HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/27/2020 Item 2, Montgomery
From:Montgomery, Victor (Vic) <
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:CHC Meeting 7/27/2020 - Agenda Item #2
Members of the CHC,
The applicant team has reviewed the staff report and offers the following written comments.
1. The applicant has appeared at the CHC in 2016, 2017 and 2018. We have worked diligently alongside our team
Historic Architect, Robert Chattel (Robert) to identify the significant historic resources and to propose a plan to
treat them in a manner consistent with City, State and SOI policies and standards. We have listened to the CHC
comments and worked to incorporate them into the project planning.
2. Native American Cultural Resources - the proposed site plan has been modified to avoid them. This was done by
eliminating proposed development above 150ft elevation in the “upper terrace “ area.
3. Historic buildings and structures - working with Robert we have developed a plan to preserve the significant
resources that can feasibly be retained by being relocated and rehabilitated, or reconstructed. There are 3 of
these structures; the residence, the round nosed barn and the granary. A fourth structure the Creamery was
dilapidated at the time of project application and partially collapsed after heavy rains in 2019. Because of the
significance of this building as a component of the ranch history and its prominent profile on the landform
Robert has recommended that the project plan reimagine this building to retain its presence as part of the
historic grouping. This reimagined building will be constructed to maintain the exterior form of the existing
structure which was partially documented prior to its collapse. Exterior material for the reimagined building will
be similar to the historic materials where practicable. The retained and reimagined buildings and structures will
be adaptively re-used to serve City Park Department functions. In the trailhead park plan the historic grouping is
placed in the same proximate horizontal and vertical relationships as the existing. The cardinal orientation is
somewhat different from existing in order to accommodate the new proposed location in the quarry area and
the Parks Department functional needs.
4. Contributing structures - three existing structures that are either incapable of being relocated or have lost
historic integrity due to prior renovations will be documented per Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS)
Level II standards and then removed.
5. Park location – in prior presentations to the CHC the applicant team has questioned the location of the park and
historic buildings and structures in the quarry area. We expressed several concerns. Two majors concerns were;
A. The relative isolation of historic grouping in comparison to a location closer to the entrance to the specific
plan area where they would be more visible, accessible to the public and celebrate their history in our
community
B. The relatively isolated location and safety concerns including potential use of the park, buildings and
structures by homeless persons due to a lack of “eyes on the park”.
The proposed plan in Alternative #1 of the FEIR presents a compromise to address Item B above by placing a small
amount of housing adjacent to the park. This small area of housing is above the current 150ft elevation however, the
environmental impacts are less than significant as the area is part of an existing active quarry site where the elevations
of the land form have varied significantly over time as part of quarry operations.
In summary, working with direction from the CHC, collaboration with an experienced Historic Architect and recognizing
the comments from the Draft EIR the environmentally superior Actionable Alternative was crafted (Final EIR Alternative
1). We urge you to find the proposed project we discussed here today to be consistent with the General Plan and
Municipal Code. Thank you for your collaboration in this process.
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Thank you.
VICTOR MONTGOMERY, AIA
Principal
P: (805) 543-1794
rrmdesign.com
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