OUR LAGUNA: Heritage Committee takes on Wendt home

Property owners need to be on solid ground when they propose to move, alter or add on to a Laguna Beach building designated as historically valuable.

Any project proposed for a property listed on the Historic Resources Inventory or the Historic Register must be reviewed by the city’s Heritage Committee, which is charged with guarding the architectural and contextual integrity of the structures. Although committee recommendations to the Planning Commission and Design Review Board are not binding, the members are not shy about voicing their opinions.

”We have gums, but no teeth,” chairman Jon Madison said.

However, some projects get chewed up and spit out.

A proposal to move and reorient the home once owned by Laguna art icon William Wendt was summarily rejected Monday by the seven-member committee. The project was one of 14 proposals by owners of historic structures on the agenda.

Ken Fischbeck presented the proposal for the Wendt House. He is a partner with his brother, John, in Trèsor Properties, a local real estate investment, construction and brokerage company, which owns the E-rated house, the highest rating in Laguna for historic structures.

“I am concerned about moving it,” said historian and committee member Anne Frank. “It doesn’t fly with an E-rated house. You can’t do something radical and maintain an E-rating. Why fool with a historic home?”

E is the highest rating for historic structures in Laguna. F comes next, followed by C. E is for Exceptional — structures are usually in excellent condition and unique — a word hated by editors, but that’s the official description. Of the 130 E-rated structures in town, 38 are considered eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, which has more stringent standards than Laguna’s. Only two are listed: Villa Rockledge, designed by Arthur Benton, architect of the Mission Inn Hotel in Riverside; and Cathedral Chapel of St. Francis-by-the-Sea, built from the rubble of the Long Beach earthquake on Park Avenue.

K-rated— Key — structures strongly maintain the original integrity and demonstrate a particular architectural style or time period. Of the city’s 745 structures on the inventory, 351 are K-rated.

C-rated structures are not unique — there’s that word again — or distinctive, but they are deemed to contribute to the overall historic character of a neighborhood. Many in town, including Heritage Committee member Linda Morgenlander, an architect, opposed the removal of the cottages on Third Street because they represented a neighborhood and time that could not be replaced.

The inventory lists 258 Cs.

Wendt built his E-rated home at 229 Arch St. in 1913. He lived there with his wife, sculptor Julia Bracken, until his death in 1946.

The home is not only an E-rated structure, but also a cradle for the Laguna Art Assn., created in 1918, of which Wendt was a founding member. His paintings are included in the Laguna Art Museum’s permanent collection of Southern California impressionists. A piece of Bracken’s work can be seen at the Old Pottery Place, made from a bas relief rescued from oblivion by Anne and Dick Frank and restored by Marv Johnson. Jane and Joe Hanauer funded the casting, which has pride of place on the exterior wall of Sapphire Restaurant.

Faced with the unanimous rejection of his proposal to move the Wendt home 50 feet and reorient it toward Arch Street, Fischbeck asked how the committee would feel about relocating the house without turning it.

“The orientation is part of the historic value,” said committee member Tamara Campbell, a former city planner.

Committee member Bonnie Hano said the point of the move apparently was to make room for a condo project.

While not the province of the committee, the Fischbecks’ proposal for the property also included the construction of four condominiums.

“Acquiring the Wendt home is an important milestone in Trèsor’s mission to preserve the heritage of Laguna Beach and its historic relevance in Orange County,” John Fischbeck said. “We are delighted to add this significant property to our portfolio of historic and distinctive projects in the city.

“We are interested in making sure it works for everyone.”

The Fischbecks also proposed modifications to another historic home they own at 154 Pearl St. Consultant Margarita Wuellner said the proposal was based on the preservation of the original 242-square-foot beach cottage. However, the E-rated home was listed on the inventory after many changes and the committee felt that was the appropriate aspect to salvage.

“It was not something we considered,” Wuellner said.

In other action, the committee recommended approval of alterations to the exterior of the Fire Department’s Station 1. New, taller, out-swinging doors, with glass in the top sections will be added to the façade, architect Todd Skenderian said. The new doors are required to accommodate modern fire engines.

“They have bigger toys, so they need bigger doors,” Madison said.

Shutters that have been missing for years will be reinstalled — to be painted dark brown to match the doors.

The committee also recommended alterations proposed by Skenderian on behalf of property owner Sam Goldstein to the approved plans for the exterior of the Heisler Building, former home of the Jolly Roger, to be replaced by a Tommy Bahama store.

Changes to the plans included a request to combine the C-rated Soul to Soul and upgrade the rating to E, to match the rest of the project.

In recognition of the massive restoration, the committee had previously recommended a 59% reduction in the parking requirements, but the Planning Commission cut that down to 55% — to which Goldstein objected. He asked on Monday for a new recommendation, but the City Hall powers-that-be had instructed the committee not to mess with the reduction until Goldstein signs another tenant — to which Goldstein also objected.

“Go duke it out with the big boys,” Madison said.

The committee is prepared to recommend a 75% reduction and will hold a special hearing, if needed, when Goldstein gets a tenant.

“It is something we have done for other applicants and we are happy to do it to help them move their project along,” Madison said.

Four of the agenda items were requests for recommendations to the council for approval of Mills Act participation. The state act gives generous discounts on property taxes in return for the owner’s commitment to restore and maintain the property with an itemized 10-year plan.

The goal of the city’s Historic Element is to protect and preserve structures identified on the inventory.

According to the element, the variety and number of older homes and structures distinguishes Laguna Beach, which is the oldest incorporated city in South County.

For the full text of the element, Google Laguna Beach Historic Element.

OUR LAGUNA is a regular feature of the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Write to Barbara Diamond, P.O. Box 248, Laguna Beach, 92652; hand-deliver to Suite 22 in the Lumberyard, 384 Forest Ave.; call (949) 494-4321 or fax (949) 494-8979 or e-mail to coastlinepilot@latimes.com