CITY OF SAN MATEO
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CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 15 Section Name: PUBLIC HEARING Account Number: 25-3112 File ID: 26-11068 TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Community Development Department
MEETING DATE: April 20, 2026
SUBJECT:
Glazenwood Historic District Designation — Adoption
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt a Resolution designating the Glazenwood neighborhood as a historic district at the local level and find that the action is exempt under California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Sections 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) and 15308 (Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment).
BACKGROUND:
Prior to enactment of the modern Subdivision Map Act in 1929, the City of San Mateo approved the “Map of Glazenwood” on September 6, 1921. The subdivision is bounded by 9 th Avenue to the north, 10 th Avenue to the South, B Street to west, and Palm Avenue to the east, and includes 43 parcels and four lots adjacent to B Street (Lot A through D). The subdivision was subsequently developed for single-family homes.
In 1989, the City conducted a city-wide historic survey of buildings over 50 years old at that time, an examination of important historical themes and events in the City, and measurement of the buildings’ historical and architectural worth against established evaluation standards. This document listed and mapped all inventoried structures with photos and description of contributing architectural features, and has served as the primary reference for the City’s historic preservation efforts, including review of modifications to buildings with potential historic significance. The survey included recommendations that the City designate the core of the Central Business District and the Glazenwood neighborhood as historic districts, and conduct future studies of the San Mateo Park and Baywood neighborhoods for historic preservation purposes.
As part of the City’s General Plan 2005, adopted in 1990, the Conservation and Open Space Element included Policy 8.2, which required the City to consider protecting concentrations of buildings that convey the flavor of local historic periods.
The narrative discussion of this policy emphasized the particular importance of the City’s Downtown area for historic preservation and stated that the Glazenwood neighborhood also warranted future consideration as a historic district.
Subsequently, in 1993, the City Council adopted a resolution (Resolution No. 124 (1993)) establishing the Downtown Historic District and amending the Zoning Code to establish Chapter 27.66 regarding Downtown Historic Preservation. While the Glazenwood neighborhood was discussed as part of this effort, it was not designated by the City Council as a historic district.
In 2009 and 2010, when the City adopted General Plan 2030 and the Housing Element, the Glazenwood Neighborhood was referenced as a historic district in the text, but no formal designation was taken during this time period. Based on the references in these two adopted plans, General Plan 2040, which was adopted in 2024, identified both the Downtown district and Glazenwood neighborhood as historic districts. However, the certified Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for General Plan 2040 differentiated the two by identifying Glazenwood as an eligible historic district and Downtown as a registered one.
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After General Plan 2040 was adopted, community members expressed interest in understanding whether the neighborhood was officially designated as a historic district. Staff conducted research and could not identify any records indicating that the City Council had formally designated the Glazenwood neighborhood as a historic district. This led staff to draft a resolution updating the General Plan 2040 Historic Resources map (Figure CD-1) to show Glazenwood as an eligible historic district, consistent with the certified EIR, as explained below.
In February 2025, the City started the Historic Policy Update Effort, which includes updating San Mateo Municipal Code Chapter 27.66 (Historic Preservation) and creating the first citywide Historic Context Statement. Throughout the process staff responded to multiple inquiries related to the status of Glazenwood as a designated historic district. Community interest continued to grow, and at their January 26, 2026 study session, Council directed staff to meet with the Glazenwood residents at their recurring neighborhood meeting and to return to Council with a proposal and the necessary research to officially designate Glazenwood as a historic district. City staff, the City’s historic preservation consultant (Rincon Consultants), and two Councilmembers attended the February 9, 2026, Glazenwood neighborhood meeting to answer questions about the historic status of the neighborhood and share information about and receive feedback about the Draft Historic Preservation Ordinance. Since that time, Staff and Rincon Consultants have conducted the background research necessary to support designation of the Glazenwood neighborhood as an historic district. The Draft Resolution to designate Glazenwood as a historic district is included as Attachment 1 and the historic resource evaluation (HRE), with information to support the designation included as Exhibit A to the Proposed Resolution.
DISCUSSION:
Historic District Designation
Historic districts may be designated at the federal, state, and local levels, each serving a distinct purpose and carrying different legal and regulatory implications. Understanding these distinctions is important for consideration of a local-level historic district designation.
At the federal level, historic districts are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which recognizes resources significant to American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or culture. The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) established the eligibility criteria for federal historic district designation and authorized the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) to administer the designation.
At the state level, historic districts are listed on the California Register of Historical Resources, which identifies resources significant to California’s history and development. The California Register is administered by the California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP). The CRHR utilizes four evaluation criteria that closely parallel the National Register criteria, although the threshold for significance is based on importance to California history rather than national history.
At the local level, historic districts are designated pursuant to resolutions or municipal ordinances adopted by the City Council. Many jurisdictions establish eligibility criteria, nomination and designation procedures, and preservation requirements for historic districts or historic resources within their municipal code. However, the City of San Mateo Municipal Code does not currently contain provisions specifying local eligibility criteria. Rather, it relies on National Register of Historic Places and California Register of Historical Resources criteria for determining eligibility at the local level.
In this report, staff references the federal and California state criteria for historic district designations, as outlined in National Register Bulletin (Attachment 3). It is worth noting that the California criteria is modeled on federal standards, but with significance thresholds that are lower than the federal level. Generally, a historic district is defined as a geographically definable area possessing a significant concentration, linkage, or continuity of sites, buildings, structures, or objects united by past events or aesthetically by plan or physical development. A historic district may be eligible for listing if it meets one or more of the following criteria.
Criterion A (Events)
Associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. Criterion B (Persons)
Associated with the lives of persons significant in our past.
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Criterion C (Design / Construction)
Embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction.
Criterion D (Information Potential)
Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
The historic resources and districts must also retain sufficient historic integrity to convey their significance. Integrity is evaluated through seven aspects: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. Alterations are acceptable if they do not substantially impair the district’s overall ability to convey its historic character.
National Register guidance further provides that a district must be a definable geographic area that can be distinguished from surrounding properties by characteristics such as density, scale, building type, age, architectural style, or patterns of historical development. It is usually a single geographic area of contiguous historic properties. The use of a discontinuous district format is generally discouraged for isolated or loosely related resources.
Although individual distinctions are not necessary for historic district eligibility, the district must contain a majority of contributing resources that collectively support the district’s historical or architectural significance as a whole. Individual properties within the district are classified as either contributing or non-contributing. Non-contributing resources do not preclude designation, provided the district as a whole clearly conveys its significance.
Glazenwood Neighborhood Historic Significance
The 1989 San Mateo Historic Survey identified the Central Commercial District and the Glazenwood neighborhood as eligible for listing in the NRHP as historic districts. Located in Hayward Park, the Glazenwood neighborhood occupies the previous land of Alvinza Hayward’s estate and mansion. The house was later expanded and converted into a luxury hotel. In 1920, the hotel burned down and the land was subdivided as a restricted residential park in 1921.
The Glazenwood neighborhood includes a u-shaped design with two curved streets of Laurel Avenue and Rosewood Drive, which was a popular plan inspired by country lanes of England. Development of the neighborhood occurred primarily between 1922 and 1925, with the first residents occupying homes by 1928. Early residents reflected the professional and managerial class of the era, including managers, architects, brokers, manufacturers, accountants, attorneys, and business owners. Predating Euclidean zoning, the tract was a residence park, restricted to the construction of residences. To ensure relative uniformity of development, including scale and design, all plans were required to be submitted to the San Mateo Improvement Company before the sale of a lot would be approved.
Subdivided by the San Mateo Improvement Company and largely designed and developed by the firm S.A. Born Building Company, one of the unifying visual features of this neighborhood is the use of the Spanish Colonial Revival style for many of the houses, along with other examples of popular revival styles from the period. Spanish Colonial Revival style architecture, along with its Mediterranean-influenced variations, became especially popular in coastal California during the 1920s. In San Mateo, many buildings constructed during that decade reflect this prevailing architectural trend. Glazenwood represents a notable and cohesive concentration of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, reinforcing its visual identity and contributing to its significance as an intact example of early twentieth-century residential design. Although none of the homes in the Glazenwood neighborhood were identified as individually eligible historic resources in the 1989 survey, the prospective historic district contains a cohesive concentration of buildings, structures, and sites that are linked by history, development pattern, and architectural character. The majority of the buildings contribute to the district’s overall significance.
As identified in 1989 survey and confirmed by an HRE conducted by Rincon Consultants in February/March 2026 (Exhibit A), the boundary of the prospective historic district includes a majority of homes in the original Glazenwood Subdivision, generally encompassing the west side of Rosewood Drive, Laurel Avenue, the 100 block of Hayward Avenue and the east side of Palm Avenue between 9 th and Hayward. The District Map (Exhibit B) identifies a contiguous geographic boundary that encompasses 36 contributors and three non-contributors. These boundaries are based primarily on the visual coherence
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and age of the houses, but also on the historic boundaries originally drawn for the subdivision. Entrances to Glazenwood at Rosewood, Laurel and Hayward are marked by gateposts which harmonize with the Spanish Colonial Revival style architecture of the homes.
Since the 1989 survey, as confirmed in February 2026, relatively few exterior modifications have been processed within the neighborhood. As a result, the Glazenwood neighborhood continues to retain a high degree of architectural integrity. The district remains eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and California Register of Historical Resources under Criteria A/1 as a discrete residential development. Undertaken by the San Mateo Improvement Company and largely executed by the S.A. Born Building Company to take advantage of the central location and natural setting of the former Alvinza Hayward estate, then known as the Peninsula Hotel that was destroyed by fire in 1920. The Glazenwood Historic District is significant at the local level for its associations with urban planning and development as a residence park. Designed before Euclidean zoning was common, its construction as a planned residential park reflected the emerging trend toward suburbanization in San Mateo during this period.
The Glazenwood Historic District is also significant under Criteria C/3 as a remarkably cohesive grouping of mostly one-story residences designed in revival styles, mostly Spanish Colonial Revival. Though common during the period in which it was developed, the execution of the revival styles in the Glazenwood Historic District illustrates an important period of residential development in San Mateo, from 1921 through 1936. Buildings within the historic district embody the style, including stucco exteriors, red clay tile roofs, arched openings, decorative wrought iron elements, and ornamental tilework. Many residences feature asymmetrical massing, recessed entries, arcades, and interior courtyards, reflecting revival styles adapted for modern living. Additionally, the district is significant as a good example of the work of the S.A. Born Building Company’s execution of the plan for Glazenwood with cohesive design elements that extend beyond individual buildings, like the gateposts, lamp posts, and the horseshoe street design.
Regulatory Effect after the Designation
The U.S. Department of Interior issued the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties (Standards) pursuant to National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The Standards establish a consistent framework for evaluating the appropriate treatment of historic properties and are widely used by federal, state, and local agencies.
Although the Standards are not independently codified as mandatory under state law, they are widely used as a professional benchmark in evaluating whether a project would cause a “significant impact” to a historic resource. They are also referenced in CEQA, including the Class 31 Categorical Exemption – Public Resource Code 15331, which applies to projects involving the rehabilitation of historic resources consistent with the Secretary Standards. Local jurisdictions may incorporate them into the municipal code, making them enforceable criteria for reviewing exterior alterations and additions. The City’s current Historic Preservation Ordinance (SMMC Chapter 27.66) has incorporated the Standards by reference and requires that all exterior modifications of individually eligible and contributor buildings conform to the Standards. Accordingly, the City evaluates the potential impact of any proposed alteration to historic resources under CEQA, using the Secretary Standards.
The City is currently undertaking an update to the Historic Preservation Ordinance. The draft Ordinance includes the establishment of local eligibility criteria, nomination and designation procedures, and preservation requirements for historic districts and historic resources. The draft local framework is currently modeled after the federal eligibility criteria and the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. The draft Ordinance also includes owner consent requirements, with a 60 percent consent threshold for proposed historic districts. Once adopted, these local regulations would carry a stronger regulatory effect, enforceable preservation requirements, design review procedures, and demolition controls.
Historic District Designation
The Draft Resolution (Attachment 1) includes findings and a Historic District HRE (Exhibit A) that provides current documentation and evidence to support the designation of Glazenwood as a historic district. A map of the proposed historic district is included as Exhibit B. Pursuant to the current Historic Preservation Ordinance (Section 27.66.020(b)), “The City Council by resolution may add any building which it finds meets the criteria of contributing to the historic importance of
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downtown and the City. Such an action shall be based on National Register of Historic Places and California Register of Historical Resources criteria and documented in a form consistent with the City of San Mateo Historic Building Survey.” This provision provides the basis for the City Council to take action to designate Glazenwood as a historic district. However, it should be noted that the updated Historic Preservation Ordinance, once adopted and in effect, will be applicable to the Glazenwood historic district.
BUDGET IMPACT:
The cost to analyze whether the Glazenwood neighborhood qualified for historic district designation was approximately $15,000. This includes staff and consultant time to prepare an updated and legally defensible historic district evaluation, mapping and ownership research, public notification, and report preparation. These costs are covered by the budget contingency for the Historic Policy Update Project, funded by the Advanced Planning Fund (Fund 225) and do not have an impact on the City’s General Fund.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
This historic district designation is exempt from environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) and Section 15308 (Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment). CEQA applies only to activities that may cause a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
Identification of Glazenwood as a City of San Mateo historic district is to prevent significant environmental impacts to historical resources identified as part of the historic district. Without regulation of construction activities in the Glazenwood Historic District, the historic integrity of the neighborhood could be lost through incompatible alterations and new construction and the demolition of irreplaceable historic structures. Therefore, the project meets CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) and Section 15308, and pursuant to these exemptions, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment and is exempt from CEQA review.
NOTICE PROVIDED AND PUBLIC COMMENTS:
In accordance with Government Code Section 65090, notice of this public hearing was published in the San Mateo Daily Journal newspaper ten days in advance of this meeting. In accordance with Government Code Section 65091 and the City’s Municipal Code noticing requirements, notice of this public hearing was provided to the following parties more than ten days in advance of this meeting:
Property owners and residential tenants within the proposed historic district boundary; The City’s Planning “Notify Me” email list; and
The interested parties email list, which includes interested individuals who contacted the City and requested to be added to the Project notification list.
Since City Council directed staff to proceed with preparing a resolution to consider designation of Glazenwood as a historic district beginning of February 2026, staff has received 10 written public comments. The comments, which primarily express support for designating the neighborhood as historic and ask questions about the historic status of the district, are included as Attachment 2. Any public comments received after the publication of this report will be forwarded to the City Council for and posted to this item on the City’s Agendas & Minutes Public Meeting Portal as “Post Packet Public Comments.”
ATTACHMENTS
Att 1 – Proposed Resolution
Exhibit A – Glazenwood Historic District Evaluation
Exhibit B – Proposed Historic District Map
Att 2 – Public Comments
Att 3 – National Register Bulletin
STAFF CONTACTS
CITY OF SAN MATEO
Zachary Dahl, Community Development Director
[email protected]
(650) 522-7207
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Joanna Winter, Planning Manager
[email protected]
(650) 522-7211
RINCON CONSULTANTS
JulieAnn Murphy, Senior Architectural Historian