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Home My WebLink About2021-04-15; Historic Preservation Commission; ; Historic Culver/Myers/Capp HouseITEM #5 Meeting Date: April 15, 2021 To: Historic Preservation Commission From: Suzanne Smithson, Library & Cultural Arts Director Staff Contact: Suzanne Smithson, suzanne.smithson@carlsbadca.gov Sheila Crosby, sheila.crosby@carlsbadca.gov Subject: Historic Culver/Myers/Capp House District: 1 Recommended Action Review and approve draft letter from Historic Preservation Commission to City Council Executive Summary/Discussion Following public comment at the January 11, 2021 Historic Preservation Commission Meeting and an agenda item at the March 8, 2021 Historic Preservation Commission Meeting, Commissioners motioned and approved to draft a letter from the Commission to be presented to City Council regarding options to preserve the historic Culver/Myers/Capp home. The draft letter currently includes requests that Council approve the list of (13) structures to reinstate Carlsbad’s Historic Resource Inventory and adopt the Mills Act as a tool for historic preservation restoration, to maintain the historic site status of the Culver House. Next Steps Submit letter to Carlsbad City Council. 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 24 hours before the scheduled meeting date. Exhibits •Draft letter HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION Staff Report ITEM #5 210414 DRAFT Subject: Historic Culver/Myers/Capp House, 3140 Highland Drive, Carlsbad, California 92008 Dear Carlsbad City Council, The owners of the Culver (Myers/Capp) House have approached the Historic Preservation Commission and City Council regarding preservation of this local historic resource.i The following actions by Council could maintain its historic resource status and preserve this house. 1. Reaffirm the extant properties designated as landmarks, historic sites or points of interest between 1986 and 1990 as the city’s current historic resources inventory. 2. Adopt the Mills Act to incentivize preservation of local historically designated properties.ii 3. Implement goals and policies designed to protect local historic resources throughout the City.iii Being one of the earliest sites designated as a historic site by Carlsbad City Council, the exterior of the Culver House is a local historic resource and worthy of continued preservation protection. Public comments, asking the city to consider action regarding this property, were shared at the Historic Preservation Commission meeting on January 11, 2021 and the City Council meeting on January 12, 2021. Although technically never repealed, there is confusion regarding properties approved by Carlsbad’s City Council for historic preservation from 1986 through 1990. From 1986 through 1990, City Council approved nineteen (19) local properties meeting the requirements for historic preservation, of which the following thirteen (13) remain: 1. 1843- Rancho Aqua Hedionda Hacienda (Marron Adobe) 2. 1860 - Stagecoach Stop (Rancho las Encinitas – archaeological remains) * 3. 1863- Carrillo Ranch (Rancho de los Kiotes) >#^* 4. 1883 – Frazier’s Well (Alt Karlsbad) # 5. 1887 - Santa Fe Depot > 6. 1887 – Culver House 7. 1887- Magee (Smith-Shipley) House ^* 8. 1894 - St. Michaels Episcopal Church 9. 1904 - Ramsay House 10. 1914 - South Coast Land Company (Garcia’s) 11. 1921 - Gage House 12. 1929 - Gaus House 13. 1942 - Calavera Lake and Dam* Key > National Register of Historic Places designation (Federal) # California Office of Historic Preservation designation (State) ^ San Diego Archaeological Center recognition (County) * City of Carlsbad Open Space Management Zones (Local) Including the Culver House, there are seven (7) historically significant cultural resources, privately owned buildings without a clear path or incentive to protect these vulnerable properties. This list is consistent with the City’s current process for designating local historic resources, as outlined in Carlsbad Municipal Code Title 22, Section 22.06. Once a historic resource inventory is reestablished (with the consent of individual property owners), programs to encourage, promote and incentivize voluntary preservation are needed. Named in several of Carlsbad’s policy documents, adopting the Mills Act could encourage the rehabilitation of valuable vulnerable buildings qualified as historic resources. The Mills Act, named for San Diegan James Mills, a former State Senator, provides an important monetary incentive designed to encourage the preservation, maintenance, and restoration of designated historic properties. Buildings must meet qualifying criteria such as significant architecture, association with a historically significant event or person, or location in a historic district. Once designated as a historical resource, the owner can then enter into a voluntary contract with the City. If Council adopted the Mills Act, the current home owners of the Culver House could enter into a property tax reduction contract for a 10-year period. This could protect the home in the event of a sale for this time period, and possibly longer. The Carlsbad General Plan states that California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires cultural resources be considered when assessing the environmental impact of a proposed project, and that agencies should avoid or reduce the project’s significant impact(s) to these resources. When assessing the environmental impact of development, without a Council approved local historic resource list, possible historic resources could be overlooked and maybe demolished because the goals and policies defined to help protect and preserve these cultural resources could not be implemented. Based on the proposed zoning increases noted in the Draft Housing Element, Draft Local Coastal Program, and the Village and Barrio Master Plan, etc., vacant and underutilized residential sites throughout Carlsbad could continue to lose potentially significant local historic resources due to higher density development without a Council approved list of historic resources. Community support of historic preservation has been evidenced in the 2009 Envision Carlsbad papers, most recently in survey comments for the Housing Element requesting to ‘keep the historic character of the city...’. To protect vulnerable structures throughout Carlsbad, the Historic Preservation Commission recommends that Council reaffirm the extant properties designated as landmarks, historic sites or points of interest between 1986 and 1990 as the city’s current historic resources inventory then incentivize private owners to rehabilitate and preserve these significant properties by adopting the Mills Act. The result of these two actions by Council will provide the City the ability to implement several goals and policies aimed at preserving existing housing stock to avoid deterioration and maintain adequate housing opportunities. As mentioned, a Council approved Historic Resource Inventory is needed to adopt the Mills Act. Please consider approving the list of (13) structures to reinstate Carlsbad’s Historic Resource Inventory when it is brought to Council. Also consider adopting the Mills Act as a tool for historic preservation restoration to maintain the historic site status of the Culver House. Thank you for considering these actions. Carlsbad Historic Preservation Commission i Council Memo – Culver-Meyers-Cap House Located at 3140 Highland Drive, Jan. 28, 2021 ii Mills Act Historical Properties Information by the Assessor / Recorder / Clerk - County of San Diego iii Highlighted text in the following documents reference City goals and policies including: Carlsbad General Plan, Chapter 7.2 Historic and Cultural Resources found in the Envision Carlsbad Working Paper 4 – History, the Arts and Cultural Resources (p. 7-11); The Village and Barrio Master Plan goals and policies in Chapter 1.5, Section 1.5.1 Land Use and Community Character, E. items 1, 2 & 3: Recognize and support the historical roots of the Village and Barrio (p. 1-13); Draft Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan Chapter 5, Section 5.5, Paleontological and Cultural Resources: Policies LCP-5-P.19, 20 & 21 (p. 5-41).