HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-03-08; Historic Preservation Commission; ; Historic Culver/Myers/Capp House, 3140 Highland DriveITEM #7
Meeting Date: March 8, 2021
To: Historic Preservation Commission
From: Suzanne Smithson, Library & Cultural Arts Director
Staff Contact: Suzanne Smithson, suzanne.smithson@carlsbadca.gov
Subject: Historic Culver/Myers/Capp House, 3140 Highland Drive
District: 1
Recommended Action
Discussion item.
Executive Summary/Discussion
A very unique historic property in Carlsbad, one of the earliest historic sites designated as such by
Council resolution in 1986, may soon be sold as the property owner has passed away. Descendants of
the deceased have presented public comment at both the Historic Preservation Commission meeting
(Jan 11, 2021) and at City Council (Jan 12, 2021) requesting the site be preserved by the city purchasing
the property. A memo was presented to the city council members on Jan. 28, 2021 clarifying the need to
have council direction for this potential purchase as such action is not included in existing plans.
Commissioners have requested that this item be brought for discussion.
Next Steps
TBD
Fiscal Analysis
None
Public Notification
Public notice of this item was posted in keeping with the Ralph M. Brown Act and was available for
public viewing and review at least 72 hours before the scheduled meeting date.
Exhibits
• Memo to City Council regarding 3140 Highland Drive, Jan 28, 2021
• Public comment received at Jan. 11, 2021 Historic Preservation Meeting
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
To the memb ers of th~:
CITY COUN CIL
Date '/a.v./~ CA _L CC ✓
CM ✓ ACM ~ DCM (~) ✓
Jan . 28, 2021
Cou ncil Me moran dum
To: Hon orable M ayor Ha ll and Members of t he City Counci l
From: Gary Barberio, Dep uty City Manager, Communit y Services
Curtis M. Jackson, Real Estate Manager
Via: Geoff Patnoe, Assistant City Manager @
Re: Cu lver-Myers-Capp House Located at 3140 Highland Drive
ITEM #7
{city of
Carlsbad
M emo ID #2021022
This memora ndum provid es information on t he Culver-Myers-Capp House located at
3140 Highland Drive.
Background
On Jan . 8, 2021, via em ail (attached}, and again on Jan. 12, 2021, du ring the public comm ent
portion of the City Council Meeting, Rebecca Holbert and Paul Abodeely asked the City Council
if the city would be interested in purchasing their family home located at 3140 Highland Drive
(Culver House). As discussed below, city acquisition of the Culver House is not in any current
City Council approved plan.
Discussion
Historic Site Designation
On Dec. 22, 1986, the City Council approved Agenda Bill No. 8839, which designated historic
sites located within the city as points of historical interest. Included in the designations was the
privately-owned Culver House, which the City Council determined met the requirements for
Historical Site Designation (Resolution No. 8924). Despite being included thereafter on the 1990
Historical Resources Inventory, the Historical Site Designation of the house did not include a
plan or funding source for the city to acquire the property.
Proposition H
Proposition H, approved in 1982, and codified as Chapter 1.24 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code,
states, in part, that u[t]he city shall make no real property acquisition and/or no improvements
to real property the cost of which exceeds one million dollars in city funds, unless the proposed
acquisition and/or improvement project and the cost in city funds is first placed upon the ballot
and approved by a majority of the voters voting thereon at an election." If the City Council
directs staff to pu rsue acquisit ion, staff will review whether a public vote by the electorate is
required.
Community Services Branch
Real Estate Department
3096 Harding Street I Carlsbad, CA 92008 I 760-434-2836 t Page 21 of 26
Co un cil Memo -Culver-Myers-Capp House Located at 3140 Highl and Drive
Jan.28,2021
Page 2
Growth Management Program (GivlP), Parks & Recreation Master Plan and Strategic Action
Plan
There is currently a GMP parkland surplus of 14.2 acres in the northwest quadrant of the city
and a deficit in park land in the northwest quadrant at build out is not projected. Thus, the
Culver House is not needed by t he cit y to address the GMP Parks Performance Standard.
Further, t he acquisit ion, refu rbishment, and on-going maintenance of t he Culver House is not
cu rrently included in the City Council approved Parks & Recreation Department Master Plan I
and Strat egic Action Plan.
Real Estate Strategic Plan
On Oct. 17, 2017, the City Council approved the Real Estate Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan). The
purpose of the Strategic Plan was to take a more strategic approach to how the city's major real
estate assets are managed, both to maximize t he return on the investment of public dollars and
to leverage properties for the greatest public benefit, including addressing future city facility
needs. The Strategic Plan included recommendations for 21 city-owned real estate asset s, of
which the Culver House was not included. Therefore, the acquisit ion of the Culver House is not
currently 'included in the City Council approved Real Estate Strategic Plan .
Next steps
There are currently no city plans associated with the acquisition of the Culver House. If the City
Council would like staff to pursue the acquisition of the Culver House, the City Council would
need to provide such direction to city staff at a future City Council Meeting.
Attachment: Jan. 8, 2021 Email
cc: Scott Chadwick, City Manager
Celia Brewer, City Attorney
l<yle Lancaster, Parks & Recreation Director
Suzanne Smithson, Library & Cultural Arts Director
Page 22 of 26
Attachment A
From: paul <paulabo@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, January 8, 20211:54:29 PM
To: rebecca holbert <rebecca.holbert@gmail.com>; Matthew Hall <Matt.Hall@carlsbadca.gov>; Council Internet Email
<CityCouncil@ca rlsbadca.gov>.; Scott Chadwick <Scott.Chadwick@carlsbadca.gov>
Subject: Historic Culver House
To the Mayor, City Council, Historic Preservation Commission, and the City Manager of Carlsbad;
We are writing to you regarding the historic Culver house of 1887 located at 3140 Highland Drive. Our great uncle, Gerald
Capp, purchased the house in 1969. Uncle Jerry, as he was known, recently passed away. He loved this house. He put
twenty years of active work and love into it, including installing an electrical system, plumbing for indoor bathrooms to
replace the outhouse, and doing the stained glass window work himself. The historic house sits on over an acre of land on
the corner of Highland Drive and Oak Street that has Torrey pines, fruit trees and cacti that he planted. It's a sanctuary for
many animals and birds. Mr. Capp bequeathed the house and property to eight members of the family and the reality is
that the house will likely need to be sold and the proceeds divided. His grand niece, Rebecca, grew up in this house. She
knows how much it meant to him. We do not want this house to be torn down and the land developed. We are writing in
the hopes that the city of Carlsbad might be able to purchase the house and land in order to preserve it as a historic
landmark and park for the enjoyment of the people of Carlsbad. Uncle Jerry would have loved nothing morel
The history of this home, as outlined in this article, is a bit of a legend. The home was built by Alonzo Jackson Culver who
also built the Twin Inns. Leftover lumber from the Twin Inns was used to build this sister home. The legend goes that
Culver smuggled Chinese immigrants who had worked on the railroads until he was caught in 1900 and sent to McNeil
Island Penitentiary. Reportedly there are tunnels that run between the barn and the house. Although these tunnels have
yet to be discovered there is evidence of these people in the Mandarin inscriptions etched into the walls of the cellar. This
writing has yet to be translated. The home was then passed to the Myers family where local artist Gertrude Meyers spent
her whole life. We've found pieces of her art and sketchings throughout the house. She died the same day the home went
into escrow. You can see the location of the house on page 17 of the Carlsbad city Working Paper on History, the Arts,
and Cultural Resources. The Carlsbad Historical Society's 30th Anniversary presentation on historic Carlsbad architecture
also describes the Victorian Queen Anne style of the home on page 2. Attached to this email are some pictures of the
interior of the home today, the house following the Capp renovation years, the current exterior, and the house as it was
.when purchased by Mr. Capp.
This home is a monumentto the past. Uncle Jerry, an engineer, was E!mazed at the woodwork, all done without the use of
electric tools. Many have given to this place and it's our hope that it lives on with the people of Carlsbad as a place of
respite and wonder. A place to reflect on where we come from, where we are now, and where we want to go in the future.
We would love to be able to speak at the January 11th meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Holbert and Paul Abodeely
!CAUTION: Do not open attachments or click on links unless you recognize the sender and know the content is saf~
Page 23 of 26
Page 24 of 26
We are writing to you regarding the historic Culver house of 1887 located at 3140 Highland Drive. Our
great uncle, Gerald Capp, purchased the house in 1969. Uncle Jerry, as he was known, recently passed
away. He loved this house. He put twenty years of active work and love into it, including installing an
electrical system, plumbing for indoor bathrooms to replace the outhouse, and doing the stained glass
window work himself. The historic house sits on over an acre of land on the corner of Highland Drive
and Oak Street that has Torrey pines, fruit trees and cacti that he planted. It’s a sanctuary for many
animals and birds. Mr. Capp bequeathed the house and property to eight members of the family and the
reality is that the house will likely need to be sold and the proceeds divided. His grand niece, Rebecca,
grew up in this house. She knows how much it meant to him. We do not want this house to be torn
down and the land developed. We are writing in the hopes that the city of Carlsbad might be able to
purchase the house and land in order to preserve it as a historic landmark and park for the enjoyment of
the people of Carlsbad. Uncle Jerry would have loved nothing more!
The history of this home, as outlined in this article, is a bit of a legend. The home was built by Alonzo
Jackson Culver who also built the Twin Inns. Leftover lumber from the Twin Inns was used to build this
sister home. The legend goes that Culver smuggled Chinese immigrants who had worked on the
railroads until he was caught in 1900 and sent to McNeil Island Penitentiary. Reportedly there are
tunnels that run between the barn and the house. Although these tunnels have yet to be discovered
there is evidence of these people in the Mandarin inscriptions etched into the walls of the cellar. This
writing has yet to be translated. The home was then passed to the Myers family where local artist
Gertrude Meyers spent her whole life. We’ve found pieces of her art and sketchings throughout the
house. She died the same day the home went into escrow.
This home is a monument to the past. Uncle Jerry, an engineer, was amazed at the woodwork, all done
without the use of electric tools. Many have given to this place and it’s our hope that it lives on with the
people of Carlsbad as a place of respite and wonder. A place to reflect on where we come from, where
we are now, and where we want to go in the future.
Thank you for your time,
Rebecca Holbert and Paul Abodeely
ITEM #7