1 COMMUNITY OUTREACH SUMMARY
S
takeholder Meetings
S
taff held the following stakeholder meetings to discuss and answer questions about the project:
• O
ctober 19, 2022 - Livable Mountain View
• October 27, 2022 – Mountain View Historical Association • December 6, 2022 - Downtown Committee
• January 24, 2023 - Monta Loma Neighborhood Association • September 26, 2023 - Old Mountain View Neighborhood Association and Livable Mountain View
• October 10, 2023 – Chamber of Commerce
• October 12, 2023 - Shoreline West Neighborhood Association • October 25, 2023 – Mountain View Historical Association Farme
r’s Market Pop-up event – October 16, 2022
C
ity staff attended one Sunday Farmer’s Market to pass out fliers, spoke with residents who had questions about the Historic Preservation Ordinance and Register and collected input on current Ordinance and Register. Approximately 20 people approached staff at the event.
V
irtual Community Workshop – September 6th, 2022
St
aff held a virtual community workshop on September 6, 2022. There were 25 participants at the meeting. The meeting introduced the project’s major tasks and seek input on history, most significant places, and any topics or themes that community members think are important and unique to the history of Mountain View.
H
ere is the list of the questions and answer that were asked from the public at the meeting:
1. What do you value about the history and character of Mountain View? • The foliage and architectural elements
• I value that Mountain View has been allowed to evolve over time. We haven't fixed things in place and stopped change, but instead have relied on the best parts being maintained in their own right.
• The wonderful old Mountain View houses
• The historical buildings and walkability of downtown make an inviting place to gather for residents and those in neighboring communities. We've seen what happened to Sunnyvale when they didn't protect their history and their downtown shrank. Palo Alto and Los Altos have inviting and vibrant areas. Also many cities in California designate historic residential areas and Mountain View has both downtown homes and Eichler tracts that are of historic importance.
Attachment 4
2 • Friendly neighborhoods that have lasted for decades. As cherished neighbors and friends leave us, new ones are welcomed into the neighborhood. • Castro St being a place to connect socially with the community. • Small town atmosphere (before previous dense buildings) with an abundance of high tech jobs and central location for minimal commutes with excellent connections to outlying parts of the bay area
• What is left of it- the downtown buildings, the parks, the chase bank building • Agricultural background, welcoming of immigrants, printing and Seventh Day Adventists, Present day: diversity, vibrancy, walkability, most everything you need within 10 blocks, closeness to transportation, many non-profits trying to preserve ethnic/social economic diversity.
• Historical buildings of all eras, intact neighborhoods, trees. • Its Native history as well as earliest settlement history, shift of the town focus from near the intersection of El Camino and Grant Road to the north when the railroad re-oriented housing and businesses. I value Mountain View's social and cultural diversity and its historic fabric, especially in neighborhoods on either side of Castro and Shoreline.
Moffett Field is highly significant, as is Mountain View's agricultural heritage (and what is still visible from that). Finally, I value the restoration of wetlands (and Rengstorff House!) at Shoreline, reversing the shameful abuse of the natural environment there when it was a dump.
2. What do you think are the most significant places (buildings, structures, sites, landscapes, neighborhoods) in Mountain View?
• Parks greenery and the quaint homes
• shoreline park. castro city
• City Hall, parks.
• Old Mountain View houses
• Castro Street, City Hall Plaza, each and every park, Eichler neighborhoods, downtown library, Castro St train station
• Downtown historic buildings (not the office buildings), Tied House, Chez TJ off of Castro, Rengstorff House, the parks like Shoreline, Cuesta, etc. I'm concerned that developers who are only interested in profits and not livability are creating a high rise culture. • Period buildings provide a backdrop to how life was at certain point in time, and how we can keep that memory alive as we move forward.
• Shoreline park, Castro St, Old MV, Cuesta Park, many MCM dwellings, Moffett field • Heritage trees, walkabilty, setbacks in for office buildings. • Old Mountain VIew, Shoreline Park
• Downtown Castro, Chase Bank Building, Miramonte/Eichler/Trophy Eichler neighborhood.
• Old Mountain View, Shoreline West, Castro streetscape (with view of the mountain that gave the city its name), Stevens Creek Trail (cork oaks!), Shoreline Park, any and all 19th and 20th C buildings associated with individuals or organizations that have helped define Mountain View as a community since the 1850s. I don't know if there are any 3 archaeological sites from the Ohlone period, but if there are, they should be recognized and protected as educational resources.
3. Is there a building, site, or area/neighborhood in Mountain View that you think might be an eligible historic resource that should be protected? What makes the site historically significant?
• Possibly the edge near San Antonio where a lot of development is happening. And also on Latham
• Old Mountain View
• Eichler neighborhood on Trophy and Eichler Drive. Last Eichler homes built by the iconic Eichler team
• Both Eichler neighborhoods - the one in Monta Loma and the one in Eichler Drive/Eichler Ct/ Trophy Dr. Eichler houses are unique with their own special characteristics and should be preserved as part of history- similar to Frank Lloyd Wright homes, they are "one of a kind". Specifically the houses on Eichler Drive/Eichler Ct/ Trophy Dr. are the very last houses built by Joseph Eichler before his death in 1973 so they hold a special place in residential history. In addition to designing unique mid- century architecture, Eichler is known for his role in fighting for fair housing policies and integrated neighborhoods. These homes are/should be the pride of Mountain View/ Bay Area/ West Coast. It is because of these Eichler houses that I chose to live and settle down in Mountain View (instead of another cheaper/more affordable neighborhood). • The Eichler neighborhood ("Grandmeadow" or "Bell" tract have been used) consisting of Eichler Drive, Eichler Court, Trophy Drive, and Miramonte was one of Joe Eichler's last developments. The houses were designed by renowned architect Claude Oakland. Built in 1972, they are now 50 years old and qualify for historic designation. It is a small group of 53 homes with a SSO overlay as the neighborhood has a strong desire to protect its mid-century homes and design cohesiveness. Palo Alto has designated Eichler as historic zones and Mountain View should as well. The neighborhood was featured in CA Modern Magazine this summer (https://www.eichlernetwork.com/article/grand-stand- googletown). It draws people who want to live in historically significant mid-century homes to live in Mountain View. Palo Alto Eichler's were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in summer 2005. Eichler became "a leader in modern design" by employing architects to create innovative and aesthetically pleasing neighborhoods that influenced builders nationwide. The district was listed at the State level of significance under Criterion C in the area of architecture as an excellent example of Joseph Eichler’s mid-century modern subdivision housing in California. Eichler made a significant contribution in the area of modern home design and innovative construction methods.
Working closely with architects, Eichler wished to offer the middle-class high quality, contemporary design in an affordable production house. The Grandmeadow neighborhood is an excellent example of Joseph Eichler’s contribution to mid-century residential modernism and the California suburban environment and significant because it was one of his last ones.
4 • "The Miramonte/Eichler/Trophy Eichler Neighborhood turned 50 years old this year! It's a neighborhood of 53 Mid-Century Modern homes build in 1972. There is similar wood construction and style across the houses. The limited number of floor plans give the neighborhood a distinct look and feel.
• I believe this neighborhood was the next to last neighborhood built by Joe Eichler. Joe brought Mid-Century Modern construction, style, and affordable pricing to the middle class. He builds about 11,000 home throughout California." • The Eichler Neighborhood (Trophy / Eichler Dr.) off of Miramonte is a community of homes that have tremendous history and value in the world of design and architecture.
Designed and built by Joseph Eichler, they are unique part of California and the Bay Area's history. As a designer myself, and as a resident of the Eichler community, preserving these unique purpose-built neighborhoods is something that should be considered.
• Eichler Bell Meadows community as well as any Mid-Century Modern dwellings, residential or commercial. Famous architect and builder. • Chase bank on El Camino and Castro, Red Rock Coffee on Villa and Castro and most of downtown
• The new park/home at the corner of Church and Calderon • Old MV, Miramonte/Eichler/Trophy Eichlers
• The Old Mountain View and Shoreline West neighborhoods (including buildings like the Pacific Press complex on Villa) are both distinctive architecturally and historically and should be recognized as such. Two homes (one a large Craftsman bungalow, the other a little earlier, both on large lots) on the south side of Calderon in the block between Centre and Church should be included in "Old Mountain View." El Camino is a major historic thoroughfare from the Mission, Mexican, then American, periods that could be accorded greater respect, planted with more trees to reduce heat and absorb carbon (true throughout the city).
4. What topics or themes do you think are particularly important or unique to the history of Mountain View? (i.e. early residential development, early agricultural history, computer/technology history, etc.)
• Agricultural
• Agricultural history, Defence, Tech
• Residential development as well as Silicon Valley tech history • Early residential development and Silicon Valley
• Residential development is important. One thing that I'm proud about Joe Eichler is that in the 50's through early 70's he had a passion for bringing affordable housing to everyone in the middle (or even lower middle) class. Bucking social behavior at the time, he was happy to sell a home to anyone regardless of color, heritage, etc. He didn't discriminate. This was quite uncommon at the time. Today, there is great diversity in Eichler owners. We welcome everybody, and this is something that makes Mountain View, well, Mountain View.
• Lockheed & Moffett field, other tech startups & original agri-communities 5 • Early agricultural development and history/tech development, ranching history and settlement patterns
• Probably all of these
• Early development, pioneer populations including minorities, developments leading to the tech industry. There is literally nothing anywhere that tells any of these stories. It is not even taught in our schools. Other cities are way ahead of us. • Definitely early residential (and shift of urban development) and agricultural history, but also Native American uses of the land, any imprint from the Mexican period, the federal airfield and associated buildings like the extraordinary Hangar One, computer/technology history for sure. I would love to see more focus on the ethnic and immigrant histories of Mountain View, which are closely tied to its economic development history. Mountain View is most definitely not Palo Alto/Stanford; it has a different history that we should be proud of.
5. Are there any organizations, businesses, or community groups that you think are significant to the history of Mountain View? (If you can also provide an associated street address or cross-streets, either past or current, that would also be helpful.) • The library. Latin bakery. Train stations
• Fairchild semiconductor
• City Hall, Eichler Network (https://www.eichlernetwork.com/blog/dave- weinstein/building-community-peninsula-tract), Computer History Museum, Library • Like lots of people in Mountain View and surrounding cities, I love the Castro Street restaurant extravaganza. All sorts of cuisines are available that creates a lively street scene around lunch and dinner time.
• Government/tech
• Someone at the Seventh Day Adventist School who might know about the migration of families form SF to the printing press?
• See above. Pioneer families who settled here and their land grants and businesses (Weilheimers, for example), early tech pioneers (pre-war). • Old Mountain View Neighborhood Association, Mountain View Historical Association, all "fraternal" and service organizations. I am sure there are many more.
6. Are there any people in Mountain View's history that you think are particularly notable? If so, what buildings/sites are they most associated with? • Joseph Eichler - known for building the Grandmeadow and Monta Lona Eichler neighborhoods in the 1960s-1972
• Rengstorff and the adobe
• Red rock coffee shop original owners. I love the Giovanni jewelry building • John C. Akkaya, who is the owner of Don Giovanni restaurant is impressive over the last 30 years, without much recognition. 235 Castro St, Mountain View, California 94041 • [email protected]. He has hosted the free Thanksgiving Dinner for years--a tribute to the generosity of Mountain View to underserved people. • And of course Steve Rasmussen who owned the Milk Pail. 6 • Weilheimer family, bank building (now Red Rock) where Weilheimer worked and was an officer. Immigrant families of all kinds.
• I want to call attention to the Two Worlds project, bounded by El Camino, Calderon, Centre and Montgomery Streets, which was designed by renowned architect Donald MacDonald (author of Democratic Architecture, 1996). The developers were Kulakoff and Harrington. A highly innovative development when it opened in 1981, combining residential and retail functions, Two Worlds was built on a then-empty lot with numerous heritage trees (especially oaks), but the lot had been the site of Mountain View's earliest schools, as well as the first location of Foothill College. The development was planned around the heritage trees and was inspired by the architecture of Taos Pueblo in New Mexico. It received several awards for innovation at the time, including recognition from the international Urban Land Institute and the City of Mountain View.
At the time, Two Worlds was considered ground-breaking, and remains distinctive and beautiful today. MacDonald is a well-known architect, originally from Canada, who helped define an American School of Architecture. See https://gibbs.oucreate.com/as- about
7. Do you have any stories about Mountain View's history or about people who lived or worked in Mountain View that you would like to share?
• Joseph Eichler - renown architect, known to many neighbors even today • Our neighbor has an article that gives some great information about growing up in MV. https://www.eichlernetwork.com/blog/dave-weinstein/orchards-eichler- homes?fbclid=IwAR39kQzIfmHh16HfBDwVnxkV4whCtvcYNZ_ZUy-
THZqb90DTnXeFc56zxjQ
• See detail in Eichler Network https://www.eichlernetwork.com/blog/dave- weinstein/building-community-peninsula-tract
• Angie Morales - I don’t know if she is alive but she lives on Mercy and would have a great oral history of Mountain View
• Will send information about how a single mother real estate agent was able to procure a broccoli field and turn it into Moffett Field and how that led to the defense and tech industry.
8. Is there anything else you would like to share about historic preservation, historic sites, or the history of Mountain View with us?
• Avid on preserving history in such a transitional area. • As historic preservation is considered, very certain attention should be paid to how any type of historic designation would effect the property owner. There were two comparable homes sold recently in Shoreline West, 552 Pettis and 575 Pettis. They both closed escrow in 2021. One sold for $1,850,000, the other for $2,230,000. The difference? One was on the MV Historic Registry and the other was not. It would take years and years for any tax credit from the Mills Act to make up for the $380,000 difference in sales price of those two homes.
7 • Mountain View has an interesting and important history, but that history is not told with architecture. The computer history museum does a good enough job. • I want the city to make sure that historic preservation does not stymie the growth of the city. Tide House preservation was a travesty, since it took a completely non-notable building (a laundry with a made-up architectural style designation) froze it, and now we are stuck with an abandoned building
• Please help us preserve the historical beauty of this town! • Historic buildings cannot be replaced and they add to the value of living in Mountain View, please protect them. Also, please protect the open spaces and parks--it's important to have green spaces than balance buildings that crowd up to the street. • Key historic sites need to be retained. They help give us context of who we and how we got here. They provide a familiarity that help's to remind us that the buildings and environment are for people. We must ensure that we keep them to preserve a livable, walkable, and social way of life. If we don't preserve our unique attributes, then we become just another clump in an undifferentiated metropolitan sprawl. • Some ordinance should exist to allow for protection of historic properties. • I’m disappointed about the precise plans, so soulless and not walkable or community friendly.
• Move as fast as possible!! Need good public education/PR. Lots of misrepresentations about what this all means.
• I am delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to the City's thinking about historic preservation and Mountain View's history. Many of the themes that define our history are linked to state, national, and international events and movements.
Hybrid community Workshop – October 30
th, 2023
Staff held a hybrid community workshop on October 30, 2023. There were 11 participants in- person at the Library, and approximately 30 participants were attending the meeting online via Zoom. The meeting summarized the project’s major tasks and seek input on the current ordinance, process, and any topics important and unique to the history of Mountain View.
Community members had a lot of questions about the process and requirements. There were some concerns raised by property owners about excessive property owner obligations and requests for more transparency about who is affected and what they are allowed to do. More detail about the public input from the community meeting is provided below within each topic area.
Community members expressed the following questions, suggestions, and concerns:
• What are the benefits to the city as designating property as historic? Compliance with CEQA, reflect local values, priorities
• Is it a choice to be considered as historic? Or is it government control? State/national? • Downtown precise plan. Does is have a boundary?
• CEQA -- when was it formed?
8 • Give the historic property owners some benefits
• Does the city consider purchasing historic properties? • Eichler homes and chase building should be under consideration. Commercial properties are subject to CEQA.
• Why only 3 buildings were identified to be eligible for State/National nomination in Downtown?
• Is the project located at the Agave building be subject to existing rules? • Does the historic preservation update prohibit from adding a second story to houses in Shoreline West neighborhood?
• Is the one story overlay in Eichler neighborhood be removed as part of this update process?
• How an ADU can affect historic significance?
• Would the City consider preparing a Program EIR to simplify the process for everyone? • Create clear and transparent process for historic houses • Financial effect on these property owners, prepare a grant to help the owners • The City could prepare a Program EIR for routine, desirable modifications like solar panels and ADU's. This document would identify mitigation measures to be followed, so that owners would have more certainty in the planning process. • Educating people about the incentives
The key questions with answers that were asked from the public at the discussion groups:
1. What are your thoughts on the project goals?
• Important that we are doing this project to update Historic Preservation consideration • Concerns about what it means to R1 homeowners (e.g., being told that additions or rebuilds aren’t possible would be unfair)
• Would want to know the threshold for preservation
• Want regulations to be clear about what would need to be preserved (façade vs the entire shell, etc.); there should be flexibility in regulations • Unsettled that the discussion focused on only DT (100-300 blocks) rather than citywide neighborhoods; concerns about State regulations impacting Eichler neighborhoods • More protection on Eichler/Mid-century neighborhoods (e.g., neighborhood sought single-Story Overlay Protection to ensure neighborhood single story character would be maintained)
• Good to focus on DT Historic Preservation but also good to think about distinct neighborhood preservation
• Two sides to the issue; doing what we can to protect and preserve the historic character of our downtown
• Chase building; care about the mural and art inside, would not want it to “fall through the cracks” in terms of preservation
• National register eligible structures should be “high on the list” • City should support owners in preserving historic properties 9 • Maintain ground floor public interactive uses; downtown as an interactive community space
• Have viable downtown
• Disappointment in owners of vacant downtown buildings; how can City address vacancies
• Create more community spirit
• Would like to explore a downtown preservation district; unsure what that exactly means • Less rigid definition of historic preservation; quantify definition • City staff should help to promote vacant commercial spaces on real estate market to elevate their visibility
• Impressed by past efforts by Economic Development to elevate visibility of opportunities to move into downtown vacant retail spaces; practical service by city staff • Minimize financial impact to owners
• Historic designation would impact property values
2. What are your thoughts about the strategy for Downtown “Area H’? • The Castro Ped Mall is a great idea; enjoy sitting under the trees and seeing the buildings
• Make it “older”
• Like historic nature but also a balance with property owner rights (allow for restoration, expansion in the back, modernization while preserving the historic nature) • Basically on the right track; happy about qualification of individual buildings • Help set expectations in terms of study results being available to Council; saves times • Important to look at both the individual buildings and the district as a whole • Maintaining the ground floor public vibrancy
• Only for area H
• In general, community members were supportive of the proposed Downtown approach.
It was suggested to balance preservation with property owner rights (allow for restoration, expansion in the back, and modernization while preserving the historic nature).
• Some concerns were received regarding the higher costs of maintenance of these historic buildings that might create hardship for businesses.
3. What are your thoughts about including properties on the Register that would otherwise require City review?
• MV should be surveyed citywide to determine which properties are historic • Mountain View is not listed as a Mills Act city
• On main webpage, have information about Mills Act (incentives & procedures) • It is good to create transparency and communicate with property owners
10 4. What are your thoughts about surveying and including properties on the Register that would not otherwise require City review?
• Will property owners be notified if/when they are put on registers? They should be notified specifically if their property’s status/designation changes • R1 property owners should be able to opt-in (so they can reap benefits but not be put on the register and then restricted to what they can do with their property) • Eichler: preservation should be there to preserve historic nature of neighborhoods and should have regulations to protect a unique neighborhood • HP not necessary for neighborhoods that have a mix of architectural styles ~ mainly concerns about property owners being limited to expanding because someone else determined their house is historic
• Would be nice to exactly know what the effect would be; specifics • Adding some flexibility and/or encourage homeowners to include properties • Some people want to preserve historic properties, others feel limited in development if their property is considered historic
• Owners concerned about when they want to sell their properties • Survey owners to determine their concerns
• What does it mean to have historic significance?
• Make the process voluntarily
5. What are the benefits as a property owner if your property is designated historic? • These incentives are nice (but no amount of incentive would be adequate if it limits how much one can build, e.g., if you cannot do additions)
• Regulations should allow for modernization (specify what are minor vs. major modifications, such as increasing amperage and installing panels, etc.) • Not going through additional review (e.g., minor mods won’t require review) is not additional benefit – benefit should be above and beyond regular homes • Booklet that lists historic properties for each neighborhood within Mountain View; builds community pride
• Provide clear list of benefits
• How to incentivize the offset cost to owners?
• Evaluated by more than the State and City criteria, include appraisal and/or realtor review
6. What are the challenges of owning historic property? What could the City do to address those concerns?
• Façade preservation is good
• Shouldn’t restrict adding additions/remodels/expansions to the rear • More flexibility than just nonvisible alterations (allow 2nd story additions) – in older residential homes & in smaller homes that need to go up if they needed to add • Requirements for reconstruction of a historic property burdensome, particularly if rebuild is due to an “act of God”
11 • Making the process of restoration or reconstruction of a historic property not so “painful” for people
• Streamline processing; look at regulations from owner’s perspective; compromise • Maintenance cost is higher than the offered benefits