Housing Heritage

Van Nuys neighbors, many whose homes date back to the early 1900s, are pushing to establish the first historic preservation zone in the San Fernando Valley, city officials said.

The neighborhood is an eclectic mix of bungalows and Craftsman-style residences interrupted by the occasional neighbor who wiped a lot clean and built a new modern home--exactly what residents in favor of the proposal hope to prevent.

Historic preservation zones, already established in 13 other Los Angeles neighborhoods, help an area retain its original architecture and charm while offering residents a potential tax break if their homes are designated historic. Many preservation areas have also experienced an increase in property values, said Ken Bernstein, director of preservation issues for the nonprofit Los Angeles Conservancy.

“For too long, there’s been a misconception that the Valley has little or no historic architecture,” he said. “It’s a long overdue step.”

Some residents of the area, bounded by Vanowen and Gilmore streets on the north and south, and Hazeltine and Kester avenues on the east and west, enthusiastically favor the idea.

Carolyn Ferritto, a 35-year area resident wearing an “I Love Van Nuys” button on her sweater, said she was upset when a neighbor remodeled a classic wood-sided farmhouse into a modern structure.

“It’s a travesty,” she said. “This is community pride. Love it or leave it.”

If approved, the preservation zone would require that owners of “contributing” structures--homes that represent their original era of construction--petition a review board to make any character-altering changes.

The mayor and City Council each appoint one person to the five-member board--including residents, an architect and a real estate agent. The city’s Cultural Affairs Commission appoints two members. The fifth person is appointed by the other four members.

“Noncontributing” structures, such as apartment buildings with little historic value, would also have to petition the board to make any changes, but rules would be less stringent than those for “contributing” structures.

The board would use the U. S. Interior secretary’s standards for rehabilitation as a guide in making decisions about altering historic homes, but would not require any property owners to change existing structural features, Bernstein said.

The first step in the effort to get the zone established is having a petition signed by a majority of homeowners in the affected area.

After the effort wins approval of the area’s councilwoman, Cindy Miscikowski, who favors the plan, a historical preservation consultant would examine each home and determine if most of the neighborhood properties are architecturally authentic.

If such a finding is made, City Council approval would be needed to designate the area as a preservation zone.

Some residents say it’s a move in the wrong direction.

Richard J. Kelley, a 38-year resident, owns two 1920s-era properties, his home and a smaller house next door that he said a review board would probably consider a contributing historical structure. If the preservation zone is established, he said, he would not be able to tear down the smaller house and rebuild on the lot.

“If someone wants [the zone], I’m for them to have it,” he said. “But if we don’t want it, don’t force it down our throat.”

But other residents, such as Lydia Mather, who has invested about $50,000 in restoring her 1920s Tudor-style home, maintain that a preservation zone would attract buyers wanting unique old homes.

Mather said area property values dipped after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, but now range between $200,000 and $400,000.

“Our bigger goal is to maintain a cohesive fabric of a single-family home, protect it and watch it flourish,” Mather said.

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The effort to establish a preservation zone would be funded by the Targeted Neighborhood Initiative, which received $3 million in federal money from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The money was dispersed through the mayor’s office to Van Nuys to improve community aesthetics, said Sandy Kievman, senior deputy in charge of special projects for Miscikowski.

Concerns about how far-reaching the board’s regulations would be worry some residents.

Joe Marx, a 46-year neighborhood resident who said his bright turquoise-colored corner home is not historical, wonders how the preservation zone would affect him.

Would he have to paint his home a different color?

“One neighbor asked why I painted it ‘an [awful] color,’ ” Marx, 83, said of his home that has gone from yellow to pink to turquoise. “I’m happy the way it is. I don’t know how much longer I’ll live, but it’s home to me.”