Coastal Commission regulations supersede preservation in this case.
The San Diego Historical Resources Board voted 6-2 July 25 to approve recommendations, findings and mitigation measures for a site development permit for 6110 Camino de la Costa, a property with a difficult journey through historical designation and renovation.
The house, called the Herbert York/Herbert Palmer House/La Casa de Los Amigos (House of the Friends) is a listed California historical resource.
The house was designated historic in January 2023 under local Criterion A (it’s the oldest intact residential structure in La Jolla Hermosa, built in 1924); Criterion B (the house was owned and occupied by nuclear physicist Herbert York from 1964 to 2009); Criterion C (as an example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style); and Criterion D (the house is a notable work of master architect Herbert Palmer).
However, “because of the stated deterioration of the foundations and the amount of restoration work that would need to be done to make the structure habitable,” as its most recent owner desires, any renovation would violate the California Coastal Commission’s requirement of a 40-foot setback from the bluff the house sits on, according to Suzanne Segur of the city of San Diego’s Historical Resources Division.
This tension between Coastal Commission and historic preservation rules has led the owner and team to spend more than 18 months on redesigns and an alternatives analysis that “studied projects that could minimize the impacts to the historic resource,” Segur said, presented to city subcommittees and La Jolla planning groups in 2023.
Currently, the site development permit calls for the demolition of the existing designated historic two-story residence and construction of an 8,649 square-foot, two-story single dwelling unit with a basement, pool and spa.
Part of the project’s scope “involves the retention of the existing garage structure and portions of the existing front side wall that faces Camino de la Costa,” said city development project manager Martin Mendez, with modifications to the side wall including removal of portions of the wall on the north and south ends for a public view corridor easement required by the Coastal Commission.
“There are no feasible measures, including a less environmentally damaging alternative, that can further minimize the potential adverse effects on the designated historical resource or historical district,” according to supplemental findings by the city.
The design team then devised four mitigation measures, Segur said: The applicant will prepare a Historic American Building survey detailing “the existing condition of the resource through measure, drawings and photos,” to be kept on file with the city and other local repositories; a salvage plan will be prepared to catalog and identify elements proposed for removal, including historic period elements; a rehabilitation work plan has been prepared for the garage and site wall, to be overseen by a construction monitor trained in the protection of historic structures; and a plaque or storyboards will be installed in a publicly visible location.
During public comment, La Jolla Community Planning Association member Diane Kane said the proposal for the house “is tragic. … I’ve been working with people statewide; the California Preservation Foundation has been aware of the situation for many years [and LJCPA] has asked various legislators to make a very small amendment to the Coastal Act to require parity of historic resources with natural resources in the coastal zone, which is currently not the case.”
Kane voted to support the project at the CPA level, she said, but “we can do better” to preserve such resources.
“While we agree that removal of the primary portion of the residence is not at all ideal [and] we are acknowledging the adverse impact that creates for the resource, the applicant is mitigating that impact to the extent possible through the site development permit and mitigation,” Segur said.
“This is a really important site,” said HRB member Ann Woods, noting it’s “so rare” for a home to be designated under four historical criteria.
The current plan is a “parody of historic preservation,” Woods added. “That’s not a very good way to preserve history or historic community.”
“Condition is not the same thing as integrity,” HRB Chair Tim Hutter said. “When we designated this resource, … the building was already in a pretty degraded state.”
Hutter was persuaded to support the city recommendation by “the idea of how much structural work was going to be needed in order to try and preserve this resource,” he said.
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