Item 2 - 16 Chestnut Avenue
PREPARED BY: Sean Mullin, AICP
Associate Planner
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6874
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
COMMITTEE REPORT
MEETING DATE: 10/25/2017 ITEM NO: 2
DATE: OCTOBER 18, 2017 TO: HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE FROM: JOEL PAULSON, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR SUBJECT: PROJECT LOCATION: 16 CHESTNUT AVENUE. PROPERTY OWNERS: KENNETH GARRET AND KIM ROPER. APPLICANT: BESS WIERSEMA, STUDIO 3 DESIGN. REQUESTING A RECOMMENDATION FOR A SECOND-STORY ADDITION TO A PRE-1941 SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENCE ON PROPERTY ZONED R-1:12. APN 510-40-012.
RECOMMENDATION:
Review information and provide a preliminary review of the applicant’s request.
BACKGROUND:
A. Property Details
1. Date primary structure was built: 1910
2. Town of Los Gatos Historic Status Code: None
3. Does property have an LHP Overlay? No
4. Is structure in a historic district? No
5. If yes, is it a contributor? N/A
6. Findings required? No
7. Considerations required? Yes
PAGE 2 OF 2 SUBJECT: 16 CHESTNUT AVENUE OCTOBER 18, 2017
N:\DEV\HISTORIC PRESERVATION\HPC Sheets\2017\Chestnut Avenue 16 - 10-25-17.docx 10/20/2017 11:36 AM
BACKGROUND (cont’d):
B. Comments
The applicant is requesting a preliminary review of a proposal to construct additions
totaling 582 square feet to an existing single-family residence. The additions would take
place on the existing lower story (250 square feet) and the existing second story (332
square feet). Due to the date of construction of the residence, the applicant has chosen
to pursue feedback on the request ahead of submitting the required Planning
application. If a formal Planning application is made, the proposed project would return
to the HPC for a formal recommendation. The supporting documents are attached.
DISCUSSION:
A. Considerations – related to the request for preliminary approval for a Minor Residential
Development on a non-contributing single-family home in the Almond Grove Historic
District.
X In evaluating applications, the deciding body shall consider the architectural style,
design, arrangement, texture, materials and color, and any other pertinent factors.
Applications shall not be granted unless:
1. For pre-1941 structures, the proposed work will neither adversely affect the exterior
architectural characteristics or other features of the property which is the subject of
the application.
B. Town Policy
X That the work proposed is compatible with the neighborhood.
Attachments:
1. Request and research (22 pages)
2. Photos of existing residence (ten pages)
3. Renderings of proposed residence (two pages)
4. Proposed Development Plans
Distribution:
Cc: Bess Wiersema, Studio 3 Design, 638 University Avenue, Los Gatos, CA 95032
16 Chestnut Avenue
Captain William B. Brown House
This one-and-a half story Craftsman style house was built in 1910 as a
summer home for Captain William B. Brown, a San Francisco resident. The
house is side-gabled with a front gable over the partial fa<;:ade front porch. It
features broad baseboard moldings, board and batten paneling in the living
room, and wainscoting in most rooms. The original (and most are) window
and door surrounds feature an unusual decoration at the top corners .
The dining room features a built-in buffet and the upstairs bedrooms have
elaborate moldings above the wainscoting.
Although we kno~ little about William B. Brown, by 1928 the house was
owned by Roy and Jennie Brown, he possibly a r elative . He was born in New
York circa 1872 and was a manufacturer of knitting equipment there before
they m ove d to Los Gatos circa 1928. She, born in Holland circa 1871, was a
widow and had been his hQusekeeper fo r many years before they married in
1921.
In 1934 the house was purchased by Edward H. and Beatrice Loftus.
He was born in Singapore in 1865, where his father was a ca ptain in the
British Royal Navy; the family moved to Siam when his father became
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.ne astronomer for the King of Siam (now Thailand). Edward Loftus was
educated in England and Germany, was appointed a diplomat for Siam
serving in many European capitals, and was a member of the first Siamese
delegation to Washington in 1901. He served Siam there until he retired
in 1927, with the rank of minister plenipotentiary, the equivalent of
ambassador. His wife Beatrice was born in England circa 1870 . They had
two sons, Reginald and Roderick. Edward Loftus incorporated what had
been a porch on the right side of the house into the living area, extending
the living room and creating what is now a sitting room beyond the dining
room.
After his father's death in 1945, Reginald A. Loftus lived here with his
wife, Claire MacGregor Loftus, a professor at Stanford, until 1952. He was
born in 1907, probably in England, enlisted in the US Army in 1943, and
served in the Army Medical Corps at Fort Knox, Kentucky and a hospital in
Menlo Park. He later co-founded The Monte Foundation, a half~way house
for the mildly disturbed, including war veterans. Probably after he left this
house for another in Los Gatos, he founded Vitos Products, a toy company.
He and Claire remodeled the kitchen and downstairs bedroom and bath.
Claire was devoted to theater at Montalvo, especially to working with
children. Montalvo's original productions were staged outdoors . But, when
the carriage house was converted for use as a theater, it was named after her
to recognize her substantial contributions.
Robert and Jane Lindsay were the next owners. He worked for the
telephone company. They lived here with their seven children, creating a
bedroom and sitting room in the carriage house for their teenage daughters .
Verle Waters purchased the property in 1967 and has lived here ever
since. Her children grew up here, graduating from Los Gatos schools. She
converted the carriage house to a rental in the early 1970s, remodeled the
kitchen in 1988, and created a master bedroom out of the largest upstairs
bedroom in 1992, converting a window into a French door to a deck over
the original porch. Because the deck was never used, when later work was
required on the roof over the original porch, the deck was not rebuilt.
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S T U D I O THji:i ££ OCS I G N
INTERI ORS
R E M ODEL S +
ADDITIONS
NEW CONSTRU CTION
6 3 8 U N I VE R S ITY AVE.
L OS GAT OS
CAL IFOR N I A
9 5 0 32
T 408 .292.3252
F' 2 5 3. 39 9 . 1 1 25
THE CHESTNU T HCUSE
16 CHESTNUT AVEN UE
LOS GATOS
CALIFORNIA
95030
A.P N 51040-0 12
17 APRIL 2017
13 OCTOBER 2017
HPC SUBMITTAL
SCALE 114" •1'-0"
PROPOSED CELLAR PLAN
A2.2