REPORT TO HISTORICAL AND LANDMARKS COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
PUBLIC HEARING: Recommendation on the Architectural Review (PLN24-00605) of the Proposed Construction of an 1,817 square-foot Three Bedroom, Two-Bathroom Residence with an Attached Two Car Garage and Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Located at 645 Jackson Street, within 200 Feet of a Historic Resource Inventory Property.
Report
File No.: PLN24-00605
Location: 645 Jackson Street, a 6,000 square-foot lot located midblock on Jackson Street, between Market Street and Santa Clara Street
Applicant: De Nguyen
Owner(s): De Nguyen
Request: Architectural Review for Construction of an 1,817 square-foot Three Bedroom, Two-Bathroom Residence with an Attached Two Car Garage and Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) at 645 Jackson Street, Located Within 200 Feet of a Historic Resource.
PROJECT DATA
The Project Data and Compliance Table is included as Attachment 2.
POINTS FOR CONSIDERATION
• The proposed project is in a residential tract consisting of both one- and two-story residences. See Vicinity Map in Attachment 1.
• The Site is currently a vacant site used informally as parking.
• Per the Santa Clara City Code 18.120(D)1,the request to construct a new single-family home requires Architectural Review approval through a Development Review Hearing.
• The project is before the Historical and Landmarks Commission (HLC) in accordance with Historic Preservation Ordinance (Santa Clara City Code 18.130.070), which requires all projects within 200 feet of a Historic Resources Inventory (HRI) property requiring an Architectural Review through a Development Review Hearing to be first referred to the HLC.
• The HLC shall review the project for neighborhood compatibility and consistency with the City’s Design Guidelines and make a recommendation on the Architectural Review at the Development Review Hearing.
• The proposal is to construct a 1,817 square-foot three bedroom, two-bathroom residence with a two-car garage. The home is to be single-story with vertical wood siding and standing seem metal roof on the front of the home, and a small stone veneer wrapped front porch with a single window dormer above the two-car garage.
• There are two HRI properties within 200 feet of the proposed project. 690 Jackson Street, a.k.a. “Budde House”, is a single-story structure built in 1926 in the Spanish Eclectic style. The house is on the western side of Jackson Street on the corner of Jackson Street and Santa Clara Street. 610 Jackson Street, a.k.a. “William A. Wilson House”, is a two-story Mills Act property constructed in 1935 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. Both properties feature Spanish barrel tile roofing, the only examples of this style on the block.
• The proposed project complies with the City’s Single-Family and Duplex Residential Design Guidelines (2014). Specifically, the project is consistent with the guidelines, in that:
o The front of the house is oriented toward the primary street frontage with an emphasis on the front porch or entry element toward the street by architectural design and landscaping treatment.
o A prominent front porch or entry is provided.
o The architectural features of the proposed design including the wood siding at the front of the structure, stucco siding on the rear of the structure, and the small front porch are true to the architectural form and appropriate for the neighborhood.
o The project proposes both a gable roof form on the street side of the house, and a hip roofed style to the rear of the property, mirroring both styles of roof forms seen in the area.
• The architectural style and design of the proposed addition are true to the architectural form of the existing residence and for the neighborhood. 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.
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), in that the proposed project is for the construction of a new single-family residence on a vacant lot, which meets Class 3 exemption requirements.
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 February 20, 2025. 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 645 Jackson Street will not destroy or have a significant adverse effect on the integrity of the Historic Resource Inventory property within 200 feet at 610 and 690 Jackson Street that the proposed construction is compatible with the surrounding neighborhood and recommend approval of the Architectural Review at the Development Review Hearing.
Staff
Prepared by: Daniel Sobczak, 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. Development Plans