Public Comments – Walter / Wormer
Received 6/ 21/ 2024
From: svanwor <
Sent: Friday, June 21, 2024 11: 27 AM
To: Susan Walter < CityClerk < CityClerk@chulavistaca. gov> Subject: Fw: Request for Waiver at Second Avenue
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From: svanwor <
To: cityclerk@chulavistaca. gov < cityclerk@chulavistaca. gov> Sent: Friday, June 21, 2024 at 11:24: 36 AM PDT
Subject: Request for Waiver at Second Avenue
This is a Request for Waiver of Set Back Rules for Outbuilding at Second Avenue, Demolition Permit B24- 0296
Attached is the history of the origin of the problem.
You don' t often get email from Learn why this is important For: June 25, 2024
Request For Waiver of Set Back Rules for Outbuilding at Second Avenue, Chula Vista 91910, Demolition Permit # B24- 0296.
I am Susan Walter and I live at in Chula Vista.
Please, for a moment, close your eyes.
I want you to think of where you live.
If you live in a rental, think not your neighbors, but of your place only.
If you live in a mobile home, think only of your home and yard.
If you live in a house, think of it and your surrounding land.
If you live on an estate with several buildings as well as your abode, think of your entire property.
Envision where you live for a few seconds.
Now. Keep your eyes closed and listen to me:
Imagine you want work done. My examples are: wall or roof repair and solar power installation.
Inspectors come to your place.
They then tell you your place is Out of Compliance and you need to have ONE THIRD of your property demolished and YOU will pay for it and you get ONE month to get ready.
Open your eyes.
Do you think this is fair?
We don’t.
We live at Second Avenue, designated as City of Chula
Vista Historic Site # 66. 1
It includes a 2 story 134 year old Victorian house. 2
It includes part of the former carriage house which was converted decades ago into a garage.
It includes an Outbuilding 3 with lean- tos on the south and north. 4 The Outbuilding, while not officially Registered, is incorporated into the Historic Designation Document. 5
1 Note the designation is for a Site – not just the house – so includes the entire property. 2 The property 2nd (originally 4thAvenue) was purchasedDecember 1889. Date of 1892 is from the Appraisal of Single-Family Dwelling, by McKenzie Appraisal Company, date of appraisal report was 7/29/97; File#71256. 3 An Outbuilding is usually usedfor hobbies or work. A Shed is a place to store things. Theseterms are exactly what the Outbuilding and lean-to shedshave been used for. I refer to the shedsas lean-tos. Lean-tos sharea wall with another structure, and can be either supported or non supported. 4 The Outbuilding and lean-tos are on the plans provided to me by the Garretts. Plans drawn by Lee H. Johnson. 5 History of Our House at The Davidson House. August 2004. Submitted to the City of Chula Vista. We qualified for the Mills Act with this designation.
My concern is about the Outbuilding and Lean- tos. (Just Outbuilding in most of the following documentation.)
The original Outbuilding was not built by my family who have resided 30 plus years here.
The Outbuilding was not built by the people before us who lived on our property for over a decade.
The Outbuilding was built by Synthia Priester, who was
mother to a young man named Arthur Langford. 6 Likely
Synthia built it with advice from her father, Sytze De Haan, a retired building contractor.
It was built over half a century ago.
There were no kitchen facilities nor bathroom, because Arthur used those in the house.
The Outbuilding has served as a sanctuary for Arthur, as a play room for the Garretts’ two daughters as they grew from early childhood into college students, and as an Office for myself and my husband.
6 Arthur Langford is buried in Glen Abbey Cemetery in Block 10, Section 110, along with the rest of his family. He is described on his memorial plaque as “Beloved Son and Grandson” and his datesare: 1922 -2000. The entire family included ( in 2004 when Susanlast visited the site) Jack M. De Haan 1895-1967; Anthony J. Fokker 1907- 1992; Wilga Beatrice De Haan 1911-1994; Synthia De Haan Priester 1891-1971; Andre’ A. Priester 1891-1955; Arthur R. Langford 1922-2000; Maud De Haan Smith 1907-2001; Sytze M. De Haan 1862-1948; GeeskeVeenstra De Haan 1865-1954. Some spaceswere still empty.
We have worked here professionally for over 3 decades, with a business license here in Chula Vista. We were certified by the State of California ( CalTrans), the County of San Diego, and the City of San Diego. We have garnered dozens of awards for excellence for our reports and my illustrations. Walter Enterprises enjoys an excellent reputation. 7
We are now “ retired” but most definitely not done with our history and archaeological work. Now we work as volunteers. Our most recently completed project ( it took 11 years) is the ceramics analysis of the SDSU Student Field School excavations of the San Diego Presidio, which was due this year on June 1 of 2024. 8
In this 50 plus year old Office, here in Chula Vista, we did all that.
Chula Vista zoning department has two problems with our Outbuilding:
1. They found no building permit on file.
7 Once when a proposal for work was put out, little 2 person Walter Enterprises was consultant for of every one of the 4 short listed companies. (The interviewers actually joked about that.) We have had as many as 5 separate projects in processconcurrently here.
8 On June 10, 2024, we sent our Presidio ceramics report out for review, and in another year we will produce a revised edition incorporating our peer’s comments. In less than a week, we received over 400 downloads of this document. You can find it at ResearchGate.com.
2. The Outbuilding is too close to the property boundaries of our neighbors, and does not meet the current “ set back” of 4 feet, but only has 2 feet. 9
Now consider this:
The current western properties did not exist on the property line boundary of today. Twin Oaks Avenue did not exist.
Originally the De Haans owned property to the middle of what became later Twin Oaks Avenue. 10
When Twin Oaks was becoming a reality, the De Haans decided to sell lots fronting Twin Oaks, behind the Outbuilding, 11 and they 9 The neighbors who will be most affected by demolition statedthey did not want our Outbuilding destroyed. They offered to write a letter of protest.
10 This part of Twin Oaks was established in 1951, getting close to a century ago.
Here is the sequence of build dates for our home and our surrounding neighbors:
Loya) build date was 1944. (This houseis to our north.) Going clockwise ( south):
Our property Van Wormer & Walter) on line build date of 1925 is incorrect. 10 We have the chain of title dating 1889.
the Medinas) was constructed in 1966.
Going west:
the apartment) was constructed in 1975.
Going north:
the Campbells) was constructed in 1946.
Returning eastis where this list began.
The De Haan family owned 238 from October 6, 1942 through August 27, 1971.
At some point in time, TEN feet were ADDED to the property, presumably to allow for the Outbuilding and lean-tos. The 10 foot extension, and the property “cloud” are shown on the maps accompanying the “cloud” issue to the Garretts.
In a 1973 Declaration of Homestead, there is an exception of 325 feet to the WEST; on Schedule A of a Full Reconveyance is an exception of 415 feet to the WEST.
drew the property line behind the Outbuilding. This created the current issue and was not disputed at that time by City officials. It was also not disputed during the 2 subsequent sales of the property. 12
We are preservationists, conservationists, and civic minded. To us, the thought of solar panels on the Victorian’ s roof was ugly. Solar panels need to be cleaned and may need repair. Our Victorian roof is steeply pitched, inconvenient, and dangerous. We wanted solar power put on the Outbuilding. We chose the Outbuilding because it is obscured from the public, has a recently upgraded and repaired flat roof, and has safe and easy access for installation.
That is when our nightmare began. A contractor notified the City of the setback being short and the City Building Department decided to use its broad enforcement power against us. The result is we do 12 Next, the Garretts purchased from the De Haans, and there was the problem – a “cloud” it was called – with the western (Twin Oaks) boundaries, which were incorrectly listed as going into the middle of Twin Oaks. In a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Garrett from Security Title Insurance Company, dated March 1, 1972, asking they would notarize Quitclaim Deeds in order to clear this “cloud”, is this paragraph:
We feel that the Quitclaim Deeds to “owners of record” (Daley and Foster) will accomplish our purpose and will not further cloud the title to said properties. We take the position that the deed should recite to owners of record” so asto not disrupt or interfere with transactions of any nature which may be pending on said properties.”
Today’s “owners of record” and/or neighbors are the Lamoranders ( and the Campbells ( and they ARE going to be disrupted and their lives interfered with if the Outbuilding is demolished. not get solar power – and never will 13 – AND our Office is to be demolished. Demolition is to begin in July. 14
Imagine if you were in this predicament. How would you feel? What do you think of our situation? We are heartbroken.
We think there should be an exception made, and it should carry through all succeeding owners of and the Twin Oaks property owners of the affected western boundaries, as was planned for by the Title company during the sale of by the De Haans to the Garretts in 1972.
We think this Outbuilding, having been there for all these decades – nearly half a century – should be excepted from demolition.
We respectfully thank you for your attention.
Susan D. Walter Stephen R. Van Wormer
John M. Davidson House
City of Chula Vista Historic Site #66
Chula Vista, CA 91910
13 It seemsthe height of irony that the City shows solar power panels being installed on their website – and we can’t ever have them.
14 We have been vacating the Outbuilding during our finalization of this – the last report we may produce at this Office.