s ongoing commitment to historic preservation was reaffirmed in 2002 when the City Council adopted the Historic Preservation Element of the General Plan, and again in 2010 when the City adopted the Land Use and Circulation Element of the General Plan (“LUCE”); and WHEREAS, on June 7, 2018, Santa Monica Mid-City Neighbors, in coordination with the Friends of the 11th Street Coalition, filed an historic district application for the properties located along the east side of 11th Street between Wilshire Boulevard and Arizona Avenue (1221-1253 11th Street), and along the north side of Arizona Avenue between 11th Street and 11th Court Alley (1107-1115 Arizona Avenue); and WHEREAS, on July 30 and September 24, 2018, in accordance with Santa Monica Municipal Code section 9.56.130(B), City Staff conducted duly-noticed public meetings to discuss the potential Historic District designation, including, but not limited to, the designation process, the effect of designation on future property development, and the benefits of designation; and WHEREAS, on November 12 and December 10, 2018, in accordance with Santa Monica Municipal Code section 9.56.130(F), the City’s Landmarks Commission conducted duly-noticed public hearings on the Historic District application and voted unanimously of those present to forward a recommendation to the City Council to designate the area as the City’s fourth Historic District; and WHEREAS, in order to preserve the historic character and integrity of the District, and to promote consistency in the review process, until such time as an ordinance is 3 adopted that specifies the nature of any alteration, restoration, construction, removal, relocation, or demolition of or to a building or structure with in the District that can occur without prior approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness, the City desires to require that: any such work require a Certificate of Appropriateness or Certificate of Economic Hardship from the Landmarks Commission; any such work be exempt from Architectural Review Board review, provided that a Certificate of Appropriateness is obtained; and all fees for Certificates of Appropriateness be waived; and WHEREAS, on January 22, 2019, in accordance with Santa Monica Municipal Code section 9.56.130(I), the City Council received the recommendation of the Landmarks Commission and conducted a public hearing on the Historic District application. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 9.56.320 is hereby added to the Santa Monica Municipal Code to read as follows: 9.56.320 The 11th Street Historic District A. The City Council has reviewed and considered the Historic District application for the area (the “11th Street Historic Bungalow District” or “District”) and has reviewed and considered the recommendation on the Historic District application transmitted from the Landmarks Commission. B. The City Council finds and declares that: 1. The 11th Street Bungalow Historic District exemplifies, symbolizes, or manifests elements of the cultural, social, economic, political 4 or architectural history of the City. Although the Historic District is located in the original town of Santa Monica and the lots were recorded during the 19th century, this section of town was the eastern “frontier” and was not developed until the early 20th century. By 1891, the north and eastward push of the residential district was well underway. In 1898, the first high school, Lincoln, was built at Oregon (Santa Monica Boulevard) and 11th Street and this block has remained an educational facility ever since. In 1902, only one house had been built on the block; by 1909 sixteen wood frame cottages had been erected. Much of this early development and residential growth was directly linked to the expanding network of streetcar lines in the City and nearby Los Angeles, which enable suburban growth outside of the City’s central core. Three of these early homes, all hipped roof, turn-of-the century cottages survive: 1233, 1239, and 1259 (1107 Arizona), although 1233 was modified to its current American Colonial Revival appearance around 1923 and 1239 has lost integrity. In 1911/1912 respectively, the 1221-23 and 1229 residences were added. Both were developed in the Craftsman style. By 1918, the block was fully developed, with additional Craftsman bungalows filling in the empty lots, reflecting the popularity of this form of development during the first quarter of the twentieth century. The final contributing structure, 1115 Arizona Avenue, was built in 1925. Consequently, of the ten properties in the District, five have substantially intact improvements that date from the area’s period of significance (1905-1925) and fall into three property types/architectural 5 styles: hipped roof cottages from the turn of the century era, Craftsman bungalows from the teens, and the small, Spanish Colonial Revival style bungalow, located at 1115 Arizona Avenue. A combination of factors contributed to the area’s desirability, including the beach accessible living, temperate climate, the local entertainment industry, tourism, adjacency to good schools, thriving downtown, and accessibility to affordable and efficient transportation. Like much of the surrounding neighborhood, this block of 11th Street was built for the middle and working class with moderate incomes. Because of their relative economy, bungalows were the preferred housing type to respond to the growing need for affordable housing during the 1910s and 1920s. Many of the residents were active and contributed to the City and Southern California via education, construction, commerce, and movie technologies and they exemplified the proliferation of single-family dwellings in the Santa Monica Townsite. Following the real estate boom of the 1920s, many of the property owners built second units behind or adjacent to their main homes for extra income or extended family. Given this, the District reflects an important aspect of the City’s overall association with the middle and working class from the first quarter of the twentieth century. These five properties are significant for conveying patterns of residential development that shaped the Mid-City neighborhood of Santa Monica in the early decades of the twentieth century. Each of these properties contribute to the scale, continuity, and character of this district. As a whole, their integrity of location, design, workmanship, 6 material, setting, feeling, and association work together to visually and physically convey time, place, historical development and authenticity from its period of significance. The collective low-scale and working-class feeling of the District has been retained as a cohesive whole, even with the development of the non-contributing apartment buildings built in the 1950’s. This cluster of pre-1925 homes in the original Santa Monica tract is rare. As such, the District is an early and prime example of middle-class housing in the City and retains an important linkage to a significant architectural period that is rapidly disappearing in the City. Although there have been significant changes to the District since its period of significance identified as 1905- 1925, these changes do not unduly compromise the ability of the overall district to exemplify and manifest this City’s history by conveying an important development pattern. More specifically, the District does not contain so many alterations or new intrusions that it fails to convey the sense of a historic environment. For instance, the adjoining apartment buildings built in the 1950s extend the vernacular, working class nature of the neighborhood and maintain its low scale. As such, they do not diminish the integrity. The District, taken as a whole, is a microcosm of Santa Monica development. Additionally, while the residential property at 1239 11th Street is no longer a contributing structure due to significant modifications after the Northridge Earthquake, it still maintains adequate aspect of integrity based on location, setting, feeling, and association so as not to detrimentally compromise the overall integrity of the district. Many of the other extant 7 pockets of residential neighborhoods in the Santa Monica Tract also developed during this period of significance do not have subsequent infill that maintain this relationship. For all of these factors, this district exemplifies the neighborhood’s earliest development and the middle -class in Santa Monica during the first quarter of the twentieth century, and as such, it exemplifies and manifests elements of the cultural, social, economic, and architectural history of the City. 2. The 11th Street Bungalow Historic District is identified with historic personages or with important events in local, state or national history. Kenneth Strickfaden lived at 1223 12th Street from 1914 to 1920. He is largely known for his creation of the electronic special effects in the film Frankenstein (1931) as well as others, including The Wizard of Oz (1939). His development of techniques applied in these and other films can be seen in experiments conducted in his workshop behind his home, where he worked with electrical effects, wireless communications and Tesla coils. These experiments were part of a continuum of his opus as an artist, achieving international fame in adult life applying applications of electronics to filmic artistry. A picture of an early Strickfaden laboratory in his backyard workshop dating from 1915 can be found in the book on Kenneth Strickfaden written by Harry Goldman in 2005 entitled: Kenneth Strickfaden: Dr. Frankenstein’s Electrician. He was recognized for his expertise while a student in Santa Monica High School. A review in the Santa Monica Bay Outlook of June 9, 1916 praises his contribution to a 8 drama production: Kenneth Strickfaden of the high school student body has charge of the electrical features of the performance which are quite effective. In a story on June 13, 1918, the news paper calls attention to Strickfaden’s military service in the war, and highlights his electrical skills: The boy is a master electrician and well known here as “Edison No. 2,” receiving his name on account of his many clever electrical inventions, which made for him the wizard’s name. The story further describes him as a sensation at the Panama Pacific Exposition, a major international fair in 1915. He continued to participate in Santa Monica activities well into his career. A story in the March 22, 1935 Outlook records him scheduled to present a demonstration of electrical equipment “used in sound pictures” at a Boy Scout honors event. A long career in his field of specialty continued, highlighted by his heralded electronic special effects in films such as Frankenstein and The Wizard of Oz. He was honored in 1981 by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences at a special event dedicated to the then 85-year old’s contributions to film electronic artistry. During Strickfaden’s attendance at Santa Monica High School from 1914 -16, he was an active photographer, and he continued working in this genre after graduation. The Santa Monica Public Library owns 57 of these and other photographs associated with him in their Strickfaden Collection, as well as offering images of pages from the Santa Monica Evening Outlook with references to his activities into the 1930’s. He is also in the archives of the Santa Monica History Museum and the Homestead Museum in the City of 9 Industry. Waldo K. Cowan (Willie) built five houses on the east side of 11th Street between what is now Wilshire and Arizona: 1233, 1239, 1247, 1253 and 1259 11th Street (the latter now 1107 Ari zona Avenue) and one on Arizona, 1109. He also lived in 1259 11th Street with his family from 1906 - 14. Records show Cowan is known for complete careers in several fields: real estate building and improvements; automobile introduction, use, and industrial development; pear agriculture and improvement; and civic and community leadership and service. His name appears in numerous newspaper articles from the Santa Monica Evening Outlook and Los Angeles Times for his participation in each of these from the 1890’s to the 1920’s. He is identified for his early support of the automobile as a new phenomenon and a developing industry, plus its applications for fun and entertainment. He owned one of the first autos in Santa Monica and was an avid auto racer, favoring Ramblers, the second most popular brand after Ford. He is associated with early models of autos serving as firefighting equipment, making the first delivery of such a vehicle to the Long Beach Fire Department. And his name appears as an officer or leader in auto sales and service. Active in Santa Monica public affairs, he was a member of the 1899 Cycle Path Committee. He helped develop the first bicycle path in the city. A photo of the early days of this path is in the Santa Monica Public Library Strickfaden Collection. He headed the Santa Monica Board of Trade and was an organizer and participant in several auto races when the city was known as an attraction for these events. Cowan and his wife also 10 owned a pear ranch in Lancaster, CA and was mentioned in ne wspapers for its development of model fruit. 3. The 11th Street Bungalow Historic District is a significant or representative example of the work or product of a notable builder, designer or architect. Within the Historic District are two Craftsman-style bungalows that were constructed by local contractor Joseph J. Rowe; 1223 11th Street (1910) and 1229 11th Street (1908). Both of these bungalows reflect typical elements of the Craftsman idiom. Rowe is a notable builder who was a very active contractor having constructed many cottages and bungalows in the City during the 1900s and 1910s. Two other properties in the City constructed by Rowe have been previously identified through survey: 426 Palisades Avenue (1914), an American Foursquare, and 929 Lincoln Boulevard (1916), a Craftsman bungalow designated as a City Landmark (2008) that features the unusual use of clinker brick in its front porch walls and piers. The District, consisting of the properties located at 1223 11th Street and 1229 11th Street, is representative of the work of Joseph J. Rowe, a notable builder in Santa Monica. 4. The 11th Street Bungalow District reflects significant geographical patterns, including those associated with different eras of settlement and growth, particular transportation modes, or distinctive examples of park or community planning. The Historic District is one of the last remaining examples of a contiguous grouping of low-scale, working-class housing that spans the entire first half of the twentieth century. It represents the 11 easternmost boundary of the earliest phase of development of the Santa Monica tract in the twentieth century. The east side of the 1200 block of the 11th Street and the adjacent three parcels on the north side of Arizona comprise single-unit residences, multi-unit apartments and a residential condominium. Buildings in the area are predominantly one and two stories with the tallest, a later 1992 three story multi-family condominium. The corner structure’s change in address from 1259 11th Street to 1107 Arizona serves as a historic transition turning the corner within the period of significance. The District contains early single-unit residences set at the front of the parcels, several with additional residences in the rear with post WWII-era apartments infilling the adjacent lots. Architectural styles present along this portion include California Craftsman Bungalow, Hipped Roof Cottage, Spanish Colonial Revival, Minimal Traditional and Contemporary Vernacular. Although the period of significance is 1905 – 1925, the adjoining apartments extend the vernacular, working-class nature of the neighborhood into the 1950’s and maintain its rare low scale. They do not diminish the integrity of the District associated with its period of significance from 1905-1925. The District, taken as a whole, is a microcosm of Santa Monica development. As such, the Historic District “reflects significant geographic patterns, including those associated with settlement and growth.” C. The 11th Street Bungalow Historic District consists of the properties along the east side of 11th Street, between Wilshire Boulevard and Arizona Avenue 12 (1221-1253 11th Street), and the properties along the north side of Arizona Avenue between 11th Street and 11th Court Alley (1107-1115 Arizona Avenue). D. Structures that contribute to the character and integrity of the 11th Street Bungalow Historic District shall be defined as primary, street-facing bungalows constructed between 1905 and 1925 during the District’s Period of Significance and located at 1223 11th Street, 1229 11th Street, 1233 11th Street, 1107 Arizona Avenue and 1115 Arizona Avenue, including hipped roof cottages from the turn of the twentieth century era, Craftsman bungalows from the teens, and a Spanish Colonial Revival-style bungalow; noncontributing buildings, structures or sites shall be defined as buildings or structures constructed after 1925 that are not listed as contributors or of the bungalow type, and vacant lots. E. Pursuant to Sections 9.56.130 and 9.56.140 of this Code, until such time as an ordinance is adopted that specifies the nature of any alteration, restoration, construction, removal, relocation, or demolition of or to a bui lding or structure within the District that can occur without prior approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness, any such work must obtain approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness or Certificate of Economic Hardship by the Landmarks Commission. F. Until such time as an ordinance is adopted that specifies the nature of any alteration, restoration, construction, removal, relocation, or demolition to a building or structure within the District that can occur without prior approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness, all work to buildings, structures or sites located within the District is exempt from review by the Architectural Review Board, 13 provided that a Certificate of Appropriateness is obtained from the Landmarks Commission or the Landmarks Commission Secretary pursuant to authority granted by the Landmarks Commission in accordance with 9.56.130(L), and all Certificate of Appropriateness fees for any alteration, restoration, or construction, in whole or in part, to a building, structure or site located within the Historic District are waived. SECTION 2. In accordance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), this Ordinance is exempt from CEQA as it can be seen with certainty that the Ordinance does not have the potential to significantly impact the environment. This determination is made based on the record as a whole, which includes, but is not limited to, evidence that the designation of these properties as an Historic District pursuant to the City’s Landmarks Ordinance will promote the retention and preservation of historic resources. SECTION 3. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ordinance. SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not 14 declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 5. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective 30 days from its adoption. APPROVED AS TO FORM: _________________________ LANE DILG City Attorney 1 Thania Montoya From:The SEO Doctors <theseodoctors@gmail.com> Sent:Monday, February 11, 2019 8:35 PM To:Clerk Mailbox Subject:Council 2/12/19 - Item 7A Follow Up Flag:Follow up Flag Status:Flagged Adoption of 11th St. Historic District. Yes. Korie Schmidt (310)600-2278 TheSEODoctors@gmail.com Item 7-A 02/12/2019 1 of 1 Item 7-A 02/12/2019 REFERENCE: Ordinance No. 2602 (CCS)