Join us Tuesday, September 24, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. for comment at the City Council meeting. Details below. 

On April 30, 2024 the San José City Council voted to nominate the Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park area for designation as a City Landmark District and to direct staff to initiate the required process and proceedings to designate the historic district, including outreach to community members and property owners.

• The Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park neighborhood, consisting of 132 properties, is generally bounded by Stockton Avenue on the east, the south side of Pershing Avenue on the south, Hoover Avenue on the west, and the north side of Schiele Avenue, and a portion of the south side of Schiele Avenue on the north.

The map below illustrates the proposed historic district boundaries of the Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park neighborhood. Click on the blue dots for property specific information, including links to Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) Primary Record 523A forms for each property.

What is a historic district?

• A historic district is a formally designated group of buildings, usually composed of a contiguous grouping of structures. These structures often share a common development history: they may have been part of a single development tract, have a well-defined period of construction or architectural style, have consistent design elements such as a planned street pattern or uniform setback, or relate to a significant cultural event or movement. A district can span part or all of a neighborhood. It can be large or small, can represent any architectural style(s), and can include streetscape and landscape elements. Individual buildings within a district don’t need to be highly significant on their own. The area’s overall cohesiveness, uniqueness, and architectural integrity are what matters.
  
  
• Historic districts have some level of protection and oversight in order to maintain their integrity and significance. The designation of an area as a historic district represents a commitment to recognizing and protecting a community’s architectural heritage.
  
  
• For the formal definition of a City Landmark District refer to the Historic Preservation Ordinance San José Municipal Code Chapter 13.48.

How does the Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park area qualify as a historic district?

• Developed as two adjacent but related residential tracts with portions of the Schiele Subdivision underway in the late 1880s, and the final build-out of Alameda Park occurring by the start of World War II.
• Consists of residential buildings initially constructed within an unincorporated area between the cities of San José and Santa Clara and later became part of the 1925 College Park, Burbank, and Sunol Annexation to the City of San José.
• Most of the properties were developed for residential use within a specified period, 1889-1941 and the houses have form and detailing reflective of this broad period.
• Much of the north side of Schiele Avenue remains a snapshot of the late 1800s, with what is probably the biggest collection of the existing work of San José master architect Theodore Lenzen. Those houses are mixed in with later twentieth-century vernacular houses reflecting many eras: Arts and Crafts, Period Revival, and Contemporary.
• Possesses an architectural character that is visually cohesive, and as a historic place contributes to an understanding of the context of San José’s early suburban expansion beyond the city limits that had been established as the 1850 Original City.

For more information refer to the District Record and Suburban Residential Expansion Before WWII historic context prepared by architectural historians Archives and Architecture LLC.

Community Outreach

Two in-person community meetings will be held to discuss the April 30, 2024 nomination by the San José City Council to designate the Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park neighborhood as a City Landmark District. The meetings will outline the procedure and timeline for the historic district designation process and will include presentations by San José Planning staff and their historical consultants, who will also receive and respond to questions and comments from the public. Meeting comments will become part of the public record to help inform the Historic Landmarks Commission and Planning Commission, which will provide recommendations on the proposed designation to the San José City Council.

Upcoming Meetings

San Jose City Council Meeting - In-person/view only on Zoom
Tuesday, September 24, 2024 1:30 p.m.
Location: San José City Hall
200 East Santa Clara Street, Wing Rooms 118-120
San José, California 95113
Meeting Detail

Past Events

Planning Commission Meeting - In person/view only on Zoom
Wednesday, August 28, 2024 6:30 p.m.
Location: San José City Hall
200 East Santa Clara Street, Council Chambers
San José, California 95113
Agenda

Historic Landmarks Commission Meeting - In-person/view only on Zoom
Wednesday, August 7, 2024 6:30 p.m.
Location: San José City Hall
200 East Santa Clara Street, Wing Rooms 118-120
San José, California 95113
Agenda

Thursday, June 13, 2024 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Location: San José City Hall
200 East Santa Clara Street, Tower 3rd Floor, Conference Room 332
San José, California 95113
Community Questions: Summary of Participant Questions
Agenda and Meeting Notice

Community Meeting
Thursday, May 30, 2024 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church Parish Hall
1948 The Alameda, San Jose, California 95126
Community Questions: Summary of Participant Questions
Presentation: English
Agenda and Meeting Notice

Commission Public Hearings

• Following the community meetings, the Historic Landmarks Commission (HLC) and the Planning Commission (PC) will each hold a public hearing with notice given at least 10 days prior to the hearing dates.
  
  
• The HLC and the PC will recommend approval, disapproval, or modified approval of the proposed designation and transmit their recommendations to the City Council which holds a final noticed public hearing.

City Council Public Hearing

• The City Council by written resolution may approve, modify and approve, or deny the proposed designation based on the findings that the Subdivision and Alameda Park neighborhood is a geographically definable area of urban or rural character, possessing a significant concentration or continuity of site, buildings, structures or objects unified by past events or aesthetically by plan or physical development. If the historic district is designated by City Council, the City Clerk would notify the owners of the property in the district by mailing them a certified copy of the resolution.

Would historic district designation restrict how I may use my property? No.

• A historic district is “overlaid” on the existing zoning classifications for the area. Therefore, the Historic Preservation Ordinance does not regulate land use.

Would historic district designation prevent me from making changes to my property? No.

• Historic district designation does not prevent owners from making changes to their properties, nor does it require them to restore or rehabilitate their property.
  
  
• Historic district designation helps to guide change and ensures that alterations, additions or demolition are in keeping with historic character of the area.
  
  
• This happens through a design review process whereby Planning staff or the HLC review proposed exterior changes for conformance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and the Your Old House: Guide to Preserving San Jose Homes and issue a Historic Preservation Permit. For more information, refer to the Permits for Projects with Historic Resources webpage.

Can I still build an ADU on my property if the area is designated a historic district? Yes.

• Historic district designation would not affect your ability to construct an ADU or JADU.
  
  
• In accordance with state law, applications for ADUs are ministerial and must comply with San José Municipal Code, Part 2.75 – Accessory Dwelling Units (Sections 20.80.175-179).
  
  
• No Historic Preservation Permit is required for the construction of an ADU or conversion of an existing garage to an ADU.

The Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park is already listed on the Historic Resources Inventory, how would the design review requirements change?

• Currently, proposed exterior changes to a house listed in the Historic Resources Inventory require the issuance of a Single Family House Permit.
• Historic district designation would change the design review process to instead require a Historic Preservation Permit. Minor exterior changes would be reviewed on the staff level by Planning staff (Historic Preservation Permit Adjustment) and more extensive work, like the construction of a new addition, would be reviewed by the HLC at a public hearing.

BACKGROUND

Prior Community Outreach

Neighborhood outreach by local residents was conducted in 2004 when a letter and survey was distributed to assess the initial level of interest. For residents that did not respond to the survey, neighbors made at least one attempt to meet them in person to answer any questions. Where houses were not occupied by the owner, residents mailed the letter and survey to the property owners using the address on file with the Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office. The information was sent a second time if the owner did not respond to the survey. Following this effort, a community meeting attended by 29 property owners was held at the Hoover Community Center to provide information about the proposed historic district and respond to questions. 

Historic Resources Inventory Listing

On June 3, 2020, the Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park neighborhood was listed on the Historic Resources Inventory (HRI) by the HLC as an eligible Conservation Area or Candidate City Landmark District. The area was recommended for listing based on extensive research and documentation submitted by representatives of the neighborhood. At that time, Department of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement staff conducted a field survey and an independent review of the documentation and determined that the area met the required eligibility findings based on the high concentration of historic properties, cohesive pattern of development, and high architectural integrity. Prior to consideration by the HLC, property owners of record were mailed postcard notices on May 22, 2020. Planning staff received one inquiry in response to the mailing.

Following the listing of the Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park neighborhood on the HRI by the HLC, local residents conducted another outreach effort in the fall of 2020. Outreach was focused on owners who did not respond to the survey in 2004, had moved into the neighborhood after the initial outreach or had not been previously included in the 2004 survey.

Since the listing of the Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park neighborhood  on the HRI on June 3, 2020, exterior changes to properties within the boundaries  have been subject to the issuance of a Single Family House Permit as outlined in Section 20.100.1040 (Additional Development Requiring a Single-Family House Permit) of the Zoning Ordinance. This code section applies to all single family houses listed in the HRI. The HRI serves as a resource document used as a foundation for the future designation of historic landmarks and/or districts, as well as for the review and evaluation of proposed building alterations and development on listed properties.

Historic District Designation

In 2021, the Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park neighborhood  was documented and evaluated by a qualified historic resources consultant on California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) Primary Record and District Record forms. The consultant determined that the qualities and characteristics of the neighborhood meet the significance criteria for designation under  Chapter 6 (Historic Preservation) of the Envision San José 2040 General Plan and San José Municipal Code Section 13.48.120 because the district represents a comprehensive pattern of historic development west of San José’s original city; its association with residential development during the period 1888-1941; and its embodiment, within the boundaries of the neighborhood, of architectural styles that represent the breadth of design of the associated historic periods.

Based upon the HRI listing and the documentation prepared by the qualified historic resources consultant, on March 24, 2021 the Rules and Open Government Committee considered a memorandum submitted by Councilmember Dev Davis recommending that the Committee forward a resolution to the City Council to nominate the Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park as a City Landmark District and initiate the process for designation. Former Councilmember Sylvia Arenas requested that the City be mindful of historic redlining practices that kept people of color out of predominantly white neighborhoods. The Rules and Open Government Committee voted to forward the historic district nomination to the City Council for consideration on March 30, 2021, with a recommendation of approval to initiate the designation process. City Council action was deferred to April 20, 2021, when the item was dropped from consideration.

Initiating the historic district designation process in 2024 includes an update of the 2021 documentation and significance evaluation to address on a city and state level issues of equity in housing development during the first part of the twentieth century, the use of restrictive covenants, and the extent and impact of redlining in some downtown neighborhoods. This research has been incorporated into the DPR District Record forms and will be the subject of a new focused historic context statement that will be part of the Updated San José Historic Context to help other consultants understand the historic context of San José residential properties.

STAFF CONTACT

Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement
Planning Division

Dana Peak, Principal Planner and Historic Preservation Officer
Email: dana.peak@sanjoseca.gov

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