Staff Report and Recommendations Agenda of luly 9,2018, Item 5c County of vennrra' Resource Management Agency . Planning Division 800 S. Victoria Avenue, Ventura, CA 93009-1740' (805) 654-2478 . ventura.org/rma,/planning APPLICANT/PROPERTY OWN ER: t Richard Cadena P.O. Box 96 Piru, CA 93040 REQUEST: A request for approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness to authorize the demolition of a building; former Piru Post Office. The subject site, located at 637 E. Piru Square, is a designated Site of Merit (Case No. CH18-0019). LOCATION AND ASSESSOR'S PARCEL NUMBER: 637 E. Piru Square, Piru Community, CA APN 056-0-101-070 Historic Designation: Site of Merit I. BACKGROUND: A. Background The subject property consists of a 0.1 1-acre parcel containing a g4O-square-foot (s.f.) residence built in approximately 1900 (Ventura County Assessor 201B). The property was recorded and evaluated in the County of Ventura's Cultural Heritage survey Phase lV: santa clara Valley, 1987-1988 (survey). lt was assigned a National Register Status Code of 5, meaning "lneligible for the NR [National Register] but still of local interest." On December 12,2000, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors designated the subject property a Site of Merit. At that time, all surveyed sites given a National Register Status Code of 1 through 5 in existing and newly adopted historic resources surveys were designated ás Sites of Merit as part of a larger County-initiated code amendment intended to protect historic resources. Ventura County Code Compliance staff has determined the building is unsafe and is a code violation. The property owner provided to CHB staff a letter from Mclain Construction, dated May 1 1 ,2018, that states that upon visual inspection of the home at 637 Piru Square, it was apparent that the majority of all structural framing members are rotten beyond repair, and to restore the building would require complete dismantle, re-framing on a new foundation, and meeting all 120 Staff Report and Recommendations CHB Meeting of July g, 2O1g Page 2 of 10 current code requirements for electric, plumbing, insulation, drywall, etc. Mclain construction estimated the cost to range from $125,000 to $t50,000. The property owner is financially unable to undertake rebuilding. B. History of the Site and Building The Historic Resources lnventory (a.k.a. DPR 523 forms) completed for the subject property at the time of the 1987-1988 Survey list the property as 641 piru Square, but today that address is used for the adjacent residence to the north, also owned by the same property owner. The subject property is today known as 637 Piru Square. The DPR forms state the building was in "deteriorated" condition, and describe the building as follows: The building was constructed about 1900 as a sfore and served as the post offiëe. lt was originally located on Center Sfreef and moved fo ¡fs present location probably in the 1920s when the commercial brick buildings were constructed. It is architecturally and historically significant as the only remaining example of the false front buildings that once lined bofh srdes of Center Sfreef. /f rs also the oldest remaining commercial building in Piru. The property owner has provided CHB staff with additional information regarding the property's history, stating that: The structure at 637 Piru Square in Piru, CA was the original post office of Piru and was built around 1900. lt was originally located on Center Sf. and was part of a larger structure that also housed the ventura County Cooperative Association. ln or around 1920, the structure was cut in half, and the section of the building that housed the post office was moved around the corner and about a block away to property that my greatgrandmother, Adelaide Molina owed at 637 Piru Square. The façade was altered at this time and the inside of the structure was converted into two separate apartmenfs. Af some point, my great-grandmother gifted the property to her son Jesus Molina. Eventually the rear portion was used for storage and the last time the front portion was occupied was in the late B1's. the structure remained unoccupied and was only used for storage unt1 Jesus Molina passed away on september 16, 2014 at the age of g6. At that time I inherited the structure in its present condition. The images below depict the buílding that housed the Ventura County Cooperative Association (previously the Piru Cooperative Association), which was originally located on Center Street in Piru during the early 1900s. The first building was narrower as can be noted by the number of porch supports (five at the time), and the width of the parapet (Photo 1). By approximately 1906, the 121 Staff Report and Recommendations CHB Meeting of July g, 2O1g Page 3 of 10 building had been enlarged/widened; the porch was now supported by eight posts across the façade, and the parapet was widened (Photos 2 and 3). The building area comprising the addition is what purportedly served as the Piru Post Office (Photo 3). Later, in the 1920s, the building was divided, and this portion was moved onto the subject property, and converted into a residence. Early wood-framed buildings on Center Street were replaced by brick construction in the 1920s (Triem 1987). i Photo I - Piru Cooperative Association building, unknown date (likely prior to 1906) (Source: Richard Cadena) 122 Staff Report and Recommendations CHB Meeting of July 9, 2O1g Page 4of 10 t" aú' I Photo 2 - Ventura County Cooperative Association (formerly Piru Cooperative Association) building circa 1906 after addition (Source: Richard Cadena) ¡ f L åo tìte Photo 3 - Portion of building which was cut, moved and converted to a residence in the 1920s (Source: Richard Cadena) 123 Staff Report and Recommendations CHB Meeting of July 9, 2019 Page 5 of 10 As stated earlier, the building currently is in such deteriorated condition that Ventura County Code Compliance staff has determined it a code violation and unsafe. The below photographs provided by the property owner were taken May 3,2018 (Photos 4-9). Photo 4 - Façade 124 Staff Report and Recommendations CHB Meeting of July 9, 20jg Page 6 of 10 't\ \ ffi. t,\ ' 1\ \' il'tt. PhotoS-SideElevation Photo 6 - Side and Rear Elevations 125 Staff Report and Recommendations CHB Meeting of July g, 2O1g Page 7 of 10 I Photo 7 Photo - Rear and Side Elevations I- lnterior 126