Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Landmark Designation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission moves to recognize 235 Valencia as CEQA-significant and continue landmark consideration
Summary
After extensive testimony and expert reports on Hap Jones and the motorcycle community, the commission voted to recognize 235 Valencia Street as significant for CEQA/California Register purposes and continued the landmark matter to May 4 for further study (motion passed 6–1).
The Historic Preservation Commission on April 6 debated whether a community-sponsored nomination to designate 235 Valencia Street as a local Article 10 landmark meets the criteria for landmarking or for California Register/CEQA significance.
Department staff (Shannon Ferguson) reported that, based on newly submitted material, Hap Jones appears to have played a notable role in Bay Area motorcycling and created the motorcycle Blue Book, but staff questioned whether the building at 235 Valencia is directly associated with the productive life underlying those achievements. JRP Historical Consulting (Chris McMorris) presented a comparative analysis that raised questions about whether the property’s association with Hap Jones meets the National Register Criterion B standard for significance because many of Jones' most consequential activities appear to have been elsewhere or associated with other properties.
Supporters, including applicant representatives and family members (Larissa Pedrinecelli, Lauren Jones) and neighborhood advocates, testified that 235 Valencia served as a gateway for local motorcycling culture and that Hap Jones maintained long-term ties to the property. The property owner (Craig Hamburg, DDG) acknowledged Hap Jones’ importance but emphasized uncertainty about the building’s centrality to his most historically significant work and said a proposed multifamily project would be difficult to complete if the building were landmarked.
Commissioners expressed divided views: some commissioners questioned whether the building’s physical fabric and direct associative evidence rise to the level of a local landmark under the commission's priorities, while others urged stronger investigation of the motorcycle-related context and possible alternatives including plaques or interpretive treatment. The City Attorney noted the motion on the agenda was initiation of landmarking and advised that alternative procedural motions were possible.
Following debate, a motion of intent was made and seconded to recognize the building as significant for CEQA/California Register eligibility and to continue the item to May 4, 2016, so staff can prepare language and further study the property's status. The motion of intent carried 6–1 (one commissioner opposed). Commissioners requested that staff explore options such as contextual districting, interpretive plaques, and further comparative research of other motorcycle-related properties.
