News & Advocacy

by Amy Green, Commissioner

Landmarks Commission meetings are held the second Monday of the month. Because of work being done on City Hall, they are currently displaced from the Council Chambers. Please check the City’s Boards and Commissions website for agenda and location details.

At the September meeting, owners of a multi-family residence at 2518-2522 4th Street submitted a request for a demolition permit as they had begun to remove exterior stucco in order to make foundation repairs to the building. They were cited by the city and told to request a permit through the Landmarks Commission. Due to the extent of the work and new provisions in the Zoning Ordinance it was required to be submitted as a demolition. Local residents and preservation activists requested consideration of the property as a Structure of Merit and a review of the nearby structures to determine if it might qualify as a historic district, which would strengthen the case for designating the property in question as a Structure of Merit. Despite a lukewarm preliminary consultant’s report, the Commission nominated 2518-2522 4th Street as a Structure of Merit and requested further study of the grounds for designation as a historic district.

Additionally, renovation plans for the Sears Building continue to move forward. Seritage Growth Properties presented its latest plan to adaptively reuse this classic structure for creative office space and a market food court that highlights local chefs and cuisines. The Landmarks Commission granted the building Certificate of Appropriateness status.

Certificates of Appropriateness were also approved for replacement trees in Palisades Park, the expansion of Big Dean’s at 1611- 1613 Ocean Front Walk, landscape and hardscape changes at the E.J. Carrillo House, 1602 Georgina and 220 San Vicente Boulevard, as well as signage at two businesses on the Pier, the Albright and Marlene’s Beachcomber.

Finally, the following four landmarks, three of which were designated during the past year at the request of their owners, were recommended for Mills Act Contracts at the September meeting:

• 2433 28th Street, Sun Tech Townhomes
• 927 Ocean Avenue
• 909-911 Montana Avenue
• 401 Ocean Avenue, The Henry Weyse/Charles Morris House

The Mills Act is Santa Monica’s most powerful incentive for owners of designated properties, usually resulting in substantial reductions in property tax. A 10-year maintenance and rehabilitation plan must be submitted. This year’s contracts were approved by City Council and forwarded to the County Assessor in October.

This entry was posted in Advocacy Mills Act and tagged Landmarks Commission.
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