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<br />88 <br />Page 2 <br /> <br />. The families that lived in this area played an important social and economic role <br />in the development of Redwood City, they worked the "blue collar" jobs and <br />provided the necessary services that allowed the original industrial and <br />governmental center to grow. <br />. The block originally designated as "Park Square" 150 years ago remains to this <br />day a public park on the same block. "Mezes Park" therefore represents the first <br />and oldest park in California to be donated for public use by a private individual. <br /> <br />Consequences and Benefits: <br />If designated, the Mezesville historic district would include 51 contributing properties <br />containing structures that would qualify as historic resources (the 52nd contributing <br />property is the Mezes park site) According to the historic preservation ordinance, any <br />work done to the exterior of contributing structures would be subject to the Secretary of <br />Interior's Standards for historic properties. This implies additional steps in the design <br />review process; first involving the HRAC followed by a recommendation to the PlannIng <br />Commission for final action. The Secretary of Interior's Standards consist of "common <br />sense" rules which are generally applied at the staff level at the Planning counter Le. <br />applications should retain as much of the original "fabric" of the historic resource as <br />possible, and if new construction is involved, compatible materials to the original <br />structure should be used. Typically, significant alterations to contributing properties with <br />visible impacts (like second story additions) will go through the design review process <br />described above. Lastly, if this area is designated as an historic district, a valuable <br />preservation incentive called a Mills Act Contract Agreement would become available <br />to the owners of contributing properties to this designated district. These long term <br />agreements between individual property owners and the City Council provide property <br />tax relief in exchange for a long term property restoration/maintenance program. Again, <br />the main purpose of this effort is to preserve the unique and desirable qualities of the <br />Community. <br /> <br />2 <br />