By Khalida Sarwari
Whether the house at 14630 Big Basin Way will still be there in the near future, no one can say for sure. After much debate about the future of the John Henry House earlier this month, the Saratoga City Council agreed to table the issue, despite resistance from councilwoman Jill Hunter.
Hunter has been a strong proponent of “saving” the dilapidated 145-year-old house, and at the city council meeting on Jan. 15 even pushed for a motion to do just that. The council had been asked to approve the placement of the John Henry House within the city’s Heritage Orchard, should it be moved from its current location, but ultimately did not take any action.
“Let this project go through the process like it’s supposed to,” said councilman Howard Miller. “There’s no compelling reason for the city council to jump in and try to subvert and undermine what’s going on in the normal process, and from that perspective I would recommend we make no motion and we take no action tonight.”
The John Henry House is a one-story cottage that was built in 1869 and originally belonged to John Henry, an engineer at the Saratoga Paper Mill. The house was purchased last year by Paul Hernandez, the owner of the Saratoga Oaks Lodge next door, who has plans to demolish the building and redevelop the site. After the McWilliams residence, it is the oldest house in Saratoga and was the office of architect Warren Heid for decades up until a few years ago.
Hernandez has publicly announced his desire to replace the house with a coffee shop and garden. Demolishing the building, however, would require him to pay the city for the preparation of an environmental impact report, at a cost of about $45,000.
The house is in poor condition and has a termite problem, according to Hernandez–so much so that the expense of renovating it would not be justified. At the Jan. 15 meeting, Hernandez wondered aloud whether the house was even worth saving, given its condition.
“Is this a historic building or is it just an old building? Who’s to say?” he told the council. “I’m not sure what triggered this to be listed as a historic house, except for its age and the fact that it had a catchy name.”
Hunter was initially adamant about having the house relocated to the orchard, but now wants Hernandez to use it in his development plans. She expounded on that desire at the Jan. 15 meeting.
“When we start demolishing our old properties like that, we’re going to lose what Saratoga is,” she said. “An awful lot of Saratoga looks just like the rest of Silicon Valley, but Big Basin Way does not. And tourism of a historic nature is one of the biggest things you can do for a town.”
The city last revisited the issue on Nov. 20 when the council asked staff to prepare for a discussion of the feasibility of moving the house to city property. Of the three suggested locations, city staff selected the Heritage Orchard as its preferred site. The others were Quarry Park and the lawn area at the corner of Fruitvale and Allendale avenues near City Hall.
City officials also completed a California Environmental Quality Act study for the development proposal and concluded that an EIR would be required due to the house’s age and historic features, or alternatively a mitigated negative declaration if the house is moved. The cost of moving the house, according to one moving company’s estimate, is a minimum of $29,000.
The Heritage Orchard is also the preferred location for the Heritage Preservation Commission.
The house is on the city’s Heritage Resource Inventory, and as such, the HPC was tasked with reviewing the development application and subsequently passed a motion recommending the city council consider options for moving and reconstructing the house.
Marilyn Marchetti, a member of the HPC, asked the council to conduct a proper review and thorough discussion before making a decision.
“My thoughts are that if an EIR report was done, as it should be, the report would probably show a fair argument that any relocation or demolition of this vital, historic resource would impair its historical significance to the environment and it would not be allowed under CEQA guidelines,” Marchetti said. “Once it’s moved or removed we can’t bring it back.”
John Henry House: Is it historic or just old? Council needs to decide
