Staff Report with Attachments 1 and 2.446 San Benito Avenue
PREPARED BY: Erin M. Walters
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: 04/23/2025
ITEM NO: 2
DATE: April 18, 2025
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 446 San Benito
Avenue. APN 410-16-051. Exempt Pursuant to CEQA Section 15061(b)(3).
Request for Review PHST-25-005. Property Owner/Applicant: Devendra
Deshwal. Project Planner: Erin Walters.
RECOMMENDATION:
Consider a request to remove a pre-1941 property from the Historic Resources Inventory for
property zoned R-1D located at 446 San Benito Avenue.
PROPERTY DETAILS:
1. Date primary structure was built: 1905 per County Assessor
2. Town of Los Gatos Historic Status Code: “” or historic and some altered
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 pre-1941 residence from the Historic
Resources Inventory. The Santa Clara County Assessor’s Database lists a construction date of
1905.
The 1990 Anne Bloomfield survey indicates a construction date of the home in the 1920s with a
preliminary rating of “” or historic and some altered but still contributor to the district if there
is one (Attachment 1, Annexure 4). Note this property is not located in a historic district. The
Page 99
PAGE 2 OF 3
SUBJECT: 446 San Benito Avenue/PHST-25-005
DATE: April 18, 2025
building footprint shown on the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps is consistent between 1928 and
1944 (Attachment 1, Annexures 1 and 2).
The applicant has provided a letter justifying the requested removal (Attachment 2), and
property research (Attachment 1), which includes but is not limited to the Sanborn Fire
Insurance Maps, the Anne Bloomfield survey, building permit records, existing conditions plans,
and existing site photographs. Based on the research provided, the applicant believes that the
required findings for removal from the Historic Resources Inventory can be made for this
property as the residence is not in its original condition and there is nothing noted about the
property that is significant to the Town’s history.
Town Building Permit records from 2004 and 2010 include an electrical service upgrade, front
porch repair and repair of eave, and repair to roof and eaves including replacement of rafters
(Attachment 1, Annexure 8). The applicant has provided evidence that there have been
unpermitted additions to the original structure (Attachment 1). Building permits show that the
permitted floor area of the house is 684 square feet where the actual existing floor area of the
house is 889 square feet. The applicant provided plans for the existing house (Attachment 1,
Annexure 10), showing the existing floor area of 889 square feet. This evidence suggests that
unpermitted additions were made to the house. The existing ceiling height of the bedroom and
bathroom, located on the right side of the house, ranges from nine feet to six feet, 11 inches
whereas the ceiling height of the main house has a minimum height of eight feet. Further
establishing evidence of an unpermitted addition. The applicant has provided photos of the
existing house (Attachment 1, Annexure 10) and has provided a discussion on concerns that the
house is not structurally sound and has been altered.
CONCLUSION:
Should the Committee find that the structure no longer has historic significance or architectural
merit due to the loss of integrity, a recommendation of approval of the request to remove the
property from the Historic Resources Inventory would be forwarded to the Community
Development Director. Once approved by the Director, 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:
Page 100
PAGE 3 OF 3
SUBJECT: 446 San Benito Avenue/PHST-25-005
DATE: April 18, 2025
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. Applicants Research
2. Applicants Request
Page 101
This Page
Intentionally
Left Blank
Page 102
Page 103
N:\DEV\FORMS\Planning\2022-23 Forms\HPC\HPC - Request for Review.docx 3/25/2022
HOW TO RESEARCH THE HISTORY OF A HOUSE IN LOS GATOS
At the Los Gatos Public Library
100 Villa Avenue, Los Gatos CA 95030
Locked Cases Area
1.The Los Gatos Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps located on the microfilm file cabinet. These maps indicate
the outline of buildings in 1884, 1888, 1891, 1895, 1904, 1928 and 1944 (please note the 1944 maps
have been relabeled and appear out-of-order, before the 1928 maps). These can be used to identify a
construction date range.
Bookcase #11
1.The 1941 Tax Assessment Survey. The listings are alphabetical by street name. An entry will note how
old the owner thought the house was in 1941 (please note that this information is not always accurate).
2.The 1991 Anne Bloomfield Historic Resources Survey. These listings are alphabetical by street name.
3.A list of the Museums of Los Gatos Historic Homes Tours and programs.
4.A list of the 100 Bellringers and information.
5.As it Was by Dora Rankin.
Bookcase #12
1.The 1924-1974 Polk’s Directories (please note that some years are missing), with reverse listings by
address and then resident name.
2.Business and Telephone Directories, as early as 1881-82.
History Room (Docent Hours: 1:00-5:00 Mondays and Thursdays; 10:00-12:00 Wednesdays)
1.History of Los Gatos by George Bruntz and Los Gatos Observed by Alistair Dallas (979.473).
2.Information in the Residences drawers of the Vertical File, filed by street.
3.The Patrons’ Inquiries, binder #3 Residences, listed by street, located on the shelf above the computers.
These may provide information found under previous searches.
General
1.ancestry.com is available free while inside the library.
2.A Field Guide to American Houses by Virginia Savage McAlester (728 M11 in non-fiction)
Page 104
JUSTIFICATION FOR REMOVAL FROM HISTORIC INVENTORY
446 San Benito Avenue Los Gatos, CA, 94032
SUBJECT: Request for removal of a Pre-1941 Property from Historic Resources
Inventory for the Property Zoned R-1D, Located at 446 San Benito Avenue .
APN 410-16-051.
PROPERTY OWNER/APPLICANT: Devendra Deshwal
PROPERTY DETAILS :
1. Date primary structure was built: as per ANNE BLOOMFIELD ARCHITECTURAL
SURVEY- LOS GATOS RESEARCH -Year 1920, As Per Town Record -1905
2. Town of Los Gatos Historic Status Code: N/A
3. Does property have an LHP Overlay? No
4. Is the structure in a historic district? No
5. If yes, is it a contributor? N/A
DETAILED JUSTIFICATION:
A wide-ranging research has been conducted in line with the guidelines of the Historic
Research WorkSheet, Historic Preservation Committee, Town of Los Gatos and the details
of the research are given as below:
1. LOS GATOS PUBLIC LIBRARY :
a. SANBORN MAPS : The Sanborn maps of 1928 & 1944 are attached as
Annexures-1 & 2. These maps show the main house and an accessory
structure in the rear yard. The main house still exists but the accessory
structure is no longer existing as will be seen from the existing site plan sheet
A1 in the plan set of the existing house attached as Annexure 10. .
b. 1941 TAX ASSESSMENT : The 1941 Tax Assessment Survey is attached
as Annexure-3. It does not convey any pointer to the historical character of
this building. (The survey report is for lot 43 (Old No.) as also correlated in the
ANNE BLOOMFIELD SURVEY.
c. 1989 ANNE BLOOMFIELD HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY
FORM :
The Anne Bloomfield Historic Resource Survey Form is attached as
Annexure-4. The survey also mentions its old lot No. as 43 and also provides
its likely year of construction as 1920. The original style is said to be
“Banglow”. It also mentions that some alterations to existing windows and the
Porch were done to the original house. A photo of the house is also given but
the features of the house are not very clear from it. As such, the survey does
not establish it to be a structure of historic importance.
d. POLK’S DIRECTORIES & TELEPHONE DIRECTORY :
Contd P2
ATTACHMENT -1
Page 105
The Polk’s Directories & Telephone directories were researched to know the
details of persons staying or associated with this house. A chronological detail
of the persons stayed is given in Annexure -5 attached including the relevant
pages of the Polk’s Directory.
A search was made on the internet for important persons associated with Los
Gatos and a list of 83 people appeared as per the link below:
https://www.famousfix.com/list/people-from-los-gatos-california
None of these famous people lived in this house..
Thus a perusal of Annexure 5 and the Google search shows that no
significant persons are associated with this house/structure.
e. HISTORIC PROPERTY RESEARCH COLLOECTION :
The Historic Property Research Collection in the Los Gatos Library was
searched and no record pertaining to this structure was found in box no. 9
relevant for the San Benito Ave. A record of only one house i.e. for 441, was
found in the box. This establishes the house at 446 San Benito Ave does not
have any historical importance.
2. SANTA CLARA COUNTY RESOURCES:
A request was made to the planning department of the Santa Clara County to
ascertain if any plans or any other records are available in the county records.
The county replied that no plan or any other records are available for 446 San
Benito Ave & asked to contact the town of Los Gatos for the same. Thus no
historical records are available in the county for this structure. The email
screenshot of the replies from the county are attached as Annexure 6 & 7.
3. TOWN OF LOS GATOS- COMPUTER RECORDS:
A search was made on the computer installed in the lobby to find out the
records of 446 San Benito Ave. The search yielded some of the records
including the permit records for some of the works done in this house. These
records are attached as Annexure 8 (11 pages). A perusal of these records
indicate that some alteration works have been done to the original house as
below:
1. Electrical service upgrade
2. Front porch repair and repair of the eve.
3. Repair of the roof and eave including replacement of the rafters. The
shape of the house given in this permit is rectangular box type.
4. In addition other unpermitted works have also been carried out in the
house as brought out in succeeding paras.
4. ADDITIONAL DETAILS:
(a) In addition, the details of the house were also downloaded from the Town
of Los Gatos city portal and the same are attached as Annexure-9.. A
perusal of these records show that the permitted floor area of this house is
684 Sq Ft only. whereas the existing floor area of the house is 889 sq ft
without the front porch. It speaks of some unpermitted addition made to
the house as discussed in following paras.
-2-
Contd P3Page 106
(b) The plans of the existing house have been prepared and are attached as
Annexure 10 (24 pages). The floor area of the existing house is 889 Sq Ft
as against the permitted floor area of 684 Sq Ft only.
It is also seen that the ceiling height of the bedroom & bathroom on the
right side is only 6’-9” to 6’-11”, as against the main house ceiling height of
8’-0”(+). It is marked with A, B & C on sheet A4, A5 & A6.1.
It establishes that some unpermitted constructions have been made to the
house. The possible unpermitted portion is marked in redlines in sheet A2
(Existing Floor Plan) & A2.1 (Area Calculations).
The photo survey of the existing house has also been done & the photos
of the house are given in sheet A 6.1 to A6.17 & A7 of the attached plan
set (Annexure -10).
A quick perusal of the photos & plan indicate that the house is not
structurally sound & also some alterations have been made which are not
code compliant as outlined below:
i. The ridge board of the porch is not provided as seen in plan sheet
A6.7. Thus the porch roof is not structurally sound.
ii. The height in the bedroom 2 is less than 7’-6” the minimum admissible
height.
iii. A wall has been constructed between bedroom 1 & closet which is
abutting the middle of the window as seen in Sheet A6.17.
iv. The existing windows of the bedroom are not egress compliant as per
the current code requirement etc.
v. The architectural design of the house is very simple- a rectangular box
with front porch enclosed on all sides and no uniqueness is noticed in
the architectural details/design.
vi. Further due to alteration to window & porch etc, the original design is
no longer existing.
(c) As would be seen from the plan sheet A7, all the houses around this
house have been modified and present a good look and this house in the
existing condition is totally a misfit in the area.
(d) The APN map and the Tract Map of the lot are also attached as Annexure
11 & 12.
CONCLUSION:
In view of the above points, it is clear that the existing house has no architectural
merit for the following reasons:
a. The structure is not associated with events that have made a significant
contribution to the Town;
b. No significant persons are associated with the structure.
c. There are no distinctive characteristics of type, period or method of
construction or representation of work of a master;
d. The structure does not yield information to Town history; and,
-3-
Contd P4Page 107
Page 108
ANNEXURE-1
(1928 SANBORN MAPS)
446 San Benoto Ave
Page 109
ANNEXURE-2
(1944 SANBORN MAPS)
446 San Benito Ave
Page 110
ANNEXURE -3
Page 111
Page 112
ANNEXURE-5
OWNERSHIP HISTORY OF 446 SAN BENITO AVE, LOS GATOS
As per Telephone directories of various years available in the Los gatos Library, the
ownership details are as below:
Period Homeowners
Prior to 1934 No record found
1934 to 1941 Mr Conroy Owen
1941 to 1943 Mr M J Wuseri ( The 1941 Tax assessment indicated his name
(name not legible).
1943 to 1944 Vacant
1945 to 1947 Mrs Kinter Paula
1949 to 2025 Mr Cushman Arth C
2025 onwards Mrs Rajkumari & Devendra Deshwal
Page 113
Page 114
Page 115
Page 116
Page 117
Page 118
Page 119
Page 120
Page 121
Page 122
ANNEXURE -6
Type text hereSanta Clara County Reply -1
Page 123
ANNEXURE-7Santa Clara County Reply -2
Page 124
CITY COMPUTER RECORDS
1. Electrical Service Upgrade (5 pages)
ANNEXURE-8
Page 125
Page 126
Page 127
Page 128
Page 129
Page 130
Page 131
Page 132
Page 133
Page 134
REROOF INCLUDING REPLACEMENT OF ROOF PERMIT -1 Page3.
Page 135
Page 136
Page 137
Page 138
Page 139
Page 140
Page 141
Page 142
Page 143
Page 144
Page 145
Page 146
Page 147
Page 148
Page 149
Page 150
Page 151
Page 152
Page 153
Page 154
Page 155
Page 156
Page 157
Page 158
Page 159
Page 160
Page 161
ANNEXURE-12TRACT MAP
Page 162
Dated 04.07.2025
To
Town of Los Gatos
Historic Preservation Committee
SUBJECT: Request for removal of a Pre-1941 Property from Historic Resources Inventory
for the Property Zoned R-1D .
Address: 446 San Benito Ave
APN 410-16-051.
Dear CommitteeMembers,
This is regarding a request for removal of the house at 446 San Benito Ave from the
Historic Resource Inventory. As outlined in the Historic Research Worksheet, the required
research was conducted and the following documents reviewed:
● Sanborn Maps – Attached as Annexure 1 & 2 along with the HRC worksheet.
● 1941 Tax Assessment – Attached as Annexure 3 along with the HRC worksheet.
● 1989 Ann Bloomfield Historic Resource Survey Form – Attached as Annexure 4
along with the HRC worksheet.
● Polk Directories – Attached as Annexure 5 along with the HRC worksheet.
● Historic Property Collection and Tour Books – Nothing could be found in the
Historic property Collection as outlined in the HRC worksheet.
● Telephone Directories – Included with Polk Directories.
In addition following documents were also relied upon:
● Santa Clara County records -No records were available in the county for this
property. The replies from the county are attached as Annexure 6 & 7 with the HRC
Worksheet.
● Permit history of the house from City Computer Records: As per Annexure 8
attached with HRS worksheet.
● Town of los Gatos Parcel Report: As per Annexure -9 attached with HRC
worksheet.
● Home inspection report: attached herewith as Annexure 13.
Our research has determined that the structure has neither any historic significance nor any
architectural merit:
● It is believed that the home may have been built in 1905.
○ The home was not constructed with any defined architectural style and has
been modified from the original design.
■ The house does not have any perimeter foundation. Refer Page 8 of
the Home Inspection report attached herewith as Annexure 13.
■ The front porch has clearly been modified. The ridge board of the
porch is not provided as seen in plan sheet A6.7. Thus the porch roof
is not structurally sound.
ATTACHMENT 2
Page 163
■ Unpermitted additions have been made to the house. The height in
bedroom 2 is less than 7’-0”, the minimum admissible height.
■ A wall has been constructed between bedroom 1 & closet which is
abutting the middle of the window as seen in Sheet A6.17 of the plan
set attached as Annexure 10 along with HRC worksheet.
■ The existing windows of the bedroom are not egress compliant as per
the current code requirement etc.
■ The vinyl windows are not original and of the time of its construction,
and may not be in their original locations.
■ The windows and front door do not reflect the architectural style nor
materials used in that era.
■ The architectural design of the house is very simple- a rectangular box
with front porch enclosed on all sides and no uniqueness is noticed in
the architectural details/design.
■ Further due to alteration to window & porch etc, the original design is
no longer existing.
○ Our research indicates that no person of any significant importance nor
anyone associated with the Town’s founding or history has ever owned or
lived in the property.
○ While the home was built prior to 1941, it is not included in historical records,
is not located within any historic district, and has no redeeming architectural
qualities.
○ In its current condition under modern codes, it may be deemed uninhabitable.
The above details, along with the specifics provided in the HRC worksheet demonstrate
that all five required findings have been proven:
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 the 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.
Based on the evidence provided above, we strongly believe that this structure should be
removed from any historic list.
Encl: 1. HRC Worksheet along with Annexures 1 to 12.
2. Home inspection report as Annexure -13 -Page 8 for foundation condition.
Devendra Deshwal
Homeowner
446 San Benito Ave
out
0410712025
Page 164