“Holding On To The Past” SM Daily Press

Holding On To The Past 

Long-time district residents mobilized against the two projects calling them out of scale and in the modernist style, being incompatible with the overall theme of the Third Street Historic District
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Statement of Official Action

                  LANDMARKS COMMISSION

OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA

 STATEMENT OF OFFICIAL ACTION

  

 

 

SUBJECT:                 LC-07CA-009

 

ADDRESS:               2642 2^nd Street           

 

 

REQUEST:                Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness for approval to demolish a Non-Contributing Structure on the property at 2642 Second Street and construct a new single-family residence on the parcel located within the Third Street Neighborhood Historic District.

 

     X                           Approved based on the following findings and subject to the conditions below.

  

 

 

“Another Bad Decision” SM Daily Press

Another Bad Decision

Neither decision inspires my confidence that this commission is truly capable of protecting Santa Monica’s historic past. 
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“Elegant, Refined, and Understated” – Letter to Editor SM Mirror

Elegant, Refined, and Understated

The word is out! Monday night the Landmarks Commission did the wrong thing and approved a new construction project.

Arcane design details that professional architects love but visitors to and residents of the District could never identify are sliced and diced to support claims that large, shoebox buildings are compatible with the graceful, multi-faceted style and flavor of the neighborhood’s old turn- of-the-century beach bungalows.   Details such as right angles, stepbacks, windows, and use of stucco and wood (presumably versus stainless steel) are used by project applicants and their architects to explain how shoebox projects look like the old historic buildings in the District!

If Landmarks Commission can describe your project as “elegant, refined, and understated,” you can build that too.  By the way, there is no reference in the District Design Guidelines to “elegant, refined, or understated”.  These are not defining characteristics of the District.

http://www.smmirror.com/MainPages/DisplayArchiveArticle.asp?eid=6844

 

“Modern Home Approved” Lookout News

Modern Home Approved in Historic District

The Landmarks Commission awarded a certificate of appropriateness Monday to allow homeowners to demolish one house and build another in the Third Street Neighborhood Historic District in Ocean Park.
http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2007/December-2007/12_13_07_Modern_Home_Approved_in_Historic_District.htm

 

“Controversial Project Gets Green Light” SM Daily Press

Controversial Project Gets Green Light

Construction Approved Despite Considerable Reluctance By Residents
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Landmarks Commission Meeting No. 2

Agenda Item 8-C
Certificate of Appropriateness Application 07CA-009, 2642 2nd Street, for approval of demolition of a Non-Contributing structure, and construction of a new single-family residence on the property located within the Third Street Neighborhood Historic District. (Continued from the October 8, 2007 meeting)
http://www01.smgov.net/planning/landmark/agendas/2007/lca20071212.htm

landmarks12-10-07

Minutes Item 8-C
A roll call was held for the motion and was approved by the following vote:
AYES: Bach, Berley, Kaplan Fresco
NAYS: Shari
http://www01.smgov.net/planning/landmark/agendas/2007/lcm20071210.htm

 

Letter to Editor SM Mirror

“The Landmarks Commission has two chances to do the right thing“
Now the City must honor that compact and do the right thing. It should strictly apply and enforce the District Design Guidelines and deny the proposed projects at 2642 Second and 2617 Third Street. It must send a clear message to developers, flippers, and property owners who don’t care about our City’s fabled history that the Historic District is not just a collection of desirable building sites a few blocks from the beach. It is one of the last places, if not the last place, in Santa Monica where the early history of our City matters and is worth preserving through the integrity of its architecture, old and new.
http://www.smmirror.com/MainPages/DisplayArchiveArticle.asp?eid=6803

 

New Rendering (with Irving Gill)

New design with flat roof for December Landmarks Commission meeting.

Horatio West Court, 140 Hollister Avenue (5 blocks from our house).  Four two-story all-concrete houses built in 1919 by internationally famous architect Irving Gill and restored in the early 1970s.  This was first (1977) building in Santa Monica to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and designated a Santa Monica City Landmark in 1979. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_West_Court

http://www.santamonicalandmarks.com/landmk38.html

 

“Preserving The Historic District” SM Daily Press

Preserving the Historic District
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