Historic Preservation

If you’ve been keeping up with recent preservation news in Monrovia, you’re probably aware of the moratorium proposed by Councilman Joe Garcia. In an effort to prevent the demolition of any homes built prior to 1940, the Council is considering a delay time in issuing demolition and/or building permits for those structures. By doing so, it will allow City staff to review the builder’s plans and determine if the home is on the potential historic list. This list contains over 1,300 addresses of homes that could be potential landmarks within the City due to their architecture or their historic significance to the community.

This issue was discussed at a recent meeting between the City Council, the Historic Preservation Commission, and the Planning Commission. While it was the consensus that not all homes built prior to 1940 are significant, everyone did agree that demolition of older homes should be reviewed before any permits are issued.
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Landmarking Your Home

The leaders of our City realized that our inventory of vintage homes and buildings could be in jeopardy if something wasn’t done to safeguard them from demolition. The City of Monrovia adopted the current Historic Preservation Ordinance in 1995 and began landmarking historic structures soon thereafter. Currently there are over 50 landmarked buildings, and more are on the way.

Any owner of historic property can apply to landmark their home or building. The Historic Preservation Commission and the City Council must both find that the application meets one or more of the criteria and standards for the designations of a landmark, as follows:

It is identified with persons or events significant in local, regional, state, or national history.
It is representative of the work of a notable builder, designer, or architect.
It contributes to the significance of an historic area.
It embodies one or more distinctive characteristics of style, type, period, design, materials, or craftsmanship.
It has a unique location or physical characteristics or represents an estab-lished and familiar visual feature of neighborhood, community, or the City.
It incorporates elements that help preserve and protect an historic place or area of historic interest in the City.
It has yielded, or may be likely to yield information important in prehistory or history.

Case Study: Home Maintenance

In March of this year, an agent in my office took a listing for a 1910 Craftsman bungalow on North Canyon Boulevard in Monrovia. The home is a two-bedroom, one bath structure with the original woodwork, hardwood floors, high ceilings and wainscoting, situated on a large 9,374 square foot lot. It is 1,245 square feet of living space with a bonus room that could be used for a third bedroom and a two-car detached garage. The house was listed for $375,000, which was lower than most other vintage homes of this kind at the time it hit the market. The agent priced it there to take into consideration the condition of the home.

Unfortunately, this wonderful bungalow had been a rental for over twenty years. Because the owner did not live locally, he chose to defer maintenance for all that time and let the renters be responsible for its care. In addition, he never bothered to ask about the condition of the house, nor was he aware that termites had infested it for who knows how long.