REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 09/15/2021
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Planning and Development Department
SUBJECT:
Title
Historic Resource Landmark 2021-0001 (HRLM 2021-0001) to nominate a home, built in 1928 and located at 1205 Palm Avenue, as an Historic Landmark on the Corona Register of Historic Resources.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The single-family residence located at 1205 Palm Avenue was built in 1928 and the architecture is Provincial Revival, which is reminiscent of rural French manors built in the United States during the 1920s. The residence is more than 83 years old and has been maintained to preserve the structure’s historical integrity and character. The nomination of the home as a historic landmark on the Corona Register of Historic Resources will continue to preserve local historic resources within the City, which is consistent with the intent of the City’s Historic Resources Ordinance governed by Corona Municipal Code Chapter 17.63.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
a. Approve HRLM 2021-0001 as recommended by the Planning and Housing Commission.
b. Adopt Resolution No. 2021-113, designating the property located at 1205 Palm Avenue, Corona as an official Historic Landmark on the Corona Register of Historic Resources. (HRLM 2021-0001)
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BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The home at 1205 Palm Avenue is a one and one-half story single-family residence, with 3,300 square feet of floor area. The 0.32 acres property is located approximately 400 feet south of East Grand Boulevard. Documentation provided by the property owner shows that the home was built in 1928.
The residence was identified in a historic survey conducted in 1986 by the Corona Heritage Library and was included in the Corona Heritage Inventory adopted in 2003. Properties that are on the Corona Heritage Inventory are potential resources that may qualify as a historical landmark on the Corona Register of Historical Resources by virtue of age (50+ years) and by having significant cultural, historical, or architectural value to the City. Heritage properties are ranked high, moderate, or low, depending on their integrity and historical merit. The residence is ranked as “high”.
ANALYSIS:
Section 17.63.050 of the Corona Municipal Code (CMC) delineates the criteria that must be satisfied for a landmark to be listed on the Register. The data gathered from independent staff research and documents provided by the applicant reflect the findings that the project meets the landmark criteria, as follows:
1. The historic resource has been in existence for a period of at least 50 years, or if less than 50 years old, is of exceptional importance to the community.
Based on research provided by the applicant, the structure was built in 1928, making it 93 years old. Corona Heritage Inventory records indicate that the structure was built in 1938, which would make it 83 years old. In either case, the home is over 50 years old.
2. The historic resource has significant historic, cultural, or architectural value, and its designation as a landmark is reasonable, appropriate, and necessary to promote, preserve and further the purposes and intent of Chapter 17.63 (Historic Resources) of the Corona Municipal Code.
The architecture for the home is Provincial Revival, which is reminiscent of rural French manors. The Provincial Revival style was popular in the United States during the 1920s, as returning soldiers from the First World War sought affordable homes that reminded them of their travels through the French countryside.
3. The historic resource exhibits the following characteristics:
a) It embodies a distinctive characteristic of a style, type, period or method of construction or a valuable example of the use of materials or craftsmanship.
The home’s exterior is covered in fine gravel white stucco and displays several characteristics of Provincial Revival architecture. The architectural features for the home include steeped-pitched hipped and gabled roofs with a clipped gable roof sloping dramatically over the entryway. The front of the home also displays a large, three-part, arched window surrounded by painted stone trim. On the north side of the home, facing the alley, are diamond-paned windows, which fill the upper sashes of the double-hung windows along the entire side. The home’s rustic quality combined with its dramatic roofline make it visually striking from the street.
b) It is associated with the lives of persons significant in Corona’s past:
Based on documentation provided by the property owners, the single-family structure was built by George Blair who, in the early 1900s, moved to California after attending Ohio Wesleyan University. George first settled in San Pedro, where he purchased and published the San Pedro Tribune. He later went back to Ohio, married Helen G. Jukes in 1906, and then returned to San Pedro. In 1908, the couple moved to Corona where George got a job as a pressman at the local newspaper, The Corona Independent. In 1910, George then purchased stock in the company until he was the majority shareholder. In 1913, during the first Corona Road Race around the Grand Boulevard circle, George changed the name of the company to The Corona Daily Independent.
In May of 1928, George and Helen Blair hired Frank Lin Crandall to build their new home on Palm Avenue. When the home was completed, the newspaper placed an ad inviting the public to view The Crandall Demonstration Home over the coming week. Frank Crandall also constructed commercial buildings in Corona that included a barbershop on West Sixth Street and the First Church of Christian Scientific on South Main Street.
In 1943, George Edward and Helen Engle Stanley purchased the home and lived there until George passed away in 1986, and Helen passed away in 1995. Both are buried in the Corona Sunnyslope Cemetery. George Staley’s civic interests included a 30-year position on the Corona Library Board where he helped establish the Library’s Heritage Room.
4. The historic resource has integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association.
By maintaining many of its original architectural features and materials, the proposed landmark has retained its historical integrity, which CMC Chapter 17.63 defines as “the authenticity of a resource’s physical identity, as evidence by the survival of characteristics that existed during the resource’s period of significance.”
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid the application processing fees of $347.00 to cover the cost of the Historic Resource Landmark.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
The project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15331 and Section 3.22 of the City’s Local CEQA Guidelines. HRLM2021-0001 is a Class 31 categorical exemption under the CEQA Guidelines because the proposal promotes the preservation of historic resources in a manner consistent with the Secretary of Interior’s Standards of the Treatment of Historic Properties, as applied by Chapter 17.63 of the Corona Municipal Code.
PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION ACTION:
At its meeting of August 23, 2021, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Woody/Meza) and carried unanimously, that the Planning and Housing Commission recommend approval of HRLM2021-0001 to the City Council based on the findings contained in the staff report.
PREPARED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - City Resolution No. 2021-113
2. Exhibit 2 - Locational map
3. Exhibit 3 - Planning and Housing Commission staff report
4. Exhibit 4 - Draft Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of August 23, 2021