HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 2A - PresentationItem 2AM.H. Atikian Building
120 West Arenas Road
HSPB #147 – Historic Designation
April 25, 2024
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DEPARTMENT Item 2A - Page 1
Project Site & Context
Proposed Review
•Historic Site Designation (Section 8.05.070)
• Property address: 120 West Arenas Road (APN #513-143-006)
•Zone District: Central Business District (CBD)
•General Plan: Central Business District (CBD)
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DEPARTMENT Item 2A - Page 2
Historic Documentation
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M.H. Atikian BuildingSource: MS0163 William F. Cody Papers 2, Special Collections and Archives, California Polytechnic State University, Date: 1950
M.H. Atikian BuildingSource: Cathy Cody in the Nomination Application, page 18Date: Approximately 1950
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Site ConditionsPLANNING
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DEPARTMENT Item 2A - Page 4
Historic Documentation
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Ground Level Floor Plan w/ DiagramSource: Cody Design, Date: 1950
Ground Level Floor Plan w/ DiagramSource: Designation Application, page 25 Date: 2023
Yellow: Commercial Floor AreaBlack Lines: Exterior walls and storefrontsBlue: PlantersOrange: Display Cases
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Municipal Code Section 8.05.070.C
Criteria for the Designation of Class 1 or Class 2 Historic Resources
CLASS 1 (LANDMARK): Recognized as the highest historic status meeting both criteria and integrity
findings as outlined in the historic preservation ordinance. This can be a site, structure, building or
object having historic, architectural, archaeological, or cultural or aesthetic significance.
CLASS 2 (HISTORIC MERIT): Considered historic by meeting the criteria but may not meet the
findings for integrity as outlined in the historic preservation ordinance.
Benefits or Incentives for historic properties: Pursuant to the historic preservation ordinance, any
property that has a Class 1 or Class 2 designation where a physical resource exists, is eligible for the
execution of a Mills Act agreement, as determined by the City Council.
MILLS ACT: The main purpose of this economic incentive program is for the restoration and preservation of
qualified historic buildings by private property owners. It is a contract that the owners enter with the local
government to actively restore and properly maintain the historic property.
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Municipal Code Section 8.05.070.C.1.a
Criteria for the Designation of Class 1 or Class 2 Historic Resources
The site, structure, building or object exhibits exceptional historic significance and meets one or more of
the criteria listed below:
Criterion i: The resource is associated with events that have made a meaningful contribution to the nation,
state or community;
Criterion ii: The resource is associated with the lives of persons who made a meaningful contribution to
national, state or local history;
Criterion iii: The resource reflects or exemplifies a particular period of national, state or local history;
Criterion iv: The resource embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of
construction;
Criterion v: The resource presents the work of a master builder, designer, artist, or architect whose
individual genius influenced his age, or that possesses high artistic value;
Criterion vi: The resource represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack
individual distinction, as used in evaluating applications for designation of historic districts, for parcels on
which more than one entity exists; or
Criterion vii: The resource has yielded or may be likely to yield information important to national, state or
local history or prehistory.
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Criteria for Historic Designation
Municipal Code Section 8.05.070.C.1.b
Analysis of Integrity
• Location
• Design
• Setting
• Materials
• Workmanship
• Feeling
• Association
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DEPARTMENT Item 2A - Page 8
Criteria for Historic Designation
Character Defining Features:
•Site design and building placement on a prominent commercial
corner
•Flat roof, two-story building
•Horizontal emphasis
•Mixed uses (commercial on the first floor and residential on the
second)
•Thin, flat roof overhangs (awnings) extending over the sidewalk that
wrap around S. Palm Canyon Drive and W. Arenas Road (Note: this
feature was rebuilt and reconfigured at the corners. The thickness of
the roof does not appear to match historic photographs.)
o Stone planters that interact with the glass storefronts
Triangulated hourglass-shaped planter along W. Arenas Road
that connects the interior space with the exterior conditions.
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DEPARTMENT Item 2A - Page 9
Criteria for Historic Designation
Character Defining Features:
•Window display cases
•Diverse paving materials and patterns
•Stone masonry walls on the lower half of the retail
facades
•Sawtooth shaped storefronts along W. Arenas
Road (Note: those along S. Palm Canyon Drive
have been removed)
•Second story horizonal siding (Note: original
redwood replaced with metal siding)
•Glass storefront windows that extend to the ceiling
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DEPARTMENT Item 2A - Page 10
Conclusion
The M.H. Atikian Building when through an extensive amount of exterior alterations since its completion. The HPSB could not make findings for Class 1 status because it did not meet integrity standards but determined it met the criteria for Class 2 designation.
Staff Recommendation
Staff was unable to make the findings for Class 1 or Class 2 status for the M.H. Atikian Building, based on the significant alterations and did not recommend historic designation.
Owners’ Position
The current owner submitted the request for historic designation.
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The HSPB Recommendation
HSPB made the findings for Class 2 historic site for the M.H. Atikian Building, addressed 120 West Arenas Road (HSPB #147), therefore, recommends the City Council designate the property.
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