[OldNorth] Fwd: FDHR Alert - Council to decide Anderson Bank fate on Tues 5/15 - your help requested !

[sheryl lynn gerety]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Friends of DHR" <friendsofdhr at gmail.com>
> Date: May 12, 2007 5:09:31 PM PDT
> To: "Friends of Davis Historical Resources" <friendsofdhr at gmail.com>
> Subject: FDHR Alert - Council to decide Anderson Bank fate on Tues  
> 5/15 - your help requested !
>
>  Friends of Davis Historical Resources -
>
> Your help is needed - this coming Tuesday (May 15 at 7:30 pm), the  
> Davis City Council will make a critical decision affecting the future  
> of the Anderson Bank Building (203 G Street / 719 2nd Street), one of  
> the most significant of the small number of historical buildings  
> surviving to this date in downtown Davis.
>
>  The Council will vote on whether to require the current building  
> owner to retain the original Bank windows in their original form, as  
> recommended by City staff and a unanimous Davis Historical Resources  
> Management Commission vote, or to allow the current owner to alter and  
> enlarge the existing windows by one of 2 proposed methods, which could  
> affect or destroy the Landmark Historic designation given to the  
> building.
>
> Please take a few moments to review the information in this email and  
> at the links provided, and communicate your feelings to the  
> Councilmembers at the email addresses provided at the bottom, as soon  
> as you can, and by May 15 at the latest.  The current owner and the  
> newly reorganized Davis Downtown Business Association have been  
> gathering petition signatures and letters and even posting lawn signs  
> in support of the window alteration proposals - it is vital that  
> voices in favor of historic preservation be heard as well !
>
> Points to consider on this issue include:
>  - The 1914 Anderson Bank Building was built by Davis "Founding  
> Father" and entrepreneur J. B. Anderson, who also became the first  
> Mayor of Davis.  The 2-story solid architecture represents a  
> cornerstone of the thriving downtown that grew from that point, and  
> the arched high windows with a high sill are one of the most  
> historically significant features of the building, hence the  
> importance of this vote.
>  - The Anderson Bank Building had already been designated a Historic  
> Resource (in 1984) before the current owner purchased it - one must  
> assume that he would be well aware of the benefits and limitations  
> that ownership of a Historic Resource would represent.
>  - The current owner has tried repeatedly in the past to alter the  
> Bank windows, and to even have the Bank delisted as a Historic  
> Resource, and on each occasion he has been turned down by the  
> Historical Resources Management Commission and/or the City Council.   
> One would hope that the current Council would take the same action,  
> but that is not at all certain, as pressure is applied to reach a  
> different conclusion.
>  - Respectful historic preservation enhances the downtown culturally,  
> preserving a pride of heritage and place while creating a destination  
> for tourism.  The Bistro33 Restaurant is an example of creative,  
> respectful reuse of an historic structure (Historic City Hall) that  
> contributes to a lively, thriving downtown.  Creative thinking could  
> produce one or more new tenants in the Anderson Bank Building that  
> would help to enliven the downtown while allowing future generations  
> to continue to appreciate our city's historic origins.
>  - The window change is proposed to enhance retail success in the  
> building. Many businesses and services thrive in the downtown without  
> depending on window space - their success depends on the service  
> provided or the goods being sold.  The retail impact of changing the  
> windows is speculative - the historical damage is unquestioned and  
> irreversible.
>
> For more background (and lively discussion) please see:
>  -  
> http://davisvanguard.blogspot.com/search/label/ 
> Anderson%20Bank%20Building (with comments)
>  -  
> http://cityofdavis.org/meetings/councilpackets/20070515/ 
> 07_Anderson_Bank_Bldg.pdf  (Council staff report)
>  - http://cityofdavis.org/cdd/projects/andersonbank/ (City documents:  
> Background, Historical Analysis, draft and final EIR)
>  - http://www.davishistoricalsociety.org/ (Additional Davis historical  
> documentation and research)
>
> Please let the Council know how you feel ( by May 15) at:
>  - Mayor Sue Greenwald  sgreenwald at ci.davis.ca.us
>  - Mayor Pro Tempore Ruth Asmundson  rasmundson at ci.davis.ca.us
>  - Councilmember Lamar Heystek  lheystek at ci.davis.ca.us
>  - Councilmember Don Saylor  dsaylor at ci.davis.ca.us
>  - Councilmember Stephen Souza  ssouza at ci.davis.ca.us
>
>  Thank you for supporting the Landmark Anderson Bank Building at this  
> critical moment - feel free to forward this alert to others who would  
> care about the loss of this historic resource.
>
>  Friends of Davis Historical Resources  (email: FriendsOfDHR at gmail.com  
> - comments / info requests welcome)
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: text/enriched
Size: 5540 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://www2.dcn.org/pipermail/oldnorth/attachments/20070512/b79b2404/attachment.bin>