Glendora : City Wins Fight Over House

A Superior Court judge has ruled that the city of Glendora did not violate state law protecting historic homes when it crushed an 83-year-old bungalow in March to make way for a parking lot near City Hall.

Judge Diane Wayne decided last week that the Craftsman-style home, which was located on Foothill Boulevard and purchased by the city in January, was not a historical resource as defined by state law.

City Manager Art Cook said the city has spent about $100,000 defending itself from the Glendora Preservation Foundation’s lawsuit.

“I hope all the residents here realize how much of their money we’ve had to spend on this,” Cook said, adding that the city cannot recover costs unless it can prove the suit was frivolous. “It’s almost enough to fund two more police officers.”

The foundation filed the lawsuit last spring, saying the city wrongfully demolished the house. It claims the house was protected by a law enacted this year to extend preservation to more of California’s historic structures.

In 1986, the neighborhood in which the house sat was deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Foundation members say the new state law requires areas deemed eligible for the national register to be included on the California historic register, offering structures some protection.

But Judge Wayne disagreed, saying that just because the bungalow was eligible for the national register seven years ago does not mean it is protected by the state. Preservationists and city officials agree that the case is a test of the new state law.

In their lawsuit, foundation members asked for $60,000 in damages. An attorney for the foundation said he will ask Wayne this week to reconsider her decision.