San Dimas : Architecture Guidelines Set

There will be no more horsing around with this city’s Western theme--it is here to stay and will be expanded, the City Council decided last week.

The council also decided that new buildings outside Frontier Village, the downtown area that features batten-board buildings, hitching posts and wooden sidewalks, will conform to Spanish and Mediterranean styles, which feature red tile roofs. Exceptions will be allowed in residential and industrial areas, but City Manager Robert Poff said commercial and office buildings will have to conform.

Frontier Village, which runs along Bonita Avenue from Cataract to San Dimas avenues, will be extended eastward to Walnut Avenue. Poff said buildings in the new area will not be required to adopt the Western theme unless they are renovated. City Hall, for example, which is located in the new area, has a 1950s look. City staff will also prepare a design manual to show potential developers examples of the kind of architecture the city would consider.

The council acted after planners complained that the city lacked strict guidelines on building design and had approved several developments that did not conform to the Spanish and Mediterranean styles.