Future Agenda Item Request Form
Future agenda items should be limited to new issues that emerge during the course of the year that are urgent and cannot wait until the next priority setting session of Council before requiring action.
Name: Wes Speake
Date: 3/12/2025
Title Name/Topic: Review/amend section 17.63.120 Alteration, relocation or demolition of historic resources, specifically (D) (6)
Background
1. What is the purpose for the request i.e. what you are trying to achieve or do? The way the section is currently written no building is off limits to demolition. Meaning that iconic buildings like the Corona Theater could be demo ’ed without comment except the planning director.
Here is the scenario- Theater owner decide to sell to a housing developer, he wants to build a Mixed-Use apartment project. Current zoning is Commercial, the site is listed as a Downtown Mixed Use in the General plan. The developer’s intent is adaptive reuse of the building. Leave the exterior and theatre and covert the old offices to apartments and ground floor into a shops. Zone change is granted. 6months later. The developer comes back as says it’s not penciling; costs have increased and he will not get “all economically viable use of the site” files for a demo permit and because the sentence below they would legally have to be issued the demo permit. Not initiating any project that would trigger CEQA. Yes, we move to buy it, he would not have to sell, we could use imminent domain but it could only be a pubic project and forever…
(6) Any plan involving the relocation or demolition of an historic resource listed on the Corona Register shall not be approved unless one of the following findings is made:
(a) The criteria required to delete the historic resource from the Corona Register set forth in § 17.63.110(E) are satisfied;
(b) The historic resource has deteriorated or been modified to the extent that it is no longer representative as an historic resource to be preserved; (c) Denial of the requested relocation or demolition of the historic resource will deprive the owner of all economically viable use of the site; (d) Relocation or demolition of the historic resource will not have a significant effect on the achievement of the purposes of this chapter and appropriate mitigation measures will be undertaken to substantially reduce or eliminate the loss or diminishment of the historic resource;
I don’t think the city needs to be savior for all things and always swoop in to save the day or let a historic resource be destroyed. We regulate private property now; i.e AirBnB use and others why shouldn’t this be as important.
2. What is the scope of the work you wish to see done?
Delete 6 (c) and replace with (c) relocation or demolition of any building that is listed as High or High with Rehab on the city list of Historic properties be subject to CEQA review for Historic resources and approval by the Historic Commission and City Council
Many cities require the same level of review for demolition of historic properties including Oceanside,
3. Does this request align with the City’s Strategic Plan? How? #5 Sense of Place- Connecting with our past
4. What is the desired timeline to have the issue considered by Council? Within reason as one of the ten 5 buildings is in the queue to be demo’ed not expecting them to be lined up.
5. Is the issue urgent requiring action before the next priority setting session of Council (Spring Workshop)?
Yes
Staff Section (To be completed by staff)
Approximate Staff Time Required: ____ Hours
Approximate Cost: $ ____