[schema type="organization" orgtype="LocalBusiness" url="http://4salebydonna.com" name="Real Estate Agent Donna Baker" description="Real Estate Agent showing homes for sale and available real estate in Monrovia, Pasadena, Arcadia the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California." city="Monrovia" state="Ca" postalcode="91016" email="donna@4salebydonna.com " phone="(626) 408-7766 "]

Landmarking Your Home

May 14, 2008 by · Comments Off on 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.

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Principles of Sensitive Rehabilitation

May 2, 2008 by · Comments Off on Principles of Sensitive Rehabilitation 

As Historic Preservation Commissioner for the City of Monrovia, I had the privilege of attending the California Preservation Conference in Santa Rosa recently. Much of the discussion and many educational sessions addressed the restoration and rehabilitation of historic properties. In that connection, I thought it would be good to share with you, as an owner of historic property, the basic principles for sensitive rehabilitation as published in an article on “What Every Restorer Should Know” by Susan Morse. These “do’s” and “don’ts” are aimed at both the veteran preservationist and the first-time restorer. I have made my own comments after some tips in parentheses. Read more