REPORT TO THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION April 23, 2018 FROM: DANIEL ZACK, AICP, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Development and Resource Management Dept. Secretary, Historic Preservation Commission BY: LAURA VAN ONNA Historic Preservation Specialist SUBJECT: ..Title CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF REQUEST BY THE PROPERTY OWNER TO RECOMMEND TO THE CITY COUNCIL THE DESIGNATION OF THE FOLLOWING PROPERTY TO THE LOCAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC RESOURCES AND ADOPTION OF FINDINGS NECESSARY TO SUPPORT RECOMMENDATION PURSUANT TO FMC 12-1609 The Elia Home Located at 634-640 Van Ness Avenue Staff Recommendation: Approve and forward to the City Council ..Body RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Commission find that the Elia Home be designated for listing to the Local Register of Historic Resources, as meeting the applicable criteria for buildings more than fifty years old in FMC 12-1607(a)(1). If the Commission concurs with the staff recommendation, the property will be forwarded to the Fresno City Council for designation pursuant to FMC 12-1609. As required by the City's Historic Preservation Ordinance, notice of this hearing considering designation of the property was published in The Fresno Bee on April 12, 2018. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The owner of the Elia Home has requested in writing that their property be considered for listing in Fresno's Local Register of Historic Resources. The Elia Home located at 634-640 Van Ness Avenue was constructed in 1915 as a two-story duplex, or multiple-family residence, with the addition of a one-story storefront commercial building in 1935 in the Armenian Town neighborhood. The residence exhibits elements of architectural styles such as Folk Victorian and Colonial Revival, while the commercial building exhibits elements of Art Deco. It meets Criteria i and iii (only one is required) for designation in the Local Register for buildings more than fifty years old as it: is associated with the early development of the Armenian Town neighborhood (i) and has distinction as a Live/Work property type (iii). The Elia Home (1915, 1935) consists of a two-story duplex, or multiple-family residence, that exhibits elements of the Folk Victorian and Colonial Revival architectural styles with the addition of a one-story storefront commercial building that exhibits elements of the Art Deco architectural style in the Armenian Town neighborhood in Downtown Fresno. The period of significance identified for this property is 1915-2001. The Elia family occupied the property from the time of its construction up until the death of Anna Elia in 2001. The Elia Home is eligible for listing in the City of Fresno's Local Register of Historic Resources. The property is greater than 50 years of age and possesses integrity of location, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association (FMC 12-1607). Additionally, it is significant under Local Register Criterion i because it is associated with the early development of the Armenian Town neighborhood and Criterion iii because it has distinction as a Live/Work property type. BACKGROUND Local Register Criteria and Protocols: The City's Historic Preservation Ordinance is located at Chapter 12, Article 16. Section 1607 outlines the criteria for designation of a resource to the Local Register of Historic Resources. A "historic resource" is "any building, structure, object or site" which is generally more than fifty years of age and "possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association, and: (i) Is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or (ii) Is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or (iii) 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 (iv) Has yielded or may be likely to yield, information in prehistory or history." The City's criteria for assessing significance are patterned after the National Register of Historic Places (1966 as amended) which uses letters A-D for significance. Fresno's Local Register is also similar, although not equivalent, to the California Register of Historical Resources which uses a numbering system of 1-4 for criteria. Although the concept of "integrity" is not specifically defined in the City's Ordinance, it is implicitly understood to follow the National Register which defines "integrity" as "the ability of a property to convey its significance." "To retain integrity a property will always possess several and usually most, of the aspects." (How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation," 1988: 44). The process for designating a historic resource is outlined in FMC 12-1609. In brief, a request to designate a resource to the Local Register may be made by the Council, the Commission, the Secretary to the Commission, the property owner, or an authorized representative of the owner [12-1609(a)]. Applications for listing use the state protocol for survey forms with both a DPR 523A (Primary) as well as a DPR 523B (Building, Structure, Object Form) [12-1609(a)(1-9)]. A notice must be published in a local newspaper at least 10 days prior to the hearing and sent to the property owner as well. Commissioners must also physically visit the property prior to the Commission hearing [12-1609(c)(1)]. Attachments Exhibit A: State of California Survey Forms for the Elia Home 634-640 Van Ness Avenue Prepared April 9, 2018 by Laura Groves van Onna for the City of Fresno.