April 27, 2020 FROM: MIKE SANCHEZ, AICP, MCRP Assistant Director Planning and Development Department BY: LAURA GROVES van ONNA Historic Preservation Specialist Planning and Development Department SUBJECT: ..Title REVIEW AND COMMENT ON THE PRE-APPLICATION, CONSISTING OF CONCEPTUAL RELOCATION PLANS, FOR THE VARTANIAN HOME (HP #067) LOCATED AT 362 F STREET TO 318 N PARK AVENUE PURSUANT TO FMC 12-1606(a)(2) AND (b)(23). ..Body RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Commission review and comment on the Pre-Application, consisting of conceptual relocation plans, for the Vartanian Home (HP #067) located at 362 F Street to 318 N Park Avenue pursuant to FMC 12-1606(a)(2) and (b)(23). The purpose of this review and comment is to initiate discussion and to provide advisement to the applicant before he moves forward in preparation for the proposed project. Review of a Pre-Application is not a formal project review, cannot result in an approval or denial, and may not be relied upon by an applicant for any purpose other than obtaining generally-applicable information about the historic review process. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The applicant, Steve Walter, has requested that their Pre-Application, consisting of conceptual relocation plans, for the Vartanian Home be reviewed and commented upon by the Historic Preservation Commission. The applicant, a local owner-builder, is the owner of a potential relocation site and has proposed conceptual relocation plans for this Historic Resource. Primary concern for Staff is the preservation of this property, and retaining its historic integrity. Staff encourages discussion in pursuit of optimal treatment and methodology that enhances, and minimizes any potential adverse effects to, the historic character of the property. Pursuant to FMC 12-1606(a)(2) and (b)(23), Staff requests that the Commission review and comment on this Pre-Application for the purposes of initiating discussion and providing advisement before moving forward in preparation for a proposed project. Review of a Pre-Application is not a formal project review, cannot result in an approval or denial, and may not be relied upon by an applicant for any purpose other than obtaining generally-applicable information about the historic review process. BACKGROUND The Vartanian Home (c. 1895) located at 362 F Street consists of one building (the main one-story residence) and three structures (a barn, a tank house, and an outhouse). This property is remarkably intact, credited with being the oldest home within city limits west of the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks, and has an octagonal tank house - perhaps its most distinct contributing feature. The Resolution designating the Vartanian Home to the Local Register of Historic Resources was adopted by Fresno City Council on December 4, 1979. 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 late 19th century residential development in Fresno, Criterion ii because it is associated with Hwovageem (Henry) Vartanian, one of the original Armenian settlers in the area, and Criterion iii because it embodies distinctive characteristics of the Queen Anne architectural style. Furthermore, upon reevaluation through the "California High Speed Train Historic Property Survey Report: Fresno to Bakersfield Section" (2011), the property was determined eligible for individual listing in the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources. Current Application The applicant has requested that their Pre-Application, consisting of conceptual relocation plans, for the Vartanian Home be reviewed and commented upon by the Historic Preservation Commission. The applicant, a local owner-builder, is the owner of a potential relocation site and has proposed conceptual relocation plans for this Historic Resource. Staff received a demolition permit application from the owner of the Vartanian Home on or around November 5, 2018 with redevelopment in mind for the subject site due to the effects of High-Speed Rail development on the southern portion of this parcel. Pursuant to FMC 12-1617, Staff initiated environmental review. Until recently, the owner agreed to put environmental review on hold in order to explore potential relocation options. The applicant's conceptual relocation plans envision removal of the main residence, barn, and tank house from their current location at 362 F Street in Downtown Fresno and placement at 318 N Park Avenue in the Lowell Neighborhood. The applicant does not plan to retain the outhouse structure. The proposed use for the residence and ancillary structures is residential. The relocation would require some disassembly and reassembly. The move itself would entail detachment of the roof from the main residence, the complete disassembly of the barn - to be catalogued and mapped for reassembly, and the separation of the tank house into three sections. A new foundation would be required for each building/structure. The early-20th century rear addition, basement, and brick chimneys on the main residence as well as the outhouse would not be included in the move. The main residence would be placed on a new raised foundation. The applicant is in communication with staff from the Planning and Development, Public Works, and Public Utilities departments regarding logistics for the proposed relocation plans. The applicant has also obtained a quote from Dinuba House Movers for the proposed move of the Vartanian Home from its present location at 362 F Street to the proposed relocation site at 318 N Park Avenue. Movers would be required for transport of the main residence, and the two ancillary structures would be transported by him on a trailer bed. The proposed relocation site will place the residence and ancillary structures between two Historic Resources, the J.H. Waller Home (HP #302) located at 306 N Park Avenue and the Cowdrey Home (HP #033) located at 330 N Park Avenue, which also embody distinctive characteristics of prominent architectural styles in late 19th and early 20th residential development in Fresno. As a matter of information, the applicant has previously rehabilitated or constructed 11 properties in Fresno - 10 of which are located in the Lowell Neighborhood, and 4 of which are designated historic properties. Upon initial review of the Pre-Application, Staff finds that the preservation of this property, and retaining its historic integrity is the primary concern. This relocation plan would result in loss of integrity of location because the Vartanian Home would be removed from its original location. It would result in enhanced integrity of setting because the Vartanian Home would be removed from what is now a nonprofit organization campus and placed in a residential neighborhood. Most of the 7 aspects of integrity (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association) would be retained; therefore, overall historic integrity would be retained. The project, as currently proposed, appears to be in accordance with applicable standards 1, 2, 5, and 6 of the Secretary of the Interior's Standard's for Rehabilitation: 1. A property will be used as it was historically or be given a new use that requires minimal change to its distinctive materials, features, spaces and spatial relationships. 2. The historic character of a property will be retained and preserved. The removal of distinctive materials or alteration of features, spaces and spatial relationship that characterize a property will be avoided. 5. Distinctive materials, features, finishes and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property will be preserved. 6. Deteriorated historic features will be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature will match the old in design, color, texture and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features will be substantiated by documentary and physical evidence. The property will be used for residential purposes as it was historically, the historic character of the property will be preserved while making minor adjustments to features and spatial relationships between the main residence and ancillary buildings, the design and materials that characterize the property will be preserved, and work will entail repair or in kind replacement of deteriorated historic features as needed. The proposed relocation also appears to be in accordance with applicable standards 1, 3, 4, and 6 of the Secretary of the Interior's Standard's for Reconstruction: 1. Reconstruction will be used to depict vanished or non-surviving portions of a property when documentary and physical evidence is available to permit accurate reconstruction with minimal conjecture, and such reconstruction is essential to the public understanding of the property. 3. Reconstruction will include measures to preserve any remaining historic materials, features and spatial relationships. 4. Reconstruction will be based on the accurate duplication of historic features and elements substantiated by documentary or physical evidence rather than on conjectural designs or the availability of different features from other historic properties. A reconstructed property will re-create the appearance of the non-surviving historic property in materials, design, color and texture. 6. Designs that were never executed historically will not be constructed. In this case, there is a living record of the property's construction which will be documente, referenced, and substantially duplicated upon relocation and partial reconstruction. Essential remaining historic materials, features, and spatial relationships will be preserved and not added upon. Staff encourages discussion in pursuit optimal treatment and methodology that enhances, and minimizes any potential adverse effects to, the historic character of the property. The intention of this Pre-Application to the Commission is: 1) To obtain advice and guidance on retaining a sense of place for this historic resource while considering adaptation and innovation for present and future needs; and, 2) To gain a consensus on what is recommended, what is likely to be permissible, and what may require further discussion. As previously stated, this Pre-application is not a formal project review by the Commission. As such, this Pre-application cannot result in an approval or denial of the proposed project, and may not be relied upon by an applicant for any purpose other than obtaining generally-applicable information about the historic review process. Duties and Powers of the Commission: The City's Historic Preservation Ordinance is located at Chapter 12, Article 16 of the Fresno Municipal Code. Section 1606 outlines the duties and powers of the Commission. Sections 1606(a)(2) and (b)(23) specifically refer to the duties entailing review, comment, advisement, and guidance for historic resources: (a)(2) The regulation of exterior alterations visible from a public right-of-way including demolition, relocation and new construction, and interior alterations which would affect the significance of Historic Resources or Historic Districts. (b)(23) Render advice and guidance, upon the request of a property owner or tenant on the financial and physical aspects of the restoration, alteration, rehabilitation, landscaping or maintenance of any Historic Resource, any Contributor to any Historic District (LHD or NRD) or any Heritage Property. Historic Review Pre-Application Submittal Check List The Submittal Check List for the Historic Review Pre-Application is not as comprehensive and final as it would be for a formal project review, and includes the following: * Current Photographs o At least one overall view of the property o A detailed view of each historic feature that involves the proposed work * Conceptual Plans o An existing site plan (and a proposed site plan if different from existing), which can be hand-drawn and is not required to be scale. o Inspirational visuals and descriptions for the proposed work Attachments Exhibit A: State of California Survey Forms for the Vartanian Home 362 F Street Prepared June 26, 1978 by Ilene J. Marcum for the City of Fresno. Exhibit B: State of California Survey Forms for the Vartanian Home 362 F Street Prepared April 2010 by JRP Historical Consulting, LLC for the "California High Speed Train Historic Property Survey Report: Fresno to Bakersfield Section" (2011). Exhibit C: Historic Review Pre-Application Submittal from the applicant on behalf of the owner of the Vartanian Home (HP #067) located at 362 F Street, February 2020.