Historic homes up for debate

For months, many Laguna Beach residents clamored for their homes to be removed from a list of structures the city deemed historic 35 years ago.

Homeowners may get their wish, but it still may not preclude their projects from undergoing scrutiny under the California Environmental Quality Act, attorneys from Rutan & Tucker LLP, the law firm representing the city, told the public at a workshop at City Hall on Monday night.

The city is updating its Historic Preservation Ordinance to align with state and federal standards and has held several workshops to both educate residents and gather input on suggested changes.

Residents have honed in on an inventory, created in 1981, of more than 800 pre-1940s houses considered historic based on a handful of factors, including architectural style and association with important historical events or significant people.

Whether a home is on the inventory would not matter if a resident proposes certain alterations, such as a room addition, and city staff determines the work could impair the structure’s historical significance under CEQA rules.

“It doesn’t matter if a house or property is not listed on the city’s [historic] register or inventory,” attorney Kathy Jenson said during the workshop. “You still start from scratch when you have a discretionary project.”

Changes that could trigger CEQA review include removing character-defining features, such as replacing doors and windows or altering roofing materials, according to city documents.

In some cases, residents complained they couldn’t make desired changes without going through costly historical assessments and questioned whether the 1980s-era ratings still apply, or were accurate in the first place.

Larry Nokes, a Laguna Beach resident and attorney, said residents should not be beholden to a 35-year-old list that didn’t take their input into account.

“Those people deemed historic in [1981], those people never got a chance to contest the issue,” Nokes said. “People could not replace windows without going through the expense. The inventory doesn’t create a presumption of anything. There should not be an inventory.

“It’s the duty of a public agency to produce substantial evidence that it is historic. Put the burden where it belongs and give people an opportunity to contest that.”

Jan Ostashay, a city-hired consultant, revised the inventory as part of the ordinance update, which includes about 550 houses. Ostashay surveyed properties from the street, weeding out some houses that had been demolished and other homes wrongly deemed historic.

The city created the 1981 inventory as a way to both preserve Laguna’s village character and offer incentives to homeowners who applied for and gained approval for their houses to be part of the city’s historic register, a notch above the inventory.

Incentives include reduced parking requirements and waived building and permit fees.

Some speakers Monday called for a citywide historical assessment, while others suggested the city bear the cost if a homeowner wants to make changes to his or her property that may affect its historical significance.

Heritage Committee members generally agreed Laguna should have a codified process in case residents want reevaluations of their properties, and city staff are incorporating a method into the revised preservation ordinance.

“There seems to be a bigger elephant in the room that every single house from now into the future is potentially historic unless proven otherwise,” committee member Mike Boone said, arguing against an umbrella inventory. Boone favored a process by which certain events would trigger a historic evaluation, such as a house’s sale.

After Laguna approved the original inventory, the city added its own rating system for structures.

An E rating represented houses with outstanding historical architectural integrity; K was for structures that had very good historical integrity; and C was reserved for buildings that contributed to the overall character and history of a neighborhood but were not necessarily unique.

The city will hold two more workshops, on March 1 and 21, before the Heritage Committee reviews the draft ordinance April 18. The Planning Commission and Design Review Board will also analyze the proposed ordinance before the City Council weighs in. The council must also vote on the revised inventory.

In the meantime, residents seeking a reevaluation of their property ratings may file evidence, such as photos, with city planner Martina Caron at mcaron@lagunabeachcity.net at no cost.

For more information on historic preservation, visit the city’s website at lagunabeachcity.net/cityhall/cd. Click the “Historic Preservation” tab.