Stacking homes causes upset

Jenny Marder

Plans to place one turn-of-the-century home on top of another have

sparked a flurry of concerns from a group of Downtown residents.

Joe Santiago, owner of two historic houses, plans to combine them.

As soon as the city approves final plans, he will secure the Manning

House by crane atop the Warner House, at 10th Street and Orange

Avenue, where he lives with his fiancee. Santiago could not be

reached for comment.

Nearby homeowners fear a series of code variances that must be

approved for this project to go through would degrade the appearance

of the neighborhood and create safety hazards. On June 16, a group of

some 40 residents signed a letter to the city that addresses these

concerns.

A majority of their concerns are about the Warner House, which has

been on the property since 1907.

A gas meter seven feet from the center of the alley behind the

building is a safety hazard, said John Koch, spokesman for the group.

Koch fears that a large truck could rupture the gas feed line and

cause an explosion or a fire.

While this violates existing code, it can legally remain since it

met zoning standards that were in place when it was built, city

project planner Rami Talleh said.

Residents also complain that the part of the house that juts out

into the alley make it dangerous to enter the street from the alley.

“The garage sticks out so far, you have to be about halfway across

the sidewalk before you can see anything,” Koch said. “Getting out on

the street is a problem. It’s almost impossible to see vehicles

coming either way.”

Talleh said the building does not create a safety hazard. It was

reviewed by the Public Works Department and the Planning Department

when variance requests were submitted, Talleh said, and it was not

determined unsafe.

An avid enthusiast of old homes, Santiago couldn’t resist taking

on the Manning House when he learned of the owner’s plan to demolish

it to make way for two three-story apartment complexes. In May, the

house was moved from its original plot at 701 Delaware St. to the

Scott Oil Company lot near Main and Gothard streets, where it will be

stored until Santiago is given the green light to move it Downtown.

The Manning House, built in 1906, was named after its first owner,

Edward Manning, the first mayor of Huntington Beach. The Warner House

was built a year later.

Other residents’ concerns are that the revamped structure will be

a blight on the neighborhood, take away street parking and cause a

drop in the property values of surrounding homes.

Plans for the new building were presented to the city’s historic

resources board, which recommended that it be approved.

“The aesthetics was reviewed and the board determined that the

design of the Manning House is consistent with that of the Warner

House,” Talleh said. “It’s consistent with a lot of the older

California bungalows in downtown Huntington.”

Construction will not affect street parking, Talleh said.

Resident’s concerns have not been quelled.

“The 30-foot high structure placed so close to the side and rear

of the property will be overwhelming as people pass on the street,

sidewalk or alley,” Koch wrote in a letter to Talleh.