Atherton Municipal Code Art. I Procedures and Criteria for Designation of Historical Artifacts

The inventory of historical artifacts is the official list of properties subject to the terms of this chapter. In order to be listed on the inventory, the artifact must be found to be an appropriate property type and meet the criteria for listing on the national, state or local level as described below. (Ord. 567 § 1, 2007)

A. Property Types. For the purposes of this chapter, artifacts are structures and objects located on the grounds of single-family homes, landscaped areas of public spaces and schools, and adjacent to public and private roads and streets. Buildings designed for human occupation and objects housed in the interiors of buildings are not subject to the terms of this chapter. Artifacts shall meet one of the following criteria:

1. National Register of Historic Places. The quality of significance in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and:

• a. That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of the town of Atherton’s history; or

• b. That are associated with the lives of significant persons in the town of Atherton’s past; or

• c. That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or

• d. That have yielded or may be likely to yield information important in history or prehistory.

In order to meet the criteria for listing on the National Register, a property must maintain integrity, defined as “the ability of a property to convey its significance” (NRHP Bulletin 15). The National Register further specifies seven aspects of integrity: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. To retain integrity, a property should possess several of these aspects and preferably the majority of them.

Structures and objects located within the town of Atherton that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, or determined by a qualified professional to be eligible for listing on the National Register, shall be placed on the inventory of historical artifacts following the procedures described below and subject to the terms of this chapter.

2. California State Historical Landmarks, Points of Interest, and the California Register of Historical Resources:

   • a. Associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local or regional history or the cultural heritage of California or the United States.

   • b. Associated with the lives of persons important to local, California or national history.

   • c. Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region or method of construction or represents the work of a master or possesses high artistic values.

d. Has yielded, or has the potential to yield, information important to the prehistory or history of the local area, California or the nation.

The California Register of Historic Places requires that resources “retain enough of their historic character or appearance to be recognizable as historic resources and to convey the reasons for their significance,” and allows for resources with a lower level of integrity than the National Register criteria.

Structures and objects located within the town of Atherton that are listed as California State Historical Landmarks, Points of Interest, or on the California Register of Historical Resources, or determined by a qualified professional to be eligible for listing on the California Register shall be placed on the inventory of historical artifacts following the procedures described below and subject to the terms of this chapter.

3. Local Significance. To be deemed locally significant, an artifact must meet subsections (A)(3)(a) or (b), and (A)(3)(c) of this section:

a. Association with the early development of the town of Atherton, events occurring before 1930 or structures and objects constructed before that date.

• b. Association with the Lindenwood historic district which is composed of structures and objects constructed as part of the Flood Estate (Linden Towers) prior to 1937.

c. Retaining sufficient integrity of design, materials, and association to be recognizable as artifacts of the historical period of their significance. (Ord. 567 § 1, 2007)

Official listing on the inventory of historical artifacts, or removal from listing, shall be approved by the planning commission. Artifacts that the planning commission or city council accept for designation as historical artifacts are subject to the terms of this chapter, even in those cases where the property owner objects to inclusion in the official inventory. An inventory sheet shall be stored in the address file in the building division offices of properties accepted for designation but not published in the official inventory of historical artifacts.

Only those artifacts officially included in the inventory of historical artifacts shall be eligible for grants of public funds, plaques purchased with public funds, or other incentives or benefits that may arise in support of preservation of the artifacts.

A. Initiation of Listings on the Inventory of Historical Artifacts. Designation may be initiated by the planning commission, by any resident of the town, or by the owner of an artifact. Applications for designation must be accompanied by such historical and architectural documentation as may be required to evaluate the artifact’s significance under the criteria described in Section 8.14.060. If the application is filed by a property owner or resident of the town, the application shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee as described in Article III of this chapter.

B. Notice of the Public Hearing. Upon receipt of a completed application, the secretary of the planning commission shall set a date for the public hearing which shall be held within forty days of the acceptance of the completed application. Written notice by first class mail shall be sent to property owners within five hundred feet of the property containing the artifact and shall be posted on the official town bulletin boards within ten days of the public hearing.

C. Planning Commission Action. The designation of historical artifacts shall be made by resolution of the planning commission and shall be communicated to the building official, the director of public works, and the Atherton Heritage Association. After thirty days from the public hearing, if no written objection is filed by the property owner, the town shall forward a copy of the resolution to the recorder of the county of San Mateo and to the property owner.

D. Owner Consent. Artifacts shall not be listed in the official inventory of historical artifacts over the property owners’ written objection, received by the town within thirty days of the official designation by the city council.

E. Stop Work Order. While the application for a designation as a historical artifact is pending, prior to the public hearing where the planning commission or city council approves or denies the application, the building official may declare a stop work order. During the term of the stop work order, work that would require an alteration permit if the artifact were already designated as a historical artifact shall not be carried out. The stop work order will be lifted upon the earlier of the planning commission or the council’s decision on the proposed designation, the stop work order termination date as adopted by the building official, or one hundred eighty calendar days from the date of the commencement of the stop work order. (Ord. 567 § 1, 2007)