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THE
PRESERVATIONIST The Whittier Conservancy Newsletter - Fall 2004 |
Depot to Regain Standing
on National Register of Historic Places
by Karen Bennett On August 6, the California State Historical Resources Commission voted to recommend to the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places that the Whittier Depot once again be listed on the National Register. The Depot originally received National Register status in 1978, but was removed from the Register in 1998 due to its having been moved from its original site in l990. Through the efforts of the city Transportation Department and consultants, working from information provided by city historic resources experts, an application for reinstatement of National Register status was prepared. Several organizations, including the Whittier Conservancy, The Save Our Depot Committee, The Whittier Historical Society, and the Whittier Historic Depot Task Force submitted letters lending their support to the application. The depot was found to meet two of the criteria for National Register listing, architecture and transportation. It is an excellent example of stick style architecture applied to railroad depot design, the only remaining Southern California example of Southern Pacific’s Standard Number 18 depot plan. Also, it was found to be historically significant from its construction in1892 until the end of World War II as a transportation center important both in bringing settlers to Whittier and in transporting their products of citrus and related industries. Conservancy Annual Awards Dinner [no author] The Whittier Conservancy’s 2004 Annual Awards Dinner will be held on Saturday, October 16 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the historic Whittier Train Depot, located at 7333 Greenleaf Avenue, Whittier (across from the Radisson Hotel). As always, the purpose of these annual awards is to call attention to notable examples of historic preservation and community enhancement projects in Whittier, and to give recognition to the people behind them. Residential, commercial, and in-stitutional properties are all eligible for consideration and can be chosen from the following categories: • Historic Preservation (maintenance of original fabric, style,
plan or site) If you would like to nominate a property for award recognition, please
call Dorothea Boyd at 562-693-8956. The Awards Dinner will include
a delicious dinner catered by Whittier’s Green Arbor Restaurant,
and will feature the always exciting and eclectic silent action, which
will benefit the Conservancy’s annual operating expenses. Admission
is $20 per person ($25 after October 9 or at the door). [page 1]
President's Letter
by Dorothea Boyd Dear Members, The Whittier Conservancy’s responsibility to the public is to preserve what is good about Whittier, to encourage improvements where deemed necessary, and to retain the ambiance of a small-town atmosphere. We are all aware of the vital need to improve Uptown Whittier. This must be a high priority on the very busy agenda of our City Fathers. Over two years ago a developer approached the City with a proposal to build a six-story, mixed-use project with 122 residential condominiums on Bright Avenue between Philadelphia and Wardman in Uptown Whittier. As this was the first offer of improvement on such a scale, it was found to be very attractive and accepted for consideration. When Conservancy and historic neighborhood residents learned of it, we were immediately concerned with the impact its density and size would have within the confines of the small Uptown area. We brought our concerns to the Council and City Manager in the hopes that a reduction in density and size would be considered. This has been a major effort on the part of the Conservancy for several months. Members attend Council meetings, Design Review Board meetings and more recently Planning Commission meetings. It is essential these authorities know about the concerns and interests of Whittier citizens before they make any decision that would impact the comunity’s long-term future. We hope members and friends will continue to show interest in our City, read articles in our publication, attend City Council and Planning Commission meetings and make your voices heard. We look forward to seeing many of you at our Annual Awards Dinner and Auction on October 16 in the Historic Train Depot on Greenleaf Avenue. Keep informed, keep vigilant and keep Whittier special. The Mills Act and Historic Preservation by Bob Marks Preservation of historic properties in California received a major incentive in the early 1970s when the legislature approved, and the governor signed, the Mills Act. The Mills Act is part of the California state tax code which gives significant property tax breaks to owners of designated properties in return for their contractualized commitment to maintain the property in good historic condition. The public policy intent of the Mills Act thus is to preserve historic properties by giving tax incentives to their owners. Not any property is eligible for Mills Act benefits. First, a county must agree to participate in the program by enabling municipalities to establish a historic resources commission and a process and criteria by which properties are designated as historically signficant. The property owner must do the research and make the case to the historic resources commission that the property meets two or more of the criteria. Whittier currently has about 25 Mills Act properties; Monrovia has nearly 60. All told, 59 California counties have Mills Act properties. In recent years, Mills Act property owners in Los Angeles County have been experiencing some difficulties as tax assessor Rick Auerbach has increased their property taxes, sometimes significantly. To be sure, Mills Act property owners pay much lower property taxes than they otherwise would (30-50% less than the Proposition 13 assessed value). But the underlying rationale for the Mills Act is to provide financial incentives for owners of historic properties to maintain them in good condition, thereby preserving neighborhoods as well. Significant tax increases (even on a smaller base) remove incentives to participate, and add financial uncertainty to the Mills Act property owners’ ability to fulfill their contractual obligations. Many feel that the LA County Assessor thus is undermining the public policy intent of the Mills Act. Mills Act property owners in Whittier have expressed their unhappiness with the LA County Assessor to the Whittier City Council, the LA County Supervisors, and the California State Office of Historic Preservation, all of which wrote letters of concern to County Assessor Auerbach. His position is that it is his right and obligation to annually reassess all property taxes, including those on Mills Act properties. The underlying problem appears to be with the enabling legislation, which was written and made law before Proposition 13 was passed in 1978. Whittier Mills Act property owners now are spearheading an effort to change the language of the Mills Act to reassert its original public policy intent of historic preservation while keeping annual property tax increases within bounds similar to those of Proposition 13. The Whittier City Council recently tacked possible uses for the approximately 92-acre property onto the Whittier Boulevard Business Improvement Study. This did not include a title search, but it could. [page 2]
What Kind of Community Do We Want? by Charles Claver I am concerned about the City’s apparent desire to loosen development and design standards that were put in place to protect Whittier’s character and to maintain high property values. The old battle cry of “private property rights” has been raised again along with the thought that we should make it easier for outside developers and contractors. Private property rights are important. However, they should not be the basis for setting community standards and especially not for outside developers. It is NOT a coincidence that communities with high property values have higher design and development standards. In fact, it was the same old “private property rights” argument used for decades that allowed shoddy apartments into established Whittier neighborhoods and mini-malls seemingly on every commercial corner. The result has been increased blight and crime due to low quality, high-density development. What kind of community do we want Whittier to be? If we begin to lower our development standards, cheap development will once again be the norm, inevitably followed by blight and crime. Why do we want to go back to those days when “any development” was perceived as “good development?” Is Whittier that desperate that we have to accept anything but the best?’ All around us people have begun to recognize that Whittier is investing in its historic neighborhoods and commercial areas which have made the community more attractive and increased property values. This is not just a result of the current real estate market but in-directly from a decade of higher development and design standards. It is indeed troubling that we must re-visit our development and design standards every time there is an election. What has happened to continuity in government? It’s bad enough that there seems to be a complete lack of code enforcement. Just look across from City Hall and along Greenleaf Avenue and see the blatant violations of neon signage. Not the image one wants in Whittier. I still have confidence, however, that our City Council will do the right thing and uphold high standards for our community by engaging in an open and honest dialogue with residents on this issue. Historic Neighborhood Signs [page 3]
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