DEPARTMENT OF EXECUTIVE OFfiCES CITY PLANNING CITY OF Los ANGEL OFFICE OF HISTORIC RESOURCES S. GAil GOLDBERG, AICP CALIFORNIA DJREao~ 200 N. SPRING STREIT, ROOM620 Los ANGELES, CA. 90012-4801 1213) 978·1271 1213) 978-1200 VINCENT I'. BERTONI. AICP D'E PUTY DIRfcrOR CULTURAL HERITACE COMMISSION 12131978·1272 RICHARD BARRON EVA YUAN-MCDANIEL PRESIDEm DE PUTY DIRECTOR ROELLA H. LOUIE 12131 978-12 7J VICE-PRESIDENT FAX: 1213) 978-1275 GLEN C DAKE MIA M. LE.HRER OZSCOTT ANTONIO R. VILLARAIGOSA INFO.RMATION MAYOR (213) 978-1270 www.planning.lacity.org FELY C PINGOL COMMISSION EXECUTIVEASSl5TANT 1213) 978-1294 Date DEC i 6 2009 CD "3 Los Angeles City Council Room 395, City Hall 200 North Spring Street Los Angeles, California 90012 ATTENTION: Patrice Lattimore, Legislative Assistant Planning and Land Use Management Committee CASE NUMBER: C H C -2009-3041-H CM VAN DEKKER HOUSE 19950 WEST COLLIER STREET At the Cultural Heritage Commission meeting of December 3, 2009, the Commission moved to include the interior of the above property as an expansion of the currently desiqnated Historic-Cultural Monument, subject to adoption by the City Council. As required under the provisions of Section 22.171.10 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code, the Commission has solicited opinions and information from the office of the Council District in which the site is located and from any Department or Bureau of the city whose operations may be affected by the designation of such site as a Historic-Cultural Monument. Such designation in and of itself has no fiscal impact. Future applications for permits may cause minimal administrative costs. The City Council, according to the guidelines set forth in Section 22.171 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code, shall act on the proposed inclusion to the list within 90 days of the Councilor Commission action, whichever first occurs. By resolution, the Council may extend the period for good cause for an additional 15 days. The Cultural Heritage Commission would appreciate your inclusion of the subject modification to the list of Historic-Cultural Monuments upon adoption by the City Council. The above Cultural Heritage Commission action was taken by the following vote: Moved: Commissioner Scott Seconded: Commissioner Barron Ayes: Commissioners Dake and Louie Absent: Commissioner Lehrer Vote: 4-0 Attachment: Staff Report with Findings c: Councilrnernber Dennis P. Zine, Third Council District Josh Gorell A D. Modlin DEPARTMENT OF EXECUTIVE OFFICES CITY PLANNING CITY OF Los ANGEL--.S S. GAIL GOLDBERG, AICP OFFICE OF HISTORIC RESOURCES CALIFORNIA 200 N. SPRINGSTREET, ROOM 620 DIRECTOR Los ANGELES,CA 90012-4801 {2131978-1271 (213) 978-1200 VINCENT P. BERTON!, AICP DEPUl'I DIRECTOR CULTURAL HERITAGE COMMISSION (213) 978-1272 RICHARD BARRON EVA YUAN-MCDANIEL PRESIDENT DEPUl'I DIRECTOR ROELLA H. LOUIE (213) 978-1273 VICE-PRESIDENT FAX: (213) 978-1275 GLEN C. OAKE MIAM. LEHRER ozscon ANTONIO R, VILLARAIGOSA INFORMATION MAYOR (213) 978-1270 www.pianning.lacity.org FELYC. PINGOl COMMISSION EXECUTIVE ASSIST ANT (2131978-1294 Date DEC 1 6 2009 Josh Gorrell 19950 West Collier Street Los Angeles, CA 91364 CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED CASE NUMBER: CHC-2009-3041-HCM VAN DEKKER HOUSE 19950 WEST COLLIER STREET As you will note from the attached copy of our communication to the Los Angeles City Council, the Cultural Heritage Commission has moved to include the above-referenced property in the list of Historic- Cultural monuments, subject to adoption by the City Council. In due course, our transmittal will be given a council file number and will be referred to the Council's Planning and Land Use Management Committee for review and recommendation. If you are interested in attending the Council Committee meeting, you should call Patrice Lattimore at (213) 978-1068 for information as to the time and place of the Committee and City Council meetings regarding this matter. Please give Ms. Lattimore at least one week from the date of this letter to schedule this item on the Committee Agenda before you call her. Fel . Pin I, Commission Executive Assistant Cultural Heritage Commission Ifcp Attachment: CHC Declaration Letter to Council, Staff Report with Findings, and Additional Finding C: Notification List A. D. Modlin GIS Los Angeles Department of City Planning RECOMMENDATION REPORT CULTURAL HERITAGE COMMISSION CASE NO.: CHC-2009-3041-HCM ENV-2009-3042-CE HEARING DATE: December 3, 2009 Location: 19950 West Collier Street TIME: 10:00 AM Council District: 3 PLACE: City Hall, Room 1010 Community Plan Area: Canoga Park- 200 N. Spring Street Winnetka - Woodland Hills - West Hills Los Angeles, CA Area Planning Commission: South Valley 90012 Neighborhood Council: Woodland Hills - Warner Center Legal Description: Lot 66, Tract TR 8812 PROJECT: Historic-Cultural Monument Application for the VAN DEKKER HOUSE REQUEST: Declare the property a Historic-Cultural Monument APPLICANT: AD. Modlin 342 East Kingsley Avenue Pomona, CA 91767 OWNER: Josh Gorrell 19950 West Collier Street Los Angeles, CA 91364 RECOM MENDATION That the Cultural Heritage Commission: 1. Declare the property a Historic-Cultural Monument per Los Angeles Administrative Code Chapter 9, Division 22, Article 1, Section 22.171.7 2. Adopt the report findings. S. GAIL GOLDBERG, AICP Dl1::E9 Ken Bernstein, AICP, Manager ~er, Preservation Architect Office of Historic Resources Office of Historic Resources Attachments: September, 2009 Historic-Cultural Monument Application ZIMAS Report 19950 West Collier Street CHC-2009-3041-HCM Page 2 of 4 FINDINGS 1. The building "embodies the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type specimen, inherently valuable for a study of a period style or method of construction" as an example of Modern style residential architecture. 2. The building is associated with a master builder, designer, or architect, as a work by master architect RM. Schindler (1887-1953). CRITERIA The criterion is the Cultural Heritage Ordinance which defines a historical or cultural monument as any site (including significant trees or other plant life located thereon) building or structure of particular historic or cultural significance to the City of Los Angeles, such as historic structures or sites in which the broad cultural, economic, or social history of the nation, State or community is reflected or exemplified, or which are identified with historic personages or with important events in the main currents of national, State or local history or which embody the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type specimen, inherently valuable for a study of a period style or method of construction, or a notable work of a master builder, designer or architect whose individual genius influenced his age. SUMMARY Built in 1940 and located in Woodland Hills, this three-story, single-family residential building exhibits character-defining features of Modern style architecture. Built on a gently sloping hillside, the L-shaped home contains approximately 2,300 square feet of interior space. The building is oriented along a diagonal axis relative to due north. The asymmetrical, copper-clad gable roof is composed of two separate volumes which join at the knuckle of the building's "L" shaped plan. The main entrance, located on the ground floor at the northern corner of the building, has a door built from vertical wood siding and leads to a split-level entry foyer. The ground floor is recessed and clad in leopard-spot stone. The second and third floors of the house are clad in stucco and consist of irregular and cantilevered volumes unified by horizontal structural elements and bands of sliding wood-framed windows. Additional window types in the subject building include wooden awning windows, polygonal-shaped fixed pane windows, and fixed pane clerestory windows. In the subject building's interior, the space created by the union of the two roof volumes becomes the dominant feature of the living room. The roof itself defines the spatial characteristics of the third floor rooms. Significant interior elements include built in furniture and cabinetry. Secondary structures on the site include a curved retaining wall of leopard spot stone, and a carport with storage/service rooms. The subject building was designed by master architect R. M. Schindler (1887-1953). Schindler is internationally recognized for his modern architectural designs that were sensitive to local conditions, and has been the subject of exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MaCA) and the MAK Center for Art and Architecture. Schindler designed the subject property for the famity of Albert Van Dekker, a film and television actor who performed in many well-known films and also served one term as a legislator in the California State Assembly. His best known roles are in films such as Dr. Cyclops (1940), Kiss Me Deadly (1955), and The Wild Bunch (1969). In 1955, Van Dekker sold the subject property to his colleague, Albert Isaac "Buzz" Bezzerides, who was the screen-writer for Kiss Me Deadly 19950 West Collier Street CHC-2009-3041-HCM Page 3 of 4 and several other critically and commercially successful movies of the 1940s and 1950s. Bezzerides resided in the home for over fifty years, until his death in 2007. Alterations to the subject building are chiefly a result of deferred maintenance and include replacement of some glass window panes with plywood, missing roof copper panels, missing bathroom tile-work, addition of wooden posts to the cantilevered roof over the living room porch, and removal of a trellis near this cantilevered roof. The garage and storage area appear to be in poor condition. DISCUSSION The Van Dekker House property successfully meets two of the specified Historic-Cultural Monument criteria: 1) "embodies the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type specimen, inherently valuable for a study of a period style or method of construction, and 2) is associated with a master builder, designer, or architect. As a residential building designed in the Modern style by master architect RM.