ACTION ITEM: Demolition Threat, Springville (Camarillo) SCHOLLE FARMSTEAD
Photo by Robert A. Silva: The Scholle Farmhouse front facade before the house was boarded up, 2010.
In a new independent historic evaluation for the City of Camarillo, the Scholle Farmhouse was found to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register of Historic Resources and it qualifies as a Camarillo historic landmark.
The recession delayed the first development proposal for the site. The house has been left to decay with no stabilization or preservation for almost a decade. Now a revised development proposal has been submitted for 158 single family homes on the site.
COMMENTS NEEDED! Please support "Preservation in Place." Contact the City of Camarillo : Jaclyn Lee, Principal Planner, City of Camarillo, 601 Carmen Drive, Camarillo, CA 93010 or by e-mail to jlee@cityofcamarillo.org
- The Scholle House can only be saved through vocal community support.
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COMMENT DEADLINE EXTENDED!
Public Review Period: The review period for the Draft Supplement to the EIR has been extended +2 weeks. (~August 7)
Comments: Written comments will be received during the public review period by mail at: Jaclyn Lee, Principal Planner, City of Camarillo, 601 Carmen Drive, Camarillo, CA 93010 -- by e-mail to jlee@cityofcamarillo.org.
The project seeks demolition of the historic farmhouse at the corner of Springville Road and West Ponderosa Drive. The "elacora" logo on this map is the approximate location of the farmstead. The house was determined to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register of Historic Resources and as a local Camarillo landmark in a November, 2019 report by Daly & Associates, Riverside, CA. (Available online from the City of Camarillo Development Department website here:
https://www.cityofcamarillo.org/Appendix%20%20A%20-%20Historic%20Resource%20Report.pdf
The property must be treated as a historic resource under CEQA.
- (Location across from the new Elacora Housing development, built by Comstock Homes: The Elacora tract includes the Viva, Sol, Aire, and Brisa subdivisions in Springville/Camarillo which are for-sale single-family homes and townhomes)
Springville/Camarillo, California, August 2020.
After meeting with the Pleasant Valley Historical Society, the San Buenaventura Conservancy will be supporting efforts to preserve the Scholle Farmstead district. The Farmhouse and associated outbuildings are one of the only existing historic farmsteads in Springville (Camarillo). The property was found to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in November 2019.
The proposed plan for the site includes 8 dwelling units per acre maximum (RPD-8U) and open space, a modificatiton to Tract 5671-2 to subdivide the site into 167 lots for the constructon of 158 detached residental units, but also proposes "possible" relocation of the house to anyone willing to buy the house and move it anywhere and if that doesn't happen: Full demolition of the farmstead.
The Conservancy believes relocation to another site or demolition are both Significant (unmitigable) Adverse Impacts under CEQA, and that the house should be PRESERVED IN PLACE on the property. Historic context, association, setting and location are very important and should be preserved. Moving the house to another city does not constitute a mitigation under CEQA.
The most feasible preservation alternative is that the farm district should be rehabilitated and sold as one of the 158 residences being built on the property. There is no reason this stately home needs to be demolished to pursue the goals of building housing in Camarillo. No housing units need to be lost through this mitigation/alternative.
A preservation alternative in the EIR that maintains the home on the property with significant outbuildings and allows for the remainder of the project to move forward is the goal of our preservation efforts.
The notices are available on the Pending Projects webpage of the City of Camarillo. Notice available here: https://www.cityofcamarillo.org/notice%20of%20availability.pdf
Public Review Period Extended: The review period for the Draft Supplement to the EIR begins on June 12, 2020 and ends on July 27, 2020. (plus 2 weeks)
Comments: Written comments will be received during the public review period by mail at: Jaclyn Lee, Principal Planner, City of Camarillo, 601 Carmen Drive, Camarillo, CA 93010 or by fax to (805) 388-5388 or by e-mail to jlee@cityofcamarillo.org.
Historic Scholle farmstead, Photo circa 2013. View from Springville Rd. exit on the 101 Freeway in Camarillo, California.
2010 Aerial view of Scholle Historic Farmstead District on Springville Road, Camarillo, CA. (before development of property)
Scholle Farmhouse 2019 street view. The farmstead at the corner of Springville Road and Ponderosa Dr. is located across from the Elacora single-family and townhomes tract by Comstock Homes.
ACTION ITEMS
Threatened: Ventura Savings & Loan Building. (Threat: 2017-2020)
250 South Mills Road, Ventura CA.
Built: 1965
Architect: William Pereira
9. Scope of work March 2017: TENANT IMPROVEMENT TO LOWER/GARAGE LEVEL OF 2 STORY BUILDING. SEE ELEVATIONS. INTERIOR STAIR CONNECTING UPPER/ GROUND FLOOR LEVEL WITH LOWER LEVEL TO BE REMOVED. STAIR OPENING TO BE INFILLED. UPPER AND LOWER LEVELS TO BE STRUCTURALLY REINFORCED. FUTURE TENANT IMPROVEMENT FOR UPPER LEVEL NOT INCLUDED UNDER THIS SCOPE OF WORK OR PERMIT. ALL EXTERIOR STAIRS ARE TO REMAIN. NEW EXTERIOR ELEVATOR TO BE PROVIDED. LOWER LEVEL TENANT IMPROVEMENT INCLUDES TWO EXISTING SUITES WITHIN UNDERGROUND PARKING.
William Leonard Pereira (1909-1985)
Born April 25, 1909 in Chicago, Illinois.
Graduated from School of Architecture, University of Illinois
Formed partnership with Charles Luckman called Pereira & Luckman in 1950s
Dissolved Pereira & Luckman in 1959 to form William L. Pereira & Associates.
In September 1963 is Time Magazine “Man of the Year”.
Dies age 76 in 1985, Los Angeles.
Pereira's Notable Projects
Armour and Company Exhibit Building, World’s Fair, Chicago, Ill., 1931
Esquire Theater, Chicago, Ill., 1933
Motion Picture Country House, Woodland, Hills, CA., 1942
Beverly Hills J. W. Robinson’s department store, 1952
Camp Pendleton Master Plan, Oceanside, 1954
Disneyland Hotel, Anaheim, 1958
International Business Machines (IBM) Corp. Headquarters, Los Angeles, 1958
Los Angeles International Airport, Theme Building and other elements, Los Angeles1958
Marineland of the Pacific, Palos Verdes, 1958
University of California, Master Plan, Santa Barbara, 1958
City of Newport Beach Master Plan, 1960
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1964
University of California, Irvine, 1965
Transamerica pyramid tower, San Francisco, 1972
William Pereira helped define emerging social values of post WWII through his designs of every imaginable building type and embraced what we would call today “new urbanist” philosophies.
He was most noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. He developed an unmistakable style of architecture, which came to define the look of mid-20th century America. His buildings and building complexes usually projected a grand presence, heavyset in appearance and often sitting atop “pedestals” that were themselves an integral part of the building.
He was a master planner of communities and business complexes that included Camp Pendleton Master Plan, Northrop Aricraft Master Plan, University of California Master Plan, the Irvine Ranch Master Plan, the Newport Beach Master Plan, and Santa Catalina Island Master Plan, to name only a few. He is a recognized master architect and planner that had a significant impact on shaping the built environment and identity of California in the middle of the 20th Century.
1993 Photo of Imperial Savings (Formerly Ventura savings & Loan, 1965)