Staff Report.18 Oak Hill Way
PREPARED BY: Ryan Safty
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: 2/28/2024
ITEM NO: 3
DATE: February 23, 2024
TO: Historic Preservation Committee
FROM: Joel Paulson, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Consider a Request to Remove a Pre-1941 Property from the Historic
Resources Inventory for Property Zoned R-1D. Located at 18 Oak Hill Way.
APN 529-34-052. Exempt Pursuant to CEQA Section 15061(b)(3). Request for
Review PHST-23-020. Property Owner/Applicant: Vanessa Young. Project
Planner: Ryan Safty.
RECOMMENDATION:
Consider a request to remove a pre-1941 property from the Historic Resources Inventory for
property zoned R-1:D located at 18 Oak Hill Way.
PROPERTY DETAILS:
1. Date primary structure was built: 1920 (effective year built 1950) 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 approval to remove the presumptive pre-1941 residence from the
Historic Resources Inventory. The Santa Clara County Assessor’s Database lists a construction
date of 1920, with an effective year built date of 1950, indicating substantial construction
occurred in around 1950. The property is not within a historic district or LHP overlay and is not
included in either the 1990 Anne Bloomfield Survey.
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SUBJECT: 18 Oak Hill Way/PHST-23-020
DATE: February 23, 2024
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DISCUSSION (continued):
The property is included in the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, beginning in 1895 (Attachment 1).
The area of the current subject property is shown vacant up until 1928. From 1928 through the
1928-1956 map edition, a single structure is shown on the parcel, which appears to have been
modified slightly with side additions following the 1928 edition.
A request to remove this property from the Historic Resources Inventory came before the
Committee on August 23, 2023. The Committee discussed the matter and noted that the
windows look original, that the structure maintains the feeling of a typical Los Gatos cottage
and early California bungalow, and that they were in favor of keeping it on the inventory due to
the finding that the property is of a distinctive characteristic type, time period, and method of
construction. The Committee denied the request.
The applicant has conducted additional research and has applied again to remove the property
from the Historic Resources Inventory. The research conducted and summary of the request is
provided as Attachment 2. Property pictures are included as Attachment 3. The applicant’s
research found that the attached deck at the rear (facing Villa Avenue) was added in 1973; that
the rear entry was modified at some point in the past ; and that the previous garage has been
demolished. No information was provided about modifications to the elevation facing Oak Hill
Way.
Specifically, regarding the rear entrance facing Villa Avenue, historical imagery shows that the
previous structure had a partially enclosed porch in front of the rear entryway. This area has
since been fully enclosed, with a double hung window added adjacent to the chimney and the
door pushed out to the edge of the front steps, essentially adding roughly 10 square feet to the
rear of the residence. Additionally, the wall to the left of the rear door as seen on page 4 of
Attachment 2 has been modified, as the openings are now smaller and window styles have
changed in this area.
The applicant also notes that the home address is shown by utility companies as 176-A Villa
Avenue, leading to the assumption that this structure was once a part of the 176 Villa Avenue
property to the north and was not built as a primary residence. The Sanborn Maps in
Attachment 1 also lead to this assumption as the property used to run from Villa Avenue all the
way through to Oak Hill Way. Although the property used to be considered a “through lot”,
running from Villa Avenue to Oak Hill Way, the development and subdivisions that have
occurred following the 1956 edition of the Sanborn Fire Insurance map make it so that only the
Oak Hill Way elevation faces a public street. Therefore, alteration or enclosure of more than 25
percent of the Oak Hill Way elevation would be considered a technical demolition of this
historic structure.
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SUBJECT: 18 Oak Hill Way/PHST-23-020
DATE: February 23, 2024
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DISCUSSION (continued):
In conclusion, the applicant states that, “the property has had significant exterior changes since
being built in approximately 1920 and does not have any historical significance. Further, the
property is not visible form the street and does not contribute to the appearance of the Town’s
aesthetics.”
Town records are minimal and include a re-roof permit from 1995, electric service upgrade in
1996, and air conditioner installation in 2005 (Attachment 4).
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;
4. The structure does not yield information to Town history; or
5. The integrity has been compromised such that the structure no longer has the
potential to convey significance.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Sanborn Maps
2. Applicant’s Submittal Packet
3. Property Pictures
4. Town Records
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