REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on Mills Act Contract for 1311 Lewis Street
Report
BACKGROUND
Shun Ye and Yilin Yu, the home owners of the residence at 1311 Lewis Street, are requesting the approval of a Historic Property Preservation Agreement (Mills Act Contract) with the City and adoption of an associated 10-Year Restoration and Maintenance Plan. The State of California enacted legislation that allows owners of historically designated properties to enter into a Mills Act Contract with the legislative bodies of local agency jurisdictions, pursuant to Government Code Section 50280 and following. Mills Act Contract properties then qualify for property tax incentives contained in the California Revenue and Taxation Code. The purpose of a Mills Act Contract is to offer owner(s) of historically significant properties an economic incentive to maintain and preserve the historic physical integrity of their properties, which thereby also increases the aesthetic and economic health of the surrounding neighborhood and the City. A 10-Year Restoration and Maintenance Plan is required to document specific maintenance and preservation activities proposed to be undertaken by the property owners for the Contract property.
The City Council established a process for evaluating Mills Act Contract requests on September 4, 1993 (Resolution No. 5843), that established a limit of five contracts per year. In 2004, the City Council increased the number of allowable contracts to ten per year. If approved, the subject proposal would be the City's third Mills Act Contract in 2018.
The subject property is currently listed on the City's Historic Resource Inventory (Inventory). An updated State Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) form evaluating the significance of the structure (Historical Survey) was prepared for the current proposal and concluded that the property retains sufficient integrity to continue to merit listing on the Inventory.
The project request was conside...
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