Item 2 - Staff Report and Attachments 1 to 3.212 Thurston Street
PREPARED BY: SEAN MULLIN, AICP
Senior 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: 01/25/2023 ITEM NO: 2
DATE: January 20, 2023
TO: Historic Preservation Committee
FROM: Joel Paulson, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Consider a Request to Remove a Presumptive Historic Property (Pre-1941)
from the Historic Resources Inventory for Property Zoned R-1D. Located at
212 Thurston Street. APN 410-15-039. Request for Review PHST-23-001.
PROPERTY OWNER/APPLICANT: Meleah Guillardo
PROJECT PLANNER: Sean Mullin
RECOMMENDATION:
Consider a request to remove a presumptive historic property (pre-1941) from the Historic
Resources Inventory for property zoned R-1D located at 212 Thurston Street.
PROPERTY DETAILS:
1. Date primary structure was built: 1915 per County Assessor’s Database
2. Town of Los Gatos Historic Status Code: N/A
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? Yes
7. Considerations required? No
DISCUSSION:
The applicant is requesting removal of the presumptive historic property (pre-1941) from the
Historic Resources Inventory (HRI). The Santa Clara County Assessor’s Database lists a
construction date of 1915 for the residence. The property is not within a historic district or LHP
overlay and is not included in the 1990 Anne Bloomfield Survey. The Sanborn Fire Insurance
Maps show a consistent building footprint from 1928 to 1944 (Attachment 1). The building
footprint included on the 1956 map shows that additions were constructed on the south
elevation (front) and the west elevation (left side).
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DISCUSSION (continued):
The applicant has provided a letter with their application that includes property information,
their request to remove the property from the HRI, and results of historic research (Attachment
2). The research shows that the residence first appeared in the telephone directories in 1947
under the ownership of the Ferlas, who owned the property until it was sold in November 2022.
The property does not appear in any of the other historic resources.
A review of Town records yielded a 1948 Building Permit for construction of a detached garage
and a 1999 reroof permit.
The residence is a simple gable-ended structure with a composition roof, wood siding,
aluminum sliding windows, and wood trim. The aluminum sliding windows and the wood
siding, which appears to be T1-11 sheet siding, were building materials that were not available
prior to 1941. There is no evidence presented in the applicant’s materials that provides details
on the original windows or siding. The presence of these materials, along with the evidence in
the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, implies that modifications took place after 1941. The siding
replacement by itself is a significant impact to the historic integrity of the residence and would
be considered a technical demolition under current Town regulations. The residence does not
individually appear to represent a distinctive example of a specific type of architecture.
The applicant also provided pictures of the existing residence, which are included in
Attachment 3.
CONCLUSION:
Should the Committee find that the structure no longer has historic significance or architectural
merit due to the loss of integrity, the structure would be removed from the Historic Resources
Inventory and any proposed alterations would not return to the Committee.
FINDINGS:
A. Findings - related to a request for a determination that a pre-1941 primary structure has no
historic significance or architectural merit.
In evaluating a request for a determination of historic significance or architectural merit,
the Historic Preservation Committee shall consider the following:
1. The structure is not associated with events that have made a significant contribution
to the Town;
2. No Significant persons are associated with the site;
3. There are no distinctive characteristics of type, period or method of construction or
representation of work of a master;
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FINDINGS (continued):
4. The structure does not yield information to Town history; and
5. The integrity has been compromised such that the structure no longer has the
potential to convey significance.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Exhibit
2. Applicant Request Letter and Research
3. Property Pictures
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1928
212 Thurston St
ATTACHMENT 1
1944
212 Thurston St
1956
212 Thurston St
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212 Thurston St, Los Gatos, CA
Request for Removal from Historic Resources Inventory
1. Property Location
Address of subject property:212 Thurston St, Los Gatos, 95030
Zoning:R-1D
Property Size:4671 sq ft
APN:410-15-039
Year built:1915
Existing use:Single-family residence
2. Applicant Request
Removal from Historic Resources Inventory
3. Applicant
Name:Meleah Guillardo
Phone:408-364-6993
Address:15995 Lancaster Rd
City:Monte Sereno
State:CA
Zip:95030
Email:meleahguillardo@gmail.com
4. Name of Property Owner
Name:Meleah Guillardo
Phone:408-364-6993
Address:15995 Lancaster Rd
City:Monte Sereno
State:CA
Zip:95030
Email:meleahguillardo@gmail.com
5. Historic and Architectural Considerations
The property at 212 Thurston St, Los Gatos, CA 95030 was built in 1915. Based on historic
research performed at the Los Gatos Public Library (see next page), the identified property was
not included in notable Los Gatos historic publications based on its lack of architectural merit
and lack of notable residences. The included current photographs of the property demonstrate
lack of historic architectural significance and the 1915 original aspects of the property have
been renovated over the years (updated siding, aluminum windows, renovated interior).
Requesting to remove this property from the Historic Resources Inventory.
ATTACHMENT 2
Historic Research
Performed 1/6/2023 at Los Gatos Public Library
1. Sanborn Maps
a. Identified property in Los Gatos maps: 1928 (page 2) and 1944 (page 2).
b. Not included in Los Gatos maps: 1884, 1888, 1895, and 1904
2. 1941 Tax Assessment Survey
a. Property not identified
3. 1991 Anne Bloomfield Historic Resources Survey
a. Property not identified
4. Museums of Los Gatos Historic Homes Tours
a. Property not identified
5. 100 Bellringers
a. Property not identified
6. As it Was by Dora Rankin
a. Property not identified
7. Polk’s Directories
a. Address not listed in directories prior to 1947
8. Telephone Directories
a. First identified property and owner Joseph G Ferla in 1947 Los Gatos Telephone
Directories. Address not listed in directories prior to 1947.
i. Joseph G Ferla and wife Gloria Ferla were the last property owners since
the property was acquired by Meleah Guillardo in November 2022.
9. History of Los Gatos by George Bruntz
a. Property not identified
10. Los Gatos Observed by Alistair Dallas
a. Property not identified
11. Information in residences drawers in Los Gatos Public Library History Room
a. Property not identified
12. Patrons’ Inquiries binder in Los Gatos Public Library History Room
a. Property not identified
ATTACHMENT 3
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