Palo Alto historic board endorses rehabilitation of 1950 Cowper Street

The Palo Alto Historic Resources Board voted 5-0 to recommend that the director of Planning and Development Services find the proposed rehabilitation at 1950 Cowper Street consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation.

The action came after a staff presentation and a brief applicant overview of plans that would remove nonhistoric additions, reopen a covered garage to create an outdoor living pavilion, repair clay tile roofing and restore original fenestration where possible. Steven (staff, Planning and Development Services) told the board the period of significance for the property runs from its 1932 construction through a 1942 garden-house addition designed by architect Burge Clark. Danielle DeYoung, project manager for Marmel Radziner in San Francisco, represented the applicant and said the project aims "to bring the house closer back to its original design" and remove later skylights and exterior walls added after the 1930s.

Why it matters: The house, located in the Old Palo Alto neighborhood and described in staff materials as a Spanish Colonial Revival residence designed by Burge Clark for the Lucy Stern family, is listed as a high‑priority (category 1) historic resource in the city inventory. A board recommendation that the rehabilitation meet Secretary of the Interior standards is a formal step that the planning director will consider when reviewing the project for design and permit approvals.

Board members asked about parking and historic character. DeYoung said the brick paved driveway will remain and that the owner expects uncovered parking spaces to be shown on the building‑permit plan set; she said the owners do not currently intend to retain covered parking inside the former garage space and described the area as flexible outdoor living that can be cleared for vehicle parking if needed. Steven said required construction details such as gutters are typically resolved at the building‑permit stage; the applicant confirmed existing half‑round copper gutters will be maintained.

Several board members praised the project as a sensitive restoration of an important local building and thanked the applicant and owner for removing a front wall that staff and the applicant said was a later alteration. After discussion a member moved to approve the plans and to find the project compliant with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation; a second was recorded and the board voted unanimously.

The recommendation now goes to the director of Planning and Development Services for formal review and any subsequent permit approvals. The board did not place conditions that would alter the applicant's current proposal in the motion recorded at the meeting.