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Exhibit 7 - Historic Analysis Report by MBA Architects ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 HISTORIC ANALYSIS of the single family house at 228 Bachman Avenue Los Gatos, CA for James B. Wood 236 Bachman Avenue Los Gatos, CA 95030 2 JAN 2025 EXHIBIT 7 ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 INDEX INTRODUCTION and METHODOLOGY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EXISTING SITUATION Maps Architectural Description Almond Grove Historic District 228 Bachman Development Past Residents Photos HISTORICAL SUMMARY PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT HISTORIC EVALUATION Town of Los Gatos Regulatory Framework California Register of Historic Resources CONCLUSION SOURCES CONSULTED ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 INTRODUCTION and METHODOLOGY The subject property is under a purchase contract by the next-door neighbor who wishes to re-place the existing single-story building with a larger home more compatible with the neighbor-hood. The property is close to the eastern boundary of the ALMOND GROVE HISTORIC DIS-TRICT, the oldest such district in the Town. When the prospective new owner, who wishes to file for a demolition permit from the Town, came before the Historical Commission, they recom-mended that the historic importance of the property be researched to confirm that no historical significance is involved. The property consists of a single parcel totaling 7,950 sf upon which is a single-story house (1 BR & 1 bath) of 775 sf. Records show the house dating back to 1935 in its approximate current size and form. An on-site survey of the property was conducted on 26 November 2024 by the preservation consultant URBAN PROGRAMMERS, and a practicing historical architect, Marvin Bamburg of MBA ARCHITECTS. This combined team meets the requirements of the SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR Professional Qualification Standards for Architectural History. The subject property was documented by digital photography. Archival research was performed at a number of repositories in an attempt to gain historical in-formation and property data. Locally, the Los Gatos Public Library was researched for historical records including old editions of the Los Gatos City Directory and Sanborn Maps. The Team visited the Los Gatos History Museum also and were referred to the Library’s Local History Room records for City Directories, maps and surveys. Online research was done through on-line repositories, the Town’s website, the Library of Con-gress and genealogy sites. Assessor's maps, aerial photographs and the Town’s historical records were consulted to deter-mine accurate addressing, Assessor's Parcel Numbering (APN), and the configuration of the lot and location of the building. Copies thereof are included in this report. The following history and evaluation is submitted to provide information to the Town of Los Ga-tos, as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MBA ARCHITECTS in association with URBAN PROGRAMMERS, historic preservation consult-ant, has provided research and architectural descriptions of the residence at 228 Bachman Ave-nue, Los Gatos, CA. Research was conducted in the Los Gatos History Room of the New Library, the Los Gatos Li-brary Local History section, the Library of Congress and genealogy sites and on-line reposito-ries. A site visit and interview with the prospective new owner were also part of the research. A draft report was reviewed by Town staff with resulting suggestions incorporated. After reviewing the Town’s historic preservation ordinance and other local regulations, our con-clusion is that the house at 228 Bachman Avenue cannot be considered a “contributing struc-ture” to the District. It is not eligible for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources because it does not meet any of the criteria for association with an event or broad pattern of im-portance or associated with the lives of persons important in local, state or national heritage (CRHR criteria). The building is of a generic architecture with little relevance to others in the Al-mond Grove Historic District. ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 EXISTING SITUATION ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 Subject parcel is in yellow at the east corner of the District. ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 ASSESSOR’S PARCEL MAP – DEC 2024 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: A low white picket fence defines the front property line at the sidewalk. The simple stucco box house has a recessed and covered entry at the south corner of the street façade. The low- sloped gable roof has the central gable facing the street with simple barge rafters. Windows are wood double-hung style with plain wood trim and the siding is stucco. A rectangular attic vent is located in the gable peak. The roof over the corner entrance is a perpendicular gable with stucco arched openings on two sides. On an otherwise plain stucco box, those arches are the only stylistic elements that might be interpreted as Mediterranean. At the driveway side an elec-tric box and meter are located. At the midpoint of the driveway side a shed dormer protrudes. Above the roof is evidence of a brick chimney. Toward the rear of the driveway side the archi-tecture changes to horizontal wood siding below the window band and a shed roof sloping to the rear of the house. This corner of the house is an addition. The rear side of the house continues the wood siding and windows (probably enclosing a porch), with a very low-slope gable roof over the original eastern portion of that rear side. Stairs at the rear access the floor level which was less than a foot above the grade on the front of the building. The house floor area is cur-rently listed as 775 sf and the property as 7,950 sf.1 The garage no longer exists. 1 Request for Review Historic Preservation Committee filed by James B Wood on 8/30/24. ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 ALMOND GROVE HISTORICAL DISTRICT HD-80-1A This historical district was designated and amended by the following Town of Los Gatos ordi-nances: 1463 [4/7/1980], 1643 [3/4/1985], 1919 [10/19/1992] and 2165 [10/20/2008]. It was the first and largest subdivision in the Town after incorporation and consisted of approximately 40 acres.2 At that time the district was mostly in agricultural use, thus its name. It currently is pri-marily residential neighborhoods with minor commercial uses. The predominant architectural styles in the District are Victorian and Craftsman bungalow, with elevated front porches covered with a gable roof and entry stairs. Materials used mostly are wood siding and some masonry accents. The District consists of a profusion of beautifully artic-ulated dwellings representing high quality architectural development and robust community pride. 228 BACHMAN AVENUE DEVELOPMENT The limited Sanborn Maps available in the Town’s library indicated that in 1908 no structures ex-isted on the site. The 1928 Sanborn map shows a small, 2-unit building on the rear property line and lists the address as 232 Bachman. The 1944 Sanborn map shows the existing house at the front of the property in its current configuration and a 440 sf garage at the rear in the north corner replacing the prior two-unit building.3 The 1941 Tax Record shows an original building of 612 sf and additions totaling 111sf.4 Building measurements were not taken for this analysis. Over the years most of the homes in the District have been remodeled and upgraded from sin-gle-story to multi-stories and increased in floor area. The house at 228 Bachman Avenue has been added to very slightly leaving it significantly smaller than any other in the neighborhood and with a lack of architectural quality. Its floor elevation is only slightly higher than the existing exterior grade unlike most homes in the District with front porches two to four feet above the front yard. The main entrance is by a corner porch rather than a front-facing entry served by a stairway leading up to the front porch. There is no artistic décor on the simple flat stucco fa- çade; the only architectural element used on this plain building is the unadorned arches on two sides of the side porch. PAST RESIDENTS OF 228 BACHMAN AVENUE5 No residents were listed in any directory prior to 1935. No evidence was found that any of these residents were extraordinarily significant in the community. 1935 Adam Contardo (Albina), concrete contractor 1936 – 1939 K. M. Thysen (Kathryn); K.M. died in 1938, and Kathryn continued to live at 228 1940 Marian Hoyle 1941 James A. LeMieux (Agnes C.) 1942 Robert W. Cushman (Lorna), carpenter 1943 John P Escover (Maria), tractor operator 1944 – 1954 Albert L. Norman (Charlotte); painter; Albert died in 1954. 2 Los Gatos Ordinance 2165 of 6 October 2008. 3 1941 Tax Assessment document 4 Building Classification and Computation Record, Form 1(5) dated 3/24/41. 5 For this information, City Directories for the Town of Los Gatos were consulted ranging from 1927 to 1964. The directories used are from the private collection of Bonnie Bamburg and the public col- lection of the Los Gatos Library. ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 1955 – 1957 Charlotte Norman, widow 1958 – 1963 George E Martin and Martha, landscape architect6 1964 – 1967 G. E. Martin and Donald C. Edson, architect (Janice S.) 1968 – 1969 G. E. Martin 1970 – 1971 G. E. Martin and Oscar E. Sohns, architect (Jean F.) 1972 G. E. Martin and Robert D. Folendorf, landscape architect (Marjorie M.) Aerial view of the immediate neighborhood. Subject house outlined in yellow. The existing resi-dence is significantly smaller, out of scale, than any other in the vicinity. 6 It appears that during the period 1958 thur 1972 there were commercial uses at this site. ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 Photograph 1 – Street façade Looking northeast Google Maps Photograph 2 – Street façade and driveway side view Looking east MBA photo 31 OCT 2024 Photograph 3 – Street façade and south corner Looking north. MBA photo 31 OCT 2024 ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 Photograph 4 – Rear elevation Looking southwest Infill addition on the right. Owner’s photo 2024 Photograph 5 – Street façade Owner's photo 2024with fence; Looking north Photograph 6 – Northwest side detail; Looking southwest. North corner infill addition. Owner’s photo 2024 ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 1928 SANBORN MAP shows only a small two-unit building at the rear of the sit. 1944 SANBORN MAP Shows the house and garage; house is without rear corner addition. ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 HISTORICAL SUMMARY The area that became Los Gatos was inhabited by a group of the Ohlone, Coastal Native Ameri-cans. The abundance of animals and native plants provided for year-round habitation that was enhanced by the temperate climate. Described as hunters and gathers, the population remained relatively constant for hundreds of years prior to the European explorers and Mission settle-ments. The Spanish Period The Portola Expedition of 1769 was when Captain Juan Gaspar de Portolá led a contingent of Spaniards on an exploration of the San Francisco Peninsula seeking the seaward entrance to the Bay. By 1777 a city was established at San Jose de Guadalupe to provide provisions for the presidio at San Francisco. Mission Santa Clara, established that same year, brought Europeans and western customs to the area. Although not located in the Los Gatos area, the mission drew from the native population, exposing them to disease and deprivation of the native lifestyle. Within a few years the native population had expired. The Mexican Era In 1821, the governance of California changed from the Spanish to the Mexican authority. Dur-ing this period (1821-1848) the bestowing of large acreages for service to the governors was popular, and California was extensively divided by these “Ranchos”. In 1840, El Rancho Rin-conada de Los Gatos was 6,631-acres granted by Governor Juan Alvarado to Jose Maria Her-nandez and Sebastian Fabian Peralta. It appears that the only structure constructed thereon was an adobe house where Vasona Park is today. After California became a state in 1850, the land grant was patented to Sebastian Peralta and José Hernandez in 1860. The owners began selling portions of the land as settlers came to the area. An early entrepreneur was James Alex-ander Forbes (1805–1881), who purchased about 200 acres in 1853, whereupon he built Forbes Mill. The mill began operating in 1855, but Forbes went bankrupt in 1857. This misfor- tune was overshadowed by the many who found success in orchards or services for the growing Town of Los Gatos. Early Settlement Los Gatos was located along the corridors between San Jose (Santa Clara Valley) and Santa Cruz. Connecting railroads began as a service to logging and agriculture and grew to be im-portant for travelers going between the cities of the Santa Clara Valley and both Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Twentieth Century The new century was one of dramatic change in Los Gatos. At the turn of the century when the population was 1,952, the economy was primarily agriculture, orchards and vineyards. Trans-portation remained essential as agriculture expanded and both new residents and visitors in-creased. The Southern Pacific train and interurban system of street cars and the private auto-mobile were the primary modes. By mid-century the private automobile had replaced all but the Southern Pacific train. Los Gatos was changing from agriculture to a suburban residential com-munity with small subdivisions accessed by hastily constructed roads. Access to the Town was from the State Route 17 and State Route 9 (Los Gatos-Saratoga Road). Both were improved in the early 1950s, and State Route 17 continued to be widened after connecting the East Bay with Santa Cruz and the coast. Infrastructure within the Town was narrow streets with little parking which provided an opportunity for growth adjacent to the core where land was available for park-ing. Commercial development extended along North Santa Cruz Street and extended Bascom Avenue south into Los Gatos. An entrance from State Route 17 proved a good location for mo-tels to develop on each side of Los Gatos-Saratoga Road. They provided ample parking and rooms and were popular with travelers and local residents. At the end of the century, Los Gatos ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 was entering another phase, with a population of 28,593 3and technology changing the econ-omy. With improved access, the first subdivision in Los Gatos was created. It was the first and largest subdivision in the Town at that time and consisted of approximately 40 acres. At that time the district was mostly in agricultural use, thus its name. It currently is primarily residential neigh- borhoods with minor commercial uses. PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT The prospective owner wishes to replace the building with a new house compatible with the His-toric District. His preliminary review proposal of August 2024 to the Historic Commission was reviewed and he was requested to provide further historic evaluation before a demolition permit could be recommended, thus this report. It should be noted that a prior Historic Commission on 7 January 2004 stated with regard to 228 Bachman Avenue: “Bachman Ave -The Committee discussed the possibility of demolishing this house which is located in the Almond Grove Historic District. Although the structural report did not justify demolition, the Committee felt that the house had unsympathetic additions and that the siding most likely was not original. Therefore, the Committee stated that demolition may be possible. The Committee recommended that the replacement structure not be Mediterra- nean and that the second story be recessed. Baily stated that the demolition would also need to be reviewed by the Community Development Department to determine whether or not the demolition was justified.” HISTORIC EVALUATION TOWN OF LOS GATOS The Town has several ordinances and regulations that bear on the historic designation of prop-erties as follows:7 1. Historic Preservation Ordinance sections 29.80.215 through 29.80.320 of the Town Code. a. To find that a structure has or has not an historic significance, Town Code 29.80.215(1) requires the following considerations:8 • The structure is not associated with events that have made a significant contribu-tion to the Town; • No significant persons are associated with the site; • There are no distinctive characteristics of type, period or method of construction or representation of the work of a master; • The structure does not yield information to Town history; • The integrity has been compromised such that the structure no longer has the potential to convey significance. b. These considerations are identical to those used by the State CRHR criteria used for the evaluation below. 7 Email from Sean Mullen to Marvin Bamburg of 17 DEC 2024. 8 ditto ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 2. Almond Grove Historic District, Ordinance 1463, last amended by Ord. 2165 on 20 OCT 2008 a. Demolition of any “contributing structure” in the District is forbidden, thus in order to replace the subject house with one more in scale and architecturally compatible to its neighbors, the existing structure must be determined to be non-contributing. 3. Chapter 4, Historic Resources, of the Residential Design Guidelines 9 a. Structures within Historic Districts are considered significant if they are “contributing structures” to the historic character and quality of the district. To be considered a contributing structure, it must be determined to be historically, architecturally or cul-turally significant. Evaluation criteria for making such a determination is very similar to that used by the State’s CRHR process described below. Anne Bloomfield’s historic survey of NOV 1989 9 Residential Design Guidelines, Town of Los Gatos, Chapter 4 ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK Evaluation criteria The Town of Los Gatos has traditionally accepted the California Register of Historical Re-sources criteria for determining historical significance. The Town’s preservation ordinance10 has not adopted different criteria. The CRHR and the National Register of Historic Places have similar criteria with the NRHP be-ing more stringent, therefore properties that do not meet the CRHR would not qualify for the Na- tional Register. To evaluate a property for historical significance, it is necessary to place it in context to define the period of significance and identify the important items for the property. The context for the Almond Grove Historic District was initially agricultural orchards which were subdivided into resi-dential lots to form the residential neighborhood that exists today. California Register of Historical Resources The California Office of Historic Preservation’s Technical Assistance Series #6, California Regis- ter and National Register: A Comparison, outlines the differences between the federal and state processes. The context types to be used when establishing the significance of a property for list-ing on the California Register of Historical Resources are very similar, with emphasis on local and state significance. They are: 1. It is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local or regional history, or the cultural heritage of California or the United States; or 2. It is associated with the lives of persons important to local, California, or national his-tory; or 3. It embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values; or 4. It has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important to prehistory or history of the local area, California, or the nation. Eligibility to the CRHR requires an establishment of historic significance before integrity is con-sidered. California’s integrity threshold is slightly lower than the federal level. As a result, some resources that are historically significant but do not meet NRHP integrity standards may be eligi-ble for listing on the CRHR. For the purposes of CEQA (Guidelines Section 15064.5), the term “historical resources” shall include the following: 1. A resource listed in or determined to be eligible by the State Historical Resources Commission, for listing in the CRHR (Public Resources Code §5024.1, Title 14 CCR, Section 4850 et seq.). 2. A resource included in a local register of historical resources, as defined in Section 5020.1(k) of the Public Resources Code or identified as significant in a historical re- source survey meeting the requirements of Section 5024.1(g) of the Public Re-sources Code, shall be presumed to be historically or culturally significant. Public agencies must treat any such resource as significant unless the pre-ponderance of evidence demonstrates that it is not historically or culturally significant. 10 Code of the Town of Los Gatos California, 29.80.215 thru 29.80.320 ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 3. Any object, building, structure, site, area, place, record, or manuscript which a lead agency determines to be historically significant or significant in the architectural, en-gineering, scientific, economic, agricultural, educational, social, political, military, or cultural annals of California, may be considered to be a historical resource, provided the lead agency’s determination is supported by substantial evidence in light of the whole record. Generally, a resource shall be considered by the lead agency to be “historically significant” if the resource meets the criteria for listing in the CRHR (Pub-lic Resources Code Section 5024.1, Title 14 CCR, Section 4852) as follows: A. Is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of California’s history and cultural heritage; B. Is associated with the lives of persons important in our past; C. Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, or represents the work of an important creative individual, or possesses high artistic values; or D. Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. (Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act) Un-der CEQA §15064.5, “generally, a project that follows the Secretary of the Inte-rior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring and Reconstructing Historic Buildings or the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation with Guide-lines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings shall be considered as mitigated to a level of less than a significant impact on the historical resource.” Historic Evaluation California Register of Historical Resources Criteria 1. It is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad pat- terns of local or regional history, or the cultural heritage of California or the United States; or 228 Bachman is a single-family residence and is not associated with any event of significance in Los Gatos. The property is located within the boundaries of the Al- mond Grove Historic District, the first subdivision after the town incorporated. The house was constructed somewhat later than most in the District. This parcel does not exemplify the historic district and is not a contributing structure to the District. Criterion 1 is not met. 2. It is associated with the lives of persons important to local, California, or national his-tory. 228 Bachman was constructed as a single-family, one bedroom house and served as an investment property for most of its history. Tenants changed frequently and were part of the workforce. None were identified through research to have contrib-uted in a significant way to the history of Los Gatos. In the 1970s, the building had commercial tenants with small professional offices. Research did not identify any of these tenants as significant in the history of Los Gatos. The property does not meet Criterion 2. 3. It embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master or possesses high artistic values. ARCHITECTS MBA 1176 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 408.297.0288 F408.297.0384 228 Bachman Avenue is a one-story, one-bedroom house that exhibits a vernacu-lar version of the Mediterranean Revival Style with arched openings on the front corner entry as the only detail of the style. The stucco-covered house may have been moved to the site and/or constructed with wood siding initially - the records are inconclusive. The extant building is not a significant example of the Mediterra-nean Style, for which many fine examples exist in Los Gatos. The house is not artistic and was not designed by a master architect or designer. The house does not meet Criterion 3. 4. It has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important to prehistory or history of the lo-cal area, California, or the nation. 228 Bachman Avenue is located in an area of suburban development where the native soils have been disturbed by agriculture and housing development. It is unlikely that important archaeological material would be present. However, an ar-chaeological survey was not part of this evaluation. The existing building is of common construction methods using materials in common use today. The build- ing would not provide significant information of either construction or cultural infor-mation from the past. The property does not appear to meet Criterion 4. CONCLUSION Due to a lack of significance, the property at 228 Bachman Avenue is ineligible for inclusion in the California Register or as a Town of Los Gatos Heritage Resource. Therefore, it is not a his- torical resource as defined by the Town of Los Gatos Code or the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). 228 Bachman lacks architectural distinction, has no relationship to signifi-cant events or people, therefore It is not a “contributing structure” to the Almond Grove Historic District in accordance with the Town Code. SOURCES CONSULTED Los Gatos Public Library was researched for historical records including old editions of the Los Gatos City Directory and Sanborn Maps. The Team visited the Los Gatos History Museum also and were referred to the Library’s Local History Room records for City Directories, maps and newspapers Request for Review Historic Preservation Committee filed by James B Wood on 8/30/24. Los Gatos Ordinance 2165 of 6 October 2008, the Almond Grove Historic District City Directories for the Town of Los Gatos were consulted ranging from 1927 to 1964. The di-rectories used are from the private collection of Bonnie Bamburg and the public collection of the Los Gatos Library. Building Classification and Computation Record, Form 1(5) dated 3/24/41. Town of Los Gatos Code for Historic Preservation; 29.80.215 thru 29.80.320 Email from Sean Mullen to Marvin Bamburg of 17 DEC 2024 Residential Design Guidelines, Town of Los Gatos, Chapter 4 This Page Intentionally Left Blank