HomeMy WebLinkAboutCITY COUNCIL MEETING - 4-7-2014 - LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR LIST Ito0,ltl-66z,
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CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
City Council Interoffice Communication
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members NP
From: Connie Boardman, City Council Member
Date: March 28, 2014
Subject: CITY COUNCIL MEMBER ITEM FOR THE APRIL 7, 2014, CITY
COUNCIL MEETING— LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR LISTING
WINTERSBURG SITE AS ONE OF "AMERICA'S 11 MOST
ENDANGERED HISTORIC PLACES"
STATEMENT OF ISSUE:
I have been a Council liaison and member of the Historic Wintersburg Task Force since
it was established. As part of my involvement on the Task Force, I am requesting that
the City Council authorize the Mayor to sign a letter on our behalf asking the National
Trust for Historic Preservation to include Historic Wintersburg on their annual "America's
11 Most Endangered Historic Places" list. Historic Wintersburg has been officially
nominated for the list.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation--founded in 1949 by congressional charter
to support the preservation of America's diverse historic buildings, neighborhoods, and
heritage--releases an annual list of places they consider the most endangered in
America. First published in 1988, the National Trust's list of"America's 11 Most
Endangered Historic Places" is an annual list that highlights endangered historic sites
across the United States. The list serves to raise national awareness of these sites.
The sites are nominated by the public and eventually selected based on a range of
factors, including its significance, whether there is a local group engaged in its
preservation, the urgency of the threat, and potential solutions to that threat.
The National Trust's publication, Preservation Nation, featured in February 2014 the
preservation effort for Historic Wintersburg, Racing to Save Japanese-American History
at Historic Wintersburg Village (included in this packet). Last October, Historic
Wintersburg Preservation Task Force Chairwoman, Mary Urashima, was an invited
speaker at the National Trust for Historic Preservation conference in Indianapolis,
Indiana, speaking about Historic Wintersburg on a panel about Asian/American heritage
sites.
This fall, the new PBS television program, "Our American Family," will feature a
program on Historic Wintersburg's Furuta family, covering four generations of history
since 1900. The filming was conducted at the Historic Wintersburg property with the
assistance of the Historic Wintersburg Preservation Task Force.
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City Council Member Item
April 7, 2014, City Council Meeting
Page 2
This month, Mary Urashima's book, Historic Wintersburg in Huntington Beach, was
released by the national publisher, History Press. She will be leading a discussion
about the book later this year at the Huntington Beach Central Library and Japanese
American National Museum.
There is a significant effort toward gaining public support and funding for the
preservation of Historic Wintersburg in a manner that is fair for the property owner and
that brings recognition to Huntington Beach as a historical community.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
To authorize the Mayor to sign the attached letter to The National Trust for Historic
Preservation recommending that the Wintersburg site be included on their annual
"America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places" list.
xc: Fred Wilson, City Manager
Ken Domer, Assistant City Manager
Scott Hess, Director of Planning and Building
Racing to Save Japanese-American history
at historic Wintersburg Village
Posted on: February 19th, 2014 by Lauren Walser
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Wintersburg Japanese Presbyterian Mission and manse (parsonage), with congregation, in
March 1910
Six early-20th-century buildings on a five-acre parcel of land known as Historic Wintersburg
Village in Huntington Beach, Calif., tell the story of early Japanese immigrant life in the United
States -- and local preservationists are racing against the clock to save the structures from
demolition.
"There are very few sites like this that represent the daily life of Japanese immigrants and
Japanese Americans," says writer and historian Mary Adams Urashima, a Huntington Beach
resident who has been researching Historic Wintersburg since 2009 and maintaining the Historic
Wintersburg blog since 2012. "The sites that have been preserved or listed, or are in the process
of being preserved or listed, typically are confinement sites."
Wintersburg, which dates back to the mid- to late-1800s, was long a rural agricultural
community and became the center of the early 20th-century Japanese-American life in Orange
County.
Today, what is left of the village (which was annexed into Huntington Beach in 1957) are six
buildings: the 1910 Wintersburg Japanese Presbyterian Mission, the earliest Japanese church in
Orange County; the 1910 manse, or clergy home; the 1912 home of early Wintersburg resident
Charles Furuta and his wife, Yukiko (built on land purchased by Charles Furuta in 1908); the
Furutas' c. 1908 barn; the 1934 Wintersburg Japanese Presbyterian Church; and the 1947 ranch
house belonging to the Furuta family.
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Yukiko Yajima Furuta stands on the porch of her new bungalow in Wintersburg Village, early
1913.
Together,Urashima says, these buildings tell the story of early Japanese settlement of the
West,while also serving as an important reminder of the struggle for civil liberties that
Japanese immigrants faced. The Furuta's house and farm, once a thriving goldfish and flower
farm, along with the Wintersburg Japanese Presbyterian Mission, are rare surviving examples of
Japanese-owned property purchased prior to the California Alien Land Law of 1913, which
denied"aliens ineligible for citizenship" the right to own land in the state.
Further, the 1910 mission stands as monument to the early immigrant community's spiritual and
social center. A surviving document outlining the founding of the mission reveals its importance
to Wintersburg's Japanese community.
"The translation of that document is very moving because they were very straightforward in
acknowledging the discrimination they were facing," says Urashima, a National Trust Diversity
Scholar. "They acknowledged that they needed a place for the community to gather for spiritual
and social purposes, but they also recognized that the European immigrant community would
understand the symbolism of... a church. It would communicate in ways [the Japanese
immigrants] couldn't. It would say, `We have common ground here and the same common goals.
We want to build a life in America, and we want a spiritual life."'
But today, the future of the six buildings is uncertain.
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The Furuta bungalow as it appears today
In 2004, the land was sold to Rainbow Environmental Services, which has since proposed
demolition of the structures.
An Environmental Impact Report was completed, and the National Park Service inspected the
site in May 2013, concluding the buildings were in good shape and could be restored, and were
potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Preservation, a declaration
echoed by the National Trust.
In November, the Huntington Beach City Council, along with the owner, agreed to provide 18
months for the Historic Wintersburg Preservation Task Force to raise enough money either to
buy the property from the owner, should the owner agree, or relocate the structures to a new
location.
"The optimum solution, of course, is to preserve the structures on site," Urashima says. "In
California, it should be easily understood with the history of California missions that the location
of a mission is essential. It's also essential for this site because it is one of the rare Japanese-
owned properties, pre-California Alien Land Law of 1913."
In the meantime, Urashima says she will continue to research and share the history of Historic
Wintersburg to demonstrate its importance to California history and how its preservation will
create educational opportunities and transform its neighborhood.
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Mary Urashima talks about Historic Wintersburg, inside the Furuta barn, as part of a California
Preservation Foundation workshop in May 2013.
Urashima's book, Historic Wintersburg in Huntington Beach, will be released next month. And
the Furuta family will be featured on an upcoming episode of public television series Our
American Family.
"The history is never-ending," Urashima says. "We keep uncovering new information, new
stories, new historical details. And that makes [maintaining the blog] really a great pleasure. It's
just a never-ending process."
While Urashima is hopeful for a good outcome, she acknowledges the challenges that lie ahead.
"We need help," Urashima says. "We need help purchasing the property, we need help in the
technical aspects of preservation, and we need help from people who know how to do fundraisers
or would hold fundraisers for us. And we're also very interested in those who have creative ideas
to make it a sustainable site."
She continues, "We firmly believe that there are win-win solutions that can benefit the property.
... I have to believe good things will come from this. I really do believe in this site, and its
importance, and its value to California. We're not giving up. We'll keep going."
The National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America's historic places. Join us
today to help protect the places that matter to you.
J� City g of Huntln ton Beach M ttheewM.Harper
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�— P. O. BOX 190 • 2000 MAIN STREET • CALIFORNIA 92648 MAYOR PRO TEMPORE
Joe Shaw
COUNCIL MEMBERS
A Connie Bordman
April 7, 2014
Joe Carchio
Jill Hardy
Jim Katapodis
National Trust for Historic Preservation Dave Sullivan
The Watergate Office Building
2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20037
Dear Selection Committee:
RE: America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places 2014
The Huntington Beach City Council urges you to include Historic Wintersburg in
Huntington Beach, California, on this year's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places" in
2014.
Historic Wintersburg has been nominated for the 11 Most Endangered." It is a rare,
pre-California Alien Land Law of 1913 Japanese-owned property. The 4 Y/2 acre
property contains six historical structures: the 1910 Japanese Presbyterian Mission,
1910 Manse, the 1934 Depression-era Japanese Presbyterian Church, the 1912 Furuta
bungalow and Furuta barn (1908-1912), and the 1947 post-World War II Furuta ranch
house.
This property represents the daily life and community center of Japanese pioneers in
Orange County from the time of their arrival in early 1900, through their forced
evacuation and confinement during World War II, to their return post-War to our
community. We recognize the chronological progression of six historical structures on
the property is iconic of Japanese American settlement in California and in the
American West.
The Huntington Beach City Council must balance the requests of property owners with
the desire of those in the community who wish to preserve our unique history. For this
reason, we support including Historic Wintersburg on the 11 Most Endangered" list as it
may help achieve mutually beneficial solutions for all parties.
The Historic Wintersburg site was rezoned in 2013 to industrial-commercial zoning and
there is a pending application for demolition. During 2013 Planning Commission and
City Council public hearings, the current owner indicated that they will work with
preservationists who wish to acquire the property. If the preservationists fail to
purchase the property then, moving the historical structures to a new location would be
another option. The community has less than 18 months to accomplish either of these
tasks.
TELEPHONE (714) 536-5553
Manly, Australia FAX (714) 536-5233 Anjo, Japan
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Page 2
April 7, 2014
Including Historic Wintersburg on "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places" can
open doors to the funding and expertise needed to achieve preservation goals in a fair
manner for all parties. Your support and the support of the country can help us save a
property noted as potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, for
which an application for nomination is being prepared.
Huntington Beach is most frequently recognized for its surfing history, now marking 100
years. The Japanese community at Historic Wintersburg was part of that history—
including their participation in the rededication of the Huntington Beach pier in 1914—as
well as a major part of our pioneer agricultural and mission era history. On behalf of the
entire City Council, I ask the National Trust to help us in our effort to save Historic
Wintersburg.
Sincerely,
MAYOR MATTHEW M. HARPER
City of Huntington Beach
Esparza, Patty
From: Surf City Pipeline [noreply@user.govoutreach.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2014 8:32 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL; Agenda Alerts
Subject: Surf City Pipeline: Comment on an Agenda Item (notification)
Request# 17808 from the Government Outreach System has been assigned to Agenda Alerts.
Request type: Comment
Request area: City Council - Agenda& Public Hearing Comments
Citizen name: Richardson Gray
Description: Dear Council Members,
I have owned my home in Downtown Huntington Beach for almost eight years, after
retiring here in 2006. 1 am writing you to urge the Council to write a letter of support for
the nomination of Historic Wintersburg for the National Trust for Historic Places' list of
America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. I spent most of my twenty-five year
career in commercial real estate working on the renovation and adaptive reuse of historic
properties, first in North Carolina and later in Massachusetts.
Since the completion of our City's last historic inventory in 1986, which is in the process
of an update now, forty percent of the City's 1986 historic properties have been
demolished, at least 134 properties lost forever, from a group of 341 historic properties
in 1986. As I understand it, from 2002 through today,the City has only vetoed one
demolition permit in that entire, most recent, twelve-year period.
With this background, I trust that you will be able to see the crucial importance of the
Council's support for including Historic Wintersburg on the National Trust for Historic
Places' list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. Without your support,
Historic Wintersburg, so much emblematic of our Huntington Beach, Orange County,
Southern California, and National histories, may well be lost for all time. Thank you for
your support.
Expected Close Date: April 4, 2014
Click here to access the request
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SUPPLEMENTAL
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SUPPLEMENTAL
Es aria, Pafty COMMUNICATION
From: Surf City Pipeline [noreply@user.govoutreach.com] Meeting Date: ±Z7
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2014 11:50 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL; Agenda Alerts
Subject: Surf City Pipeline: Comment on an Agenda Item No.
Request# 17812 from the Government Outreach System has been assigned to Agenda Alerts.
Request type: Comment
Request area: City Council - Agenda& Public Hearing Comments
Citizen name: Mary Urashima
Description: RE: Letter to The National Trust for Historic Preservation recommending that the
Wintersburg site be included on their annual "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic
Places" list.
Mayor and City Council members,
You are being asked to sign a letter to the National Trust for Historic Preservation,
requesting the inclusion of Historic Wintersburg on America's 11 Most Endangered
Historic Places.
The main effect of being on the list is as a national "call to action" to help our
community save historic resources. This leads to national support and the assistance of
the National Trust(e.g. preservation expertise, fundraising help). The National Trust
reports that "Over the last 25 years, we've had a 97% success rate" of saving places on
the list." Local coalitions "get a big boost and additional support emerges from the
shadows when people learn for the first time that a resource is threatened."
Examples of the news announcements from last year:
http•//www cnn com/2013/06/19/travel/most-endangered-historic-places-2013/
http://www.businessinsider.com/endangered-historic-places-in-us-2013-6
To be very clear, this does not change the city council action of last November nor does
it place any restrictions on the landowner. If selected for the final list of America's 11
Most Endangered, all parties can be involved in a positive, collaborative effort.
If we are to get the major support and fundraising needed to achieve some type of
preservation---in the time period in which we have to work---then significant community
and media outreach is crucial to that effort.
Major fundraising from outside sources is something all city council members said they
would support during public hearings last fall. This is an action you can take to support
fundraising.
It is an honor for Historic Wintersburg in Huntington Beach to be a candidate for the list
and to have our unique local history considered as important American history.
Please contact me should you have any questions.
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