The Home Front

It was just a shingle. A charcoal gray piece of roofing. But in the ongoing fight between homeowners and Sierra Madre’s Historic Preservation Commission, the seemingly simple material has become something of a mascot.

Sitting in the shade of Donna and Douglas Sutcliffe’s once-disputed shingled porch roof, community activist Kathleen Roach discussed a grass-roots initiative to unite homeowners and abolish the preservation commission.

Roach’s pronouncements come not only from an appropriate place, but also at an appropriate time: As she and the Sutcliffes debated the proposed ballot initiative, commission Chairwoman Barbara Hester was finishing the presentation she plans to make Tuesday, when the City Council is expected to review a proposed ordinance to increase the commission’s clout.

Proponents of the ordinance say the commission would better serve the community if it had a more structured and defined role, something not provided for in the 1985 ordinance that established it. But many residents said they already take steps to preserve their homes.

Built in 1906 by Sierra Madre’s first mayor, C.W. Jones, the Sutcliffe’s Craftsman home is a historic landmark--a distinction that meant very little to the couple until they tried to re-shingle their roof.

Before they could get a city permit to work on their home, the Sutcliffes had to bring a shingle sample to the commission for approval. For three weeks, the commission ruminated and offered unsolicited suggestions before finally granting the Sutcliffes permission to make the minor repair.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Donna Sutcliffe said. “It’s like they want to save our property from us.”

Not exactly, Hester said.

The new ordinance would not cause the same kind of confusion that could keep a shingle on the shelf for nearly a month.

It would not interfere with minor-change requests such as painting or roofing, either. But the ordinance would strengthen the commission’s ability to prevent owners from demolishing historic homes and making anachronistic changes.

The stronger language in the proposed ordinance also makes the city eligible for Certified Local Government status, a state-imposed distinction that could mean more grant money and staff for the preservation commission.

“Part of this little city’s makeup is the historic home,” Hester said. But property owners decry the ordinance as limiting.

“The commission wants to freeze the whole city in an architectural time warp,” said Roach.

Under the proposed ordinance, a landmark district would be “any area containing a concentration of historic resources which have a special character, historical interest or aesthetic value.”

Through that definition, much of Sierra Madre can be classified as an historic district, many residents said. “We’re the hands-on preservationists,” Sutcliffe said. “They think they are the preservationists, but we’re really the preservationists here.”