Return to the CTRA Home PageWe did it! In just two months since the Big Blue House was demolished, the residents of Palo Alto (and particularly College Terrace) have convinced the City Council that it is time to halt this destruction.
On October 28, by a 9 -0 vote, our council adopted an Interim Ordinance which will be used to control demolitions of pre-1940 homes as well as guidelines governing replacement structures where demolitions are permitted. These rules are far stricter than the old Historic Preservation Ordinance and should serve admirably to protect neighborhood character for the next year while the permanent ordinance is rewritten.
This approach to controlling replacement structure compatibility is unusual. Instead of typical design review where a board looks at each design and votes on whether it is OK, these guidelines will be administered by city staff: if the design meets the specified criteria, the permit is issued. Period. Having read the guidelines in some detail, I am impressed with the thought which went into them and I believe that this approach has a good chance of working. If it does, the same model could be extended to cover all new construction!
This brings me to the topic of what remains to be done. Builder William Hurt told the Palo Alto Weekly that developers would now avoid the older neighborhoods altogether. But that "Everybody's now looking over in Midtown." Many of us have talked about our desire to protect all of Palo Alto from inappropriate construction. I think we need to continue to pursue that vision. Many local communities have some form of design review for all residential construction. It's time for Palo Alto to do so as well.
Some concern also remains for our own neighborhood as well. Many homes in College Terrace won't be protected by the interim rules. I believe we need to investigate Historic District designation for the entire Terrace to ensure that all new construction adds to our community instead of destroying it
Wednesday, November 13, 7 - 9:30, Addison School Auditorium
The College Terrace Residents' Association is joining with the University South Neighborhood Group in sponsoring an evening devoted to the new design compatibility guidelines. There will be brief presentations as well as a panel discussion by Virginia Warhite, the City Planner who developed the guidelines, Dennis Backlund of the Historic Resources Board, and Steve Pierce, one of Palo Alto's responsible developer/realtors. This is your chance to find out what these new guidelines mean!
There will also be time for discussion of how neighborhoods feel about these rules. What's important to us as a neighborhood? Since CTRA has already spent a lot of time thinking about these issues, this should be a good chance to reflect on the results.
Canopy is a volunteer organization working with the city to increase the number of street trees in Palo Alto. And the planting starts in College Terrace!
The first planting date is this Saturday, November 9, 9 - 12. A second planting date and celebratory Holiday potluck are scheduled for Saturday, December 14.
Volunteers are still needed for this wonderful effort. Call Susan Wilson (857-9392) or Susan Rosenberg (424-1448) for more information.
Once again this year P alo A lto ST anford Heritage (PAST) is sponsoring a Holiday House Tour in Professorville . Tickets are $10 if you order by the 25th (checks payable to PAST Heritage, P.O. Box 308, Palo Alto, CA 94302) or $20 at 331 Lincoln on the day of the tour. It's always great fun!
It's a corporation owned and run by a neighborhood or community which does local development! This is the proverbial chance to put our money (and effort) where our mouths are, to beat the developers at their own game and restore/remodel/replace buildings in College Terrace the way we want to see it done.
There are lots of exciting possibilities. It might be possible to work with the Palo Alto Housing Corporation to develop some low- to mid-income housing in our area, maybe even using some sweat equity to save on construction costs. We could consider trying to attract a small co-housing group: some of the tiny multiple house sets could work well for that. We have lots of local fund raising, design and construction talent. Let's put this genius to work to make the Terrace a better place to live.
Interested? We're having a meeting to discuss this on Monday, November 18, 7:30, at 2130 Yale Street. Please let me know if you're coming (493-2153 or priag@ctra.org) so I'll know how many to expect.
Now that the interim ordinance is law, the city staff will begin working to rewrite of the permanent Historic Resource Ordinance. It has been suggested that they form a committee to provide input to the process - and obviously College Terrace should be represented. Other members will probably include developers, architects/designers and realtors. Unless there's another volunteer (???), I would be happy to represent CTRA in this process and plan to write a letter to the City Council offering to do so. If you'd be willing to support me in this, I'd like to have a number of signatures on the letter when it goes to the council. I'll have it ready for signing this weekend and I'll leave it on my porch (2130 Yale Street) if I'm not around (if I am around, you can tour my new kitchen!)
I'd like to make this newsletter a monthly occurrence but I'll need your help to do so! Send me things you'd like to see included and I'll do my best to publish them. Material in email is easiest, or I can put my husband to work typing for me!
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