Letter: Rockhaven would remain historic

I write in response to the letter from Shelley and Doug Starling (“On adding developers to the historic mix,” Mailbag, May 21). Nobody interested in historic preservation is advocating that Glendale should “turn Rockhaven over to developers.” The city is looking to enter into a public-private partnership in the hope of saving this historic property; the buildings are falling apart, with no money to slow further deterioration let alone restore them, despite the dedicated efforts of the Friends of Rockhaven and the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley, organizations that have also gone on record as supporting the solicitation of proposals from well-qualified developers. This property needs a good plan for rehabilitation and adaptive reuse, and it needs it soon.

To quote from the Glendale Historical Society’s Spring 2014 newsletter: Like these other groups, we are “committed to ensuring that any development plans retain and revitalize Rockhaven’s historic buildings, features and landscaping in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.” We would leap to oppose any proposal for development that compromised the property’s eligibility for listing on the Glendale and California Register of Historic Resources and the National Register of Historic Places.

Catherine Jurca
Glendale

Editor’s Note: The writer is a member of the board of directors of the Glendale Historical Society.