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San Juan Bautista’s history and—perhaps more importantly—preserving that history were among the subjects of the joint March 4 Historic Resources Board & Planning Commission Meeting.
The board received a presentation from Rincon Consultants, which specializes in land use, cultural resources, site assessments, and community planning. In December, the city contracted with Rincon to provide on-call services following the resignation of former city manager Don Reynolds and the retirement of Meg Clovis, the city’s architectural historian.
“We look forward to introducing our team, our capabilities, our scope of work, and some project examples,” said Rincon architectural consultant Margot Nayyar.
She said Rincon has nine main consultants who are Secretary of the Interior professionally qualified in history and architectural history and an archeology team of around 40 people who will be available to the city. One of the archeologists is already working with the city on consultation and guidance.
Architectural consultant JulieAnne Murphy, who, with Nayyar, will be the point of contact between Rincon and the city, discussed the resources Rincon can bring, including local register evaluations, local landmark designations, historic context and evaluation methodology, grant writing, help with historic tax credits, creating environmental documents, and conducting oral history interviews.
“I want to say ‘Welcome to San Juan Bautista,’” Commissioner Dan De Vries said. “We are very glad that you are here. We are well aware of your reputation, which proceeds you.”
Board member Elise Brentnall asked what resources Rincon would specifically bring to San Juan.
“As code cases come in on historic properties,” Nayyar said, “one of the priorities is to complete the evaluation and impact reports. We will help streamline that process. We will be working to get them done in a timely manner to facilitate the permit process.”
Nayyar estimated that Rincon had worked on over thirty of these reports since the start of their contract in January.
Following Rincon’s presentation, Wanda Guibert discussed the history and resources of the San Juan Bautista Historical Society, of which she is president. The society was founded in 1965 and currently resides in the Luck Museum at Third and Monterey Streets.
“We have thousands of vintage photos,” she said, “print and digital. An incredible array. Because we were founded so many years ago, there were still pioneer families who donated their photos.
For the past ten years, Guilbert has drawn on this archive to produce her “Then and Now” series for the Mission Village Voice.
Guilbert said the society also has a complete set of the Mission Village News, which ran from 1918 to 1969, historic resource reports from 1981 and 2005, historic maps and documents, a copy of historian Randall Milliken’s papers, and memorabilia from notable San Juan families.
“We are a bit like the institutional memory of the city,” Guilbert said. “We get a lot of calls from city staff and individuals who want to know about their family history or their houses.”
Chair Iraida Pisano asked Guilbert about funding. She said that the society has 85 faithful members who pay annual dues of $15 and, because of its long-standing relationship with the community, it has also received bequests, including one intended to recognize the local Japanese community.
(As previously reported in BenitoLink, the society is also looking for assistance in repairing its museum, which suffers from leaks and humidity.)
Brentnall discussed California’s Mills Act, which the State describes as “The single most important economic incentive program in California for the restoration and preservation of qualified historic buildings by private property owners.”
“It offers property tax reductions in exchange for the preservation and maintenance of their properties,” Brentnall said. “When a Mills Act contract is established, the property tax assessment is calculated, which results in a lower property tax.”
Brentnall said that she thought incorporating the Mills Act in San Juan “could have a great impact on the historic building in town because there would be no excuse for property owners not to make improvements.”
The contracts need to be renewed yearly and the city could weigh penalties if improvements are not made.
Brentnall also mentioned several other programs, such as the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants Program, a National Park Service program that provides grants from between $200,000-$750,000 that can be targeted to the rehabilitation of historic properties in rural communities, and the Save America’s Treasures program, also a National Park program, which has awarded more than 1,300 grants for more than $300 million since 1998.
Brentnall distributed information about the programs to the board with a recommendation that the city be encouraged to participate.
The San Juan Bautista Historic Resources Board & Planning Commission Meeting has been posted to the city’s YouTube channel.
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