2024-10-29 Historic Landmarks Commission Retreat: Sustainability, Preservation, and Design Review
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2024-10-29 Historic Landmarks Commission Retreat
The Historic Landmarks Commission held its annual retreat on October 29, 2024, from approximately 1:00 PM to 4:07 PM. The retreat focused on sustainability and preservation, affordable housing and historic preservation, a historic context study of San Jose's residential expansion before World War II, and an overview of design review processes for conservation areas. Attendance included Chair Bain, Commissioner Arnold, and staff, with Commissioners Gallandari and Camuso absent.
Sustainability and Preservation
- Presenter: Becky Urbano (ESA) presented on the nexus between sustainability and historic preservation.
- Key Points: Globally, new construction generates 37% of all human-generated carbon emissions (27% operational, 10% embodied). Reusing existing buildings avoids an immediate carbon hit; it can take 10–80 years for a new energy-efficient building to offset its construction emissions. The Secretary of the Interior Standards provide a framework for adaptive reuse that supports both environmental and community sustainability.
- Discussion: Commissioner Arnold noted the importance of reuse over preservation or demolition alone. Questions addressed tree selection, LEED certification for existing buildings, and insulation performance of brick buildings.
Affordable Housing and Preservation
- The commission viewed a pre-recorded webinar from the National Trust for Historic Preservation (February 2024), featuring:
- Sarah Bronin (Chair, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation) – Discussed the ACHP’s 2023 policy statement on housing and historic preservation, which includes 13 principles such as expanding historic tax credits, promoting density without demolition (ADUs, infill, form-based codes), and updating Section 106 review for housing projects.
- Jason Jordan (American Planning Association) – Covered state and local zoning reforms, noting that 12 states have taken major actions in the last three years. He emphasized that preservation can be part of a pro-supply coalition, focusing on shared outcomes and early planning.
- Allison Tunintalamo (Klein and Hoffman) – Presented case studies of adaptive reuse for housing: Rosenwald Courts (Chicago, former housing preserved for senior/family housing), Lawson House (Chicago, affordable housing conversion with exterior restoration), and office conversion potentials.
- Discussion: Staff and commissioners noted that the policy statement encourages creative approaches to density, such as removing minimum parking requirements and using overlay zones.
San Jose Urban Residential Expansion Before World War II
- Presenter: Franklin Maggi (Archives and Architecture) presented a focused historic context statement, developed from the Shirley Subdivision and Alameda Park Historic District work.
- Key Points: The original 1850 city limits remained intact until 1911 annexations. Early subdivisions (e.g., Hensley, Naglee Park) and the role of marketing (e.g., 1880s “Garden City” campaigns). Residential segregation was enforced by private practices and later federal lending policies (HOLC maps). Maps showed growth from 1849 through 1940, illustrating the evolution of infrastructure and zoning (first zoning code in 1929).
- Discussion: Commissioners expressed appreciation for the maps and context, with questions about the HOLC map's impact on Italian neighborhoods and the location of early Japanese communities.
Design Review in Conservation Areas
- Presentation by Dana Peak Edwards (Planning Department) and staff.
- Key Points: Staff reviews permit adjustments for properties in conservation areas using the “Old House Guidelines” (adopted 2003). Principles: preserve original fabric, place additions at rear or set back, compatible scale and materials. Multiple case studies showed iterative design improvements through staff comments, from window replacements and porch modifications to second-story additions and infill homes.
- Discussion: Commissioners raised concerns about oversized windows, massing, and the difficulty of balancing owner desires with historic context. Staff noted that most applications are approved quickly; only a few require multiple revisions. The importance of retaining character-defining features was emphasized.
Key Outcomes
- The commission received training and information on sustainability, affordable housing, local history, and design review practices.
- Presentations and materials will be posted online; the retreat recording will be distributed.
- No formal votes or decisions were taken; the retreat was informational and educational.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, well I'll go ahead and start. Welcome to the Historic Landmarks Commission retreat. Following the roll call, we will not have our procedure because this is not a typical meeting. So we will launch right into our training. But I will do roll call just for the record. So Commissioner Gallandari, not here. Commissioner Camuso. Not present. Commissioner Arnold. Present. Not present. Chair Bain is present. So there is uh two of us here. And uh we'll see if anyone joins us a little late later. But this is a very exciting agenda, and there's a lot on the uh agenda. So I will turn it over to our illustrious Dana Peak Edwards for welcome and introductions. Great. So there we go. Okay, great. Sorry about the earring. Uh uh well, welcome everyone, and thank you for coming. Um this is the one time of year that we get to sort of relax and learn. And uh we don't usually have time for that during the year at our regular meetings. So I'm excited to present some items, some educational um items for us today. I'm not gonna talk anymore. Um, I'm just going to go ahead and introduce um our director um of planning building and code enforcement, Chris Burton. And he would just like to welcome you too. Chris. You're off mute, but you're not, there's no sound coming through. All right, let's try now. Can you hear me now? Yep. Excellent. All right, my my camera's not working for some reason. That's okay. It says I can't come off video because you've stopped me coming off video, apparently. Um, so chair and commissioner, great to see you both. Uh, I apologize for having camera issues. Um great to sort of have the opportunity just to say uh good afternoon, and just you know, welcome you to uh the annual retreats. Um it's always interesting to sort of get the feedback from the retreats. There's such a uh unique opportunity for reflection and collaboration and to kind of set out that vision. I think we're in just you know, again, I think I say this every time, but I'm gonna say it again. We're in this sort of interesting moment. Um we continue to sort of see pressure around uh how we consider historic resources in the city. I think there's you know some things that have you know changed over the last year, certainly uh the conversation around um you know Levitt has kind of shifted some things, I think. Uh just some of the ongoing work that we've been doing and creating new landmarks, some of the urban village work that we've been doing as well, is kind of continuing to evolve the conversation. Um, as a department as PBCE, you know, we continue to believe that um that the landmarks and the historic districts and the potential sort of contributors to uh historic fabric throughout the city continue to sort of help us tell that story of San Jose and connect us to our past. Um, and that in its sort of existence helps us shape the future and and inform that kind of work that we do. So it continues to be a priority, as with everything within our department. It continues to face the pressures of uh municipal financing and the resources available in government.
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