Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: DECEMBER 3, 2024
TO: CITY COUNCIL / SUCCESSOR AGENCY
SUBMITTED BY: SUNAYANA THOMAS, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PREPARED BY: ANDREW KUSCH, ASSOCIATE pLANNER
SUBJECT: WEST WILSHIRE, WOODS AND Wickett Square Neighborhood HISTORIC PRESERVATION AREA ZONE CHANGE REQUEST
SUMMARY
The applicants request a Zoning Amendment to rezone properties in the West Wilshire, Woods and Wickett Square Neighborhood to create a new historic preservation area.
PROPOSED MOTION
Introduce Ordinance No. XXXX for first reading by title only and waive further reading of the ordinance.
ORDINANCE NO. XXXX – AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING A ZONE CLASSIFICATION CHANGE FROM “R-1-7.2” TO “R-1-7.2P” AND FROM “R-3” TO “R-3P” ON PROPERTIES LOCATED IN THE WEST WILSHIRE, WOODS AND WICKETT SQUARE NEIGHBORHOOD, GENERALLY DESCRIBED AS THE PROPERTIES BOUNDED BY WILSHIRE AVENUE, WOODS AVENUE, DRAKE AVENUE AND CHAPMAN AVENUE
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
Approve the Proposed Motion
Other options brought by City Council.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Proposed Motion.
CITY MANAGER REMARKS
The City Manager concurs with the staff recommendation to approve the zone change to reclassify West Wilshire, Woods and Wickett Square Neighborhood to a Residential Preservation Zone in January 2024.
PRIORITY POLICY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Priority Policy Statement:
Infrastructure and City Assets.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Zone Change
The West Wilshire, Woods and Wickett Square Neighborhood consists of properties zoned R-1-7.2 and R-3. The proposed zone change would add a “P” to the zone reflecting the Preservation Zone designation. A Residential Preservation Zone is a zoning classification applied to a mature residential neighborhood where the existing housing and environment is determined a valuable asset to the City and should be preserved (Fullerton Municipal Code (FMC) Section 15.48.020).
Request for Zone Change
The City received a request to reclassify the West Wilshire, Woods and Wickett Square Neighborhood to a Residential Preservation Zone in January 2024. The City held an informational meeting on April 11, 2024 pursuant to FMC Section 15.48.055. Representatives of 16 properties attended the meeting to explain Preservation Zone implications and the public hearing process for implementation.
Staff gave a presentation followed by a question-and-answer period. Fullerton Heritage participated in the meeting and provided information in response to questions. Fullerton Heritage also provided a handout with information on the West Wilshire, Woods and Wickett Square Neighborhood and Residential Preservation Zones.
Fullerton Heritage and volunteers went door-to-door in the subject neighborhood following the informational meeting to circulate a petition and received a 76% response rate. The responses resulted in the following as of the date of the Planning Commission staff report preparation:
Support
62 65%
Oppose
8 8%
Undecided
3 3
No Response
23 24%
TOTAL PROPERTIES
96 100%
The petition meets the minimum 51% of property owners in support of a zone change requirement to allow the Director of Community and Economic Development to initiate the zoning amendment to consider the request to reclassify the neighborhood to a Residential Preservation Zone.
Historical Significance
Fullerton Heritage provided the following in support of the request:
The West Wilshire, Woods and Wickett Square Historic District is a cohesive collection of predominantly 1920s housing currently designated a Potential Historic District. Many builders constructed the duplexes and single-family homes in the area like most developments of the time. The blocks feature attractive dwellings designed and built by some of the most active and notable contractors in Fullerton during the 1920s: Evan J. Herbert, Ernest S. Gregory, Mortimer G. Carroll, Robert Ben Carey, Jesse E. Ellis, etc. Many of these significant contractors constructed buildings now considered Fullerton Local Landmarks or listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The historic district contains the first two planned developments in Fullerton, both completed in the early 1920s by Ernest S. Gregory. The dozen residences on the south side of the 600 block of West Wilshire Avenue (600 through 646) represent the first planned development in the City. These small houses constructed by Ernest S. Gregory in 1922-23 sit on postage stamp lots, originally no more than 2,250 square feet in area. Their construction is the first documented example in Fullerton of an entire block of houses built at one time and in accordance with a few basic designs. Fullerton had a severe housing shortage in the 1920s and the four room homes with a bathroom were intended for rental not sale. The development was a unique and unusual attempt by a local contractor to provide affordable housing to newcomers arriving weekly in Fullerton.
The second planned development in Fullerton is Tract 657, a series of similarly styled Spanish Colonial Revival dwellings built in 1925-26 by Ernest S. Gregory. The modest speculative homes, each built for $3,500 along North Woods and West Wilshire Avenues, were quickly constructed simultaneously using the same basic design, then placed on the market.
The somewhat square-shaped West Wilshire, Woods and Wickett Square Historic District is in central Fullerton, six blocks west of the Downtown area with West Chapman Avenue on the north, West Wilshire Avenue on the south, Richman Avenue on the East and West Adams Avenue on the west. It includes duplexes and single-family homes along North Drake, North Marwood, North Woods and West Wilshire Avenues. Some of the homes were recorded and photographed during the 1978 Fullerton Historic Survey.
The historic district consists of four subdivisions laid out from 1913 to 1924: Tract 177 (the Wickett Subdivision), Tract 313, Tract 657 and the Richman Addition. Different notable Fullerton residents owned and developed each subdivision. Multistory apartment buildings, housing built for World War II defense workers and 1940s subdivisions surround the historic district.
The tangible elements of the 1920s design in the neighborhood remain mainly intact. The residential properties reflect common planning features, including modest uniform setbacks, shallow front lawns, concrete sidewalks and curbs and mature street trees. The area has well-maintained tree-lined contributing to the pleasant and attractive appearance. The historic district setting is flat and level with no dramatic grade variations. Lots have relatively consistent size and shape. Tall, single light streetlights contribute to the area’s visual character. Telephone and utility lines are above ground.
Homes constructed in the 1920s had garages built in rear alleys running behind the properties. Some homeowners added detached garages accessible from a concrete driveway from the street in the 1930s and 1940s. Most of the garages have very low to no visibility. The lack of street parking remains a problem. A few homeowners have added various covered shelters for their automobiles along their driveways (there are no porte-cocheres).
Overall, the historic district has aged well. The original sidewalks and curbs remain intact, mature Jacaranda, Magnolia and Coast Live Oak front the streets and most subsequent alterations and additions to the residences are successful in scale, if not in their design and finish.
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission held a public hearing on September 11, 2024 to consider the request (Attachment 8).
Staff received an email from the 401 and 407 North Woods Avenue property owners stating their intention and reasons to include these properties in the proposed district after staff prepared the report prior to the September 11, 2024 meeting. These properties are adjacent to the district and initially excluded from the proposed Preservation Zone boundary. Staff forwarded the email (Attachment 5) to the Planning Commission for consideration. The Commission agreed with the request and increased the proposed preservation zone to a total 98 properties.
Staff received email from a resident representing 62 people in support of the Preservation Zone and forwarded the email (Attachment 6) to the Planning Commission for consideration. Staff forwarded an email with updated results of the petition (Attachment 7) to the Planning Commission for consideration. The email indicated additional property owners signing the petition in support of the preservation zone. The updated results of the petition indicated 98 properties, 70 owners (or 71%) signed the petition. 90 percent of those property owners providing a response (78 owners) favored the residential preservation zone for their neighborhood. A sizeable number of the property owners staff could not contact live outside Fullerton.
The Commission received the following public comments during the meeting:
A property owner explained the reason for including two additional properties at 401 and 407 North Woods Avenue in the proposed preservation zone.
A property owner identified the unique history of the neighborhood and urged support of the preservation zone.
A speaker representing Fullerton Heritage urged approval of the request and spoke of the diligence of property owners providing outreach to other property owners.
A property owner inquired about limitations for potential additions because of a preservation zone.
A resident indicated opposition to the preservation zone and inquired if the City permits accessory dwelling units, restricts a dwelling from a second story addition, if the City has financial assistance for dwelling repairs and inquired about property tax savings from the Mills Act Program.
The Planning Commission voted 5 – 0 to recommend City Council approve the zoning amendment.
Environmental Review
The proposed project is categorically exempt from California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines 15308 (Class 8 – Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment) provisions because the project proposes a Zoning Amendment to add a preservation designation to an established neighborhood with historic characteristics which requires no public review. Staff would file a Notice of Exemption for this project.
Attachments:
• Attachment 1 – PowerPoint Presentation
• Attachment 2 – Draft Ordinance No. XXXX
• Attachment 3 – Planning Commission Staff Report dated September 11, 2024 • Attachment 4 – Planning Commission Resolution No. PC-2024-27 • Attachment 5 – Email dated September 5, 2024
• Attachment 6 – Letter dated September 10, 2024
• Attachment 7 – Email dated September 11, 2024
• Attachment 8 – Draft September 11, 2024 Planning Commission Minutes cc: City Manager Eric J. Levitt
West Wilshire, Woods, Wickett Square Zone Change
December 3, 2024 - Page 2