Potential Historic Districts – What’s the Real Situation?
By Barry Hager, Deborah Pettry and Jim Reily
A recent anonymous postcard received by many Mission Hills and other Uptown residents falsely announces “You Cannot Remodel Your Home” and “NO exterior remodeling may occur on properties” within potential historic districts. These cards are among efforts by opponents of historic districts who hope to mislead people into opposing the City’s proposal to identify and protect potential historic districts as part of the Uptown Community Plan.
This article clarifies the issues and corrects the misinformation distributed by these anonymous opponents. If you do not wish to read the full article in all of its detail, here is the bottom line:
• the proposed regulations affect only the homes identified as potential contributors to proposed districts – and the City is relatively strict in accepting properties as potential contributors
• the regulations would affect only a portion of the exterior of such a property – generally a portion of what is visible from the street; interiors and areas less visible from the street are generally exempt
• the regulations include numerous exceptions
Here’s the context and detail behind those statements:
Mission Hills and Historic Districts
Mission Hills is one of the oldest and most intact early 20th Century neighborhoods in the City of San Diego, filled with irreplaceable homes built in vintage architectural styles. Recognizing the importance of preserving the historic character and quality of their neighborhood, residents of Mission Hills worked over several years to establish the Mission Hills and Fort Stockton Line historic districts and a recent extension of the Mission Hills historic district. Over 275 homes are now located within these districts.
In addition to the existing historic districts, the City recently completed a detailed reconnaissance survey that identified eight potential historic districts in Mission Hills and a total of nineteen throughout Uptown. Residents of the Inspiration Heights area have already begun work to nominate that area as a historic district. However, it will take years of effort by community members working in conjunction with City staff to complete the steps needed to establish these additional historic districts. Meanwhile, modifications and demolitions of homes that are potential “contributors” in these area could erode the eligibility of these potential historic districts.
The City’s Proposed Regulations
As part of the community plan update process, the City has proposed a set of supplemental regulations to protect structures identified in the survey as potential contributors, which are structures that exhibit the characteristics of the historic district. The proposed regulations involve protections to the front 2/3 of the original building footprint, with several exceptions for certain types of modifications and a discretionary review process that could bypass the limitation altogether in certain circumstances. Only those homes identified as potential contributors will be affected by the regulations. A map of the potential historic districts and a fact sheet published by the City can be viewed on the City’s website at: https://www.sandiego.gov/planning/community/profiles/uptown.
1866 Fort Stockton Drive. This historically designated Prairie style home was originally one story and only 1265 square feet. A second story addition stepped back from the front plane of the house blends well with the Prairie style and increased the size to 1744 square feet (per Trulia).
The proposed regulations are a huge step in the right direction to help preserve the historic character of our community, giving us the opportunity to complete the work to establish these districts. But certain opponents of historic districts have recently circulated materials advocating against establishing historic districts and against protections for potential historic districts. A recent anonymous postcard received by many Mission Hills residents falsely announces “You Cannot Remodel Your Home” and “NO exterior remodeling may occur on properties” within the potential historic districts. As noted above, the proposed regulations affect only the potential contributors to proposed districts, affect only a portion of the exterior of the property, and the regulations include numerous exceptions.
Homes that are identified as contributors to a potential district should be protected from demolition—because they will contribute to establishing the historic district. Numerous benefits flow from historic districts in Mission Hills and other parts of San Diego: increases in property values, property tax relief for contributors and pride of ownership within historic districts have incentivized the rehabilitation of homes within the districts that suffer from deferred maintenance or inappropriate modifications. The established historic districts in Mission Hills have benefitted from these factors and it is our desire to see that areas identified as potential historic districts have the same opportunities.
Contrary to recent negative publicity, the regulations affecting historically designated houses and contributors to historic districts (and the proposed regulations for contributors to potential historic districts) include significant latitude for remodeling and additions. There are many examples of historically designated houses and contributors to the historic districts in Mission Hills that have been permitted to add second stories and large additions—some have essentially doubled the square footage of their historically designated homes. And, of course, external historic designation in no way limits modernization and internal remodeling. To reinforce this point, there follow some photos of a few of the many Mission Hills homes with impressive remodels that still fit within their historic designations.
The proposed regulations will be considered by the City Council along with the community plan update, hopefully later this year. We urge Mission Hills to support the proposed regulations protecting contributors to potential historic districts so that the benefits of historic districts can continue to improve our vintage Uptown neighborhoods.
Barry Hager, Jim Reily and Deborah Pettry are Mission Hills residents and members of Mission Hills Heritage.
Category: Local News
