Historic Context Statement Update

In the summer of 2021, the City of San José embarked on an update to its Historic Context Statement.

TELLing the STORIES of our built environment

A historic context statement is a planning document that tells the stories of how, when and why the built environment of a city looks the way it does.

A historic context statement is organized by time period, location and theme, and provides a foundation for the identification, evaluation and treatment of historic properties within the City's regulatory processes.

San José’s previous citywide historic context statement, Overview and Historical Context for the City of San José, was written in 1992 by the late Glory Anne Laffey; it served as the backbone for understanding the city’s historic resources for almost 30 years. The 2021 project updated this statement and, importantly, identified patterns and themes that were not within the scope of the 1992 context preparation.

Land use patterns, buildings, structures, districts, places and more are the built expressions of community activities and reflect cultural values of both individuals and groups. Older planning studies and reports often did not fully address all aspects of San José’s social and economic life, particularly for under-represented communities.

The 2021 Historic Context Statement Update sought to connect previously unidentified and unrecognized resources and patterns to the existing built environment, so they may be brought to light, with their importance and significance properly considered within the City's development review process.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

The Planning Division retained historical consultant Archives & Architecture, LLC, and collected input from members of the diverse communities that make up San José. Over the summer of 2021, an online web portal titled SurveySanJose.org (now closed, with the content moved to this website) was used where the public could suggest properties and places to be potentially added to the Historic Resources Inventory through the Historic Context Statement Update. These suggestions are noted on the Historic Resources Working List webpage.

City Staff and the project consultant also held a well-attended community meeting on July 15, 2021 to seek public input on the update of the San José Historic Context Statement and Historic Resources Inventory from members of San José’s diverse communities. Additionally, for more than one month, staff publicized a survey in English, Vietnamese and Spanish that enabled community members to submit information about historic places, buildings, and persons.

PUBLIC REVIEW OF DRAFT DOCUMENTS

The Draft Citywide Historic Context Update, Historic Context Update Report and Survey Handbook were presented by Archives and Architecture at public meeting before the Historic Landmarks Commission on November 3, 2021 and comments were received.

HLC AND DESIGN REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE AGENDAS / MINUTES

FINAL PROJECT DOCUMENTS

The project resulted in the preparation of the update to the San José Historic Context Statement, Architectural Resources and Styles Sub-theme of the San José Historic Context Statement, San José 2021 Report, and Survey Handbook. These final documents available for use by qualified historic resources consultants for historic resource surveys in San José are included below.