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Council upholds historic designation for main house at 718 Old Santa Fe Trail; downgrades two rear casitas to non‑contributing
Summary
After testimony from the property owner, historians and tenants, the council kept the main apartment structure’s “significant” designation but granted an appeal to change two casitas on the same parcel to non‑contributing status.
The Santa Fe City Council on Jan. 15 resolved a contested historic‑status review for 718 Old Santa Fe Trail, leaving the front apartment building designated as a “significant” historic structure but reversing the Historic District Review Board’s contributing designations for two casitas behind the main house.
Assistant City Attorney Frank Rubelied and Paul Durand, the city planner who brought the staff recommendation, told the council the board considered four structures on a multi‑lot property and that the legal test for a significant designation does not turn on street visibility alone. Rubelied summarized the code test: a structure must be roughly 50 years old or older, embody distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction and retain historic integrity; a structure also may be judged significant for association with important local persons or events.
Durand reviewed the property’s history, noting ownership by Benigno Muniz (1872–1945),…
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