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<br />88 <br />Page 22 <br /> <br />Staff Report <br />To: Planning Commission <br />Subject: Mezesville/Centennial Historic District proposal <br />March 21,2006 <br />Page 3 of 6 <br /> <br />and aesthetically to form a district which is worthy of preservation. The residents <br />who built and/or lived in the homes located within the proposed district played a <br />key role in fostering the growth of the City which, as the County seat, affected the <br />growth of the region as a whole. The modest yet humanly scaled "working <br />man's" character of this older neighborhood sets it apart from other areas of the <br />City. Recent developments in the Downtown are expected to continue to put <br />pressures on this area because it is conveniently close to the City core, zoned for <br />residential high density and relatively affordable. In order to maintain the <br />character of the area's existing traditional housing stock and potentially contain <br />neighborhood erosion, the HRAC has recommended that protection measures be <br />set up for qualified properties in the context of a historic district. The information <br />contained in this report strongly supports the HRAC's recommendation to <br />designate the proposed Mezesville/ Centennial Historic District and protect its <br />contributing resources. <br /> <br />The following periods of historic significance have served as the basis for <br />evaluating Redwood City's historic resources: <br />1) The Pre-1906 earthquake period <br />2) 1906 to the 1929 Great Depression <br />3) 1929 to the beginning ofWWII <br />4) Post war (1945) modern construction; (structures constructed in this area after <br />WWII are not considered historically significant <br /> <br />GENERAL PLAN AND ZONING COMPLIANCE: <br /> <br />The zoning designation for the subject area is mostly "R-5" Multifamily-High <br />Density Residential District. Two blocks located between Brewster, Samson, <br />Warren and Allerton Streets, as well as two properties also facing Brewster east <br />of Allerton, are zoned "R-5-0" Multifamily-High Density Residential - combining <br />Office District. The parcels located west of Arguello Street are Zoned "IR" <br />Industrial Restricted (see attached map). Although the General Plan land use <br />designation for this area is "Moderate to High Rise Residential", the existing built <br />environment within the proposed district is very consistent, with relatively low <br />density development. The standard lot is 5,000 square foot in area, (50 foot wide <br />by 100 feet deep). A majority of the parcels within the proposed district contain a <br />single family dwelling in the front; approximately half of those have a detached <br />small scale unit in the back yard area. Occasionally the structure has been <br />constructed as a one story duplex or triplex. This gross discrepancy between <br />land use designation and neighborhood context is expected to be addressed at <br />