REPORT TO HISTORICAL AND LANDMARKS COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Public Hearing: Recommendation on the Significant Property Alteration / Architectural Review (PLN26-00020) for The Construction of a 1,200 Square Foot Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit and a Detached 347 Square-Foot Garage on a Historic Resource Inventory Property Located at 1391 Washington Street. CEQA Status: Categorically Exempt per Section 15303 (Class 3 - New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures)
Report
File No.: PLN26-00020
Location: 1391 Washington Street
Applicant: Sheldon Eaton
Owner(s): Donald Hare
General Plan: Very Low Density Residential
Zoning: Single-Family Residential (R1-6L)
Request: Architectural Review for the construction of a 1,200 square foot detached accessory dwelling unit and a detached 347 square foot garage on a Historic Resource Inventory Property
PROJECT DATA
The Project Data and Compliance Table is included as Attachment 2.
POINTS FOR CONSIDERATION
• The subject site is located in the Old Quad neighborhood north of downtown Santa Clara at the intersection of Washington Street and Lewis Street. See Vicinity Map in Attachment 1.
• The subject site consist of a two-story residence constructed circa 1890 and is referred to as the “Cunningham House” in the 1980 Historic Survey Report. The two-story residence was built in the stripped Victorian Italianate style with a truncated, low-hipped roof and a narrow, rectangular front veranda. The residence was added to the Historical Resource Inventory (HRI) in 1980 due to its architectural significance as one of the remaining examples of Victorian Italianate homes in Santa Clara.
• The project is before the Historical and Landmarks Commission (HLC) in accordance with the Historic Preservation Ordinance (Santa Clara City Code 18.130.050). Because the project proposes an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on a property listed on the Historic Resources Inventory (HRI), approval of a Significant Property Alteration (SPA) Permit and an HLC recommendation to the Director of Community Development are required. The HLC shall review the project to ensure the project is consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
• The project will demolish the existing detached garage that was determined not historically significant by the 1980 Historic Survey Report, to build a new code-compliant 347 square-foot two-car garage to the rear of the property and a one-story 1,200 square-foot detached accessory dwelling unit (ADU). See Attachment 4- Site Plan.
• A Secretary of the Interior’s Standards (SOIS) Analysis was prepared for the project by Page&Turnball in September 2026 (Attachment 5). The project was found consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards in that:
o The new structures will not alter the primary use of the property, and the existing property will continue its historic use as a single-family residence.
o The historical character of the property will be retained and preserved as the new construction doesn’t touch the structure and the general spatial relationship between the structures is consistent with the spatial relationship of other residences on Washington Street.
o The new construction will not destroy historic materials, features, and spatial relationships that characterize the property. The new work will be differentiated from the old through wider siding and will be compatible with the historic materials, features, size, scale, proportion, and massing to protect the integrity of the property and its environment.
• The proposed project meets the required findings set forth in Santa Clara City Code 18.120.
• There are no active City code enforcement cases for this property.
• A neighborhood notice was distributed within a 300-foot radius of the subject site for this project review.
FINDINGS SUPPORTING STAFF’S RECOMMENDATION
Granting the Significant Property Alteration approval requires the following findings consistent with City Code Section 18.130.050.D:
1) The alterations shall be designed to the essential character, features, and defining elements that make the Historic Resource Inventory property significant, in that:
• The new detached structures are similar in character to the HRI property, but use distinct materials to differentiate.
• The proposed detached accessory dwelling unit has a wood porch with wood railing that is of similar design to the HRI property.
• The proposed roof of the accessory dwelling unit has a hip roof which is similar to the HRI property’s roof form.
2) The project proposal shall not have a significant adverse effect on the integrity of the Historic Resource Inventory property, in that:
• The proposal does not propose any modifications to the historic structure.
• The new structures are subservient to the existing historic structure on the HRI property in scale and massing.
• The proposal does not add conjectural features from other historic properties to the HRI property.
3) The alterations must be compatible with the existing structure or district, in that:
• The massing is aligned with the HRI property, therefore maintaining the spatial relationship in the neighborhood.
• The proposal uses similar but distinct features and materials.
• The proposal preserves the historical use of the HRI property.
4) The alterations must be consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Treatment Standards, in that:
• The historic character of a property will be retained and preserved. The removal of distinctive materials or alteration of features, spaces and spatial relationships that characterize a property are avoided.
• The property preserves the physical record of its time, place and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or elements from other historic properties, are not undertaken.
• New additions and adjacent or related new construction are undertaken in such a manner that, if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.
CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
Conditions of approval are proposed for the project and are contained in Attachment 3.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15303 (Class 3 - New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures), as a second dwelling unit is being constructed out of the three allowed under this exemption for urbanized areas.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Historical and Landmarks Commission agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov <mailto:clerk@santaclaraca.gov>, or at the public information desk at any City of Santa Clara public library.
A public hearing notice was mailed to property owners within a 300-foot radius of the project site on October 22, 2026. As of the writing of this report, planning staff has not received public comments for this application.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Recommend that the Historical and Landmarks Commission find that the proposed project located at 1391 Washington Street will not destroy or have a significant adverse effect on the integrity of the Historic Resource Inventory property and that the proposed construction is compatible with the resource and recommend approval of the Significant Property Alteration, subject to conditions of approval.
Staff
Prepared by: Alex Tellez, Associate Planner, Community Development Department
Reviewed by: Rebecca Bustos, Principal Planner, Community Development Department
Approved by: Lesley Xavier, Planning Manager, Community Development Department
ATTACHMENTS
1. Vicinity Map
2. Project Data and Compliance Table
3. Conditions of Approval
4. Site Plan
5. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards Analysis