HISTORIC RESOURCE EvalUATION REPORT 17 and 25 Fiesta Way 56, 56A, 104, and 108 Villa Avenue Los Gatos, California October 8, 2009 Prepared for Geier & Geier Consulting, Inc. Prepared by HISTORIC RESOURCE EvalUATION REPORT 17 and 25 Fiesta Way 56, 56A, 104, and 108 Villa Avenue Los Gatos, California October 8, 2009 Prepared for Geier & Geier Consulting, Inc. Prepared by Carey & Co., Inc. Historic Resources Evaluation Report, Los Gatos Library EIR October 8, 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction. ...................................................................................................................................1 Summary of Findings.......................................................................................................................1 Methodology ...................................................................................................................................1 Regulatory and Planning Framework..............................................................................................2 Historic Context .............................................................................................................................7 Description and Evaluation...........................................................................................................14 Impact Analysis.............................................................................................................................25 Mitigation Measures......................................................................................................................26 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................28 Appendices.......................................................................................................................... After 30 A: Map of the Survey Area B: Photographs of the Survey Area C: Sanborn Maps of the Survey Area D: DPR 523A & 523B Forms Carey & Co., Inc. i Historic Resources Evaluation Report, Los Gatos Library EIR October 8, 2009 INTRODUCTION Geier & Geier Consulting, Inc. has engaged Carey & Co. to prepare a Historic Resource Evaluation Report requested for five properties located in Los Gatos, Santa Clara County, California. The survey area consists of single-family houses or government offices that have been converted from single-family houses owned by the Town of Los Gatos and located at 17 Fiesta Way (APN 529-34-025), 25 Fiesta Way (APN 529-34-024), and 56-56A, 104, and 108 Villa Avenue (APN 529-34-091) adjacent to the Town’s Civic Center. The buildings were constructed over 45 years ago and may be demolished or relocated as a part of a proposed project to build a new public library in Los Gatos. This report provides a description and a historical summary of the buildings and an assessment of their historic significance, integrity, and eligibility for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR) and in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It also provides a project impact analysis and suggested mitigation measures. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS In Carey & Co.’s professional opinion, the house at 17 Fiesta Way appears to be eligible for listing in the CRHR. Although it may have been moved to its current location prior to 1928, it retains a high level of integrity and its simple plan; hipped roof; wood-sash, two-over-two windows; and paired brackets at the eave make this cottage a significant example of late-nineteenth century Italianate architecture in Los Gatos. However, its setting and general environment have changed greatly over time and does not provide the necessary residential context for the building to be eligible for the NRHP under Criterion Consideration B for moved properties. The remaining buildings at 25 Fiesta Way and 56-56A, 104, and 108 Villa Avenue do not appear to be associated with significant events or persons; to embody distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction; to represent the work of a master; or to possess high artistic value to be eligible for the CRHR or the NRHP. METHODOLOGY Carey & Co. prepared this report by conducting a site visit on May 22, 2009 and evaluating the existing conditions, historic features, and architectural significance of the buildings. The firm also reviewed building permits and records, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, city directories, historic newspapers and photographs, and primary and secondary resources regarding the history of Los Gatos, people associated with the survey area, and residential architecture in the United States during the late nineteenth and early to mid-twentieth centuries. The firm undertook archival research at the following repositories: • Los Gatos Community Development Department, Building Division • Los Gatos Public Library Historical Collection • Los Gatos History Museum • San José Public Library’s California Room • San Francisco Public Library’s History Center On June 26, 2009, Carey and Co. contacted the California Historical Resources Information System’s (CHRIS) Northwest Information Center (NWIC) at Sonoma State University and verified that the buildings have not been listed as California Points of Historical Interests, as California Historical Landmarks, in the CRHR, or in the NRHP. The house at 17 Fiesta Way has been previously surveyed in Carey & Co., Inc. 1 Historic Resources Evaluation Report, Los Gatos Library EIR October 8, 2009 1991 by architectural Anne Bloomfield, who found the building to be eligible for the NRHP under Criterion A, for its association with Los Gatos’ residential development between 1865 and 1941, and Criterion B, for its association with Angelia Castro Lucero. A copy of the Historic Resources Inventory Form is located in Appendix D. Lastly, on June 26, 2009, Carey & Co. contacted the Los Gatos Planning Department and verified that, while none of the buildings are Los Gatos landmarks or located in a local historic district, 17 Fiesta Way and 104 Villa Avenue are included in the Los Gatos Historic Resources Inventory as structures built before 1941. REGULATORY AND PLANNING FRAMEWORK The regulatory background outlined below offers an overview of federal and state laws, regulations, and guidelines and the criteria used to assess the historic significance and eligibility of a building, structure, object, site or district for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or the California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR). FEDERAL REGULATIONS AND CRITERIA National Historic Preservation Act, as Amended (1966) The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) defines the Federal Government’s role in historic preservation and establishes partnerships between states, local governments, Indian tribes, and private organizations and individuals. It authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to expand and maintain the National Register of Historic Places and establishes the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) and state and tribal historic preservation offices. It also requires federal agencies to consider the effects of their undertakings on historic resources and to give the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) a reasonable opportunity to comment on those undertakings. A lead federal agency will be responsible for project compliance with Section 106 of the NHPA and its implementing regulations, set forth by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation at 36 CFR 800. National Register of Historic Places National Register Bulletin Number 15, How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation, describes the Criteria for Evaluation as being composed of two factors. First, the property must be “associated with an important historic context.”1 The National Register identifies four possible context types, of which at least one must be applicable at the national, state, or local level. As listed under Section 8, “Statement of Significance,” of the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, these are: A. Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. B. Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. C. Property 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 represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. 1 U. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register Bulletin: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation, National Register Bulletin 15 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1997), 3. Carey & Co., Inc. 2 Historic Resources Evaluation Report, Los Gatos Library EIR October 8, 2009 D. Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important to prehistory or history.2 Certain resources are not usually considered for listing in the National Register: • religious properties • moved properties • birthplaces and graves • cemeteries • reconstructed properties • commemorative properties • properties that have achieved significance within the past fifty years These properties can be eligible for listing, however, if they meet special requirements, called Criteria Considerations (A-G), in addition to meeting the regular requirements (that is, being eligible under one or more of the four significance criteria and possessing integrity). Generally, such properties will qualify