|
Happy New Year!
President's Message
By Beth Montes
Now that we are all back into the swing of things, it feels like the New Year has, indeed, settled down upon us. Things are busy, as usual, around the SOHO office. This quarterly will be full of preservation news and updates. My message has two focuses: the Craftsman & Spanish Revival Weekend and legal action. Two seemingly disparate subjects yet, somehow, connected.
Our annual Craftsman & Spanish Revival Weekend is scheduled for March 11th-13th and stands to be the best yet. Yes, there will be some beautiful homes to tour (really - seven of them). And, yes, there will be some interesting and informative lectures and workshops to attend (education - one of the pillars of SOHO's mission). But, let's remember that, in addition to education, the other important reason for the weekend is to raise funds.
SOHO has had several years of steady growth both in membership and financial strength. We are now financially sound enough to afford a talented and dedicated executive director and several terrific staff. A far cry from several years ago when there was no executive director and I was the "staff", with 10 scheduled hours a week at that! We have several sources of income including membership dues, grants, Museum admissions and Museum Shop sales. However, a major portion of our budget comes from fundraisers such as the Craftsman & Spanish Revival Weekend.
We will be putting our aforementioned staff to good use as we prepare for the big event. But they are only part of the picture. We need volunteers, and lots of them, to make the weekend the success we know it can be. So, when you read about ways to volunteer further into this issue, please pick up the telephone and call right away. And, when another e-mail plea reaches your computer, please reply in the affirmative. Because SOHO could never put on such an ambitious weekend without the help of our volunteers. Your help truly makes a difference. Plus, you get cool perks, besides the satisfaction of knowing your time went to a good cause.
Now, switching gears. In my last message I talked to you about the importance of historic designation and my concerns with some flaws in the designation process. I outlined two important concerns: 1) the fact that 8 affirmative votes are necessary for designation no matter how many Historical Resources Board members are in attendance at the monthly meeting and 2) the disquieting trend of the City Council repealing designations whenever a property owner requests de-designation.
Well, good news! At the November 2004 City Council meeting, the matter of the designated Harwood Tichenor house and the owner's request to nullify the designation came before Council. A VERY long afternoon of testimony and discussion ensued, but here are the high points. For the first time EVER, the Council did not automatically vote to repeal the designation, and many of the council members began to realize the folly of needing 8 votes to designate. The Land Use & Housing Committee was directed to look into the 8-vote matter, and all appeals were put on hold until the LU&H committee reports its findings to the City Council. The Harwood Tichenor appeal was neither affirmed nor denied. Council simply put the matter off to a later, unspecified date. I believe this unwillingness to immediately appeal the designation was a direct result of the Coronado Beltline lawsuit. SOHO had filed a few weeks earlier. News of the strength of the lawsuit and SOHO's likely victory had reached the council members. They hesitated to process another unfounded designation appeal finally understanding the precarious legal situation in which that unsupportable repeal would leave the City. THE LAWSUIT WAS SHOWING ALMOST IMMEDIATE POSITIVE RESULTS!
How was SOHO able to afford to hire an attorney and file the Coronado Beltline lawsuit? We had sufficient funds. How did SOHO have sufficient funds? See paragraph 2 above. Now you see the connection...
I hope to see many of you in March, either as volunteers or attendees to our very special Craftsman & Spanish Revival Weekend.
|
MORE FROM THIS ISSUE
Preservation Wins and Winners
Happy New Year!
The Ranch House at Warner's
Progress Report on Red Roost/Red Rest
Balboa Theatre
SOHO Files Suit in Del Mar to Stop Demolition
2004 Historical Landmarks
Mission Hills Heritage
SOHO would like to extend appreciation
In Memoriam
Adobe Chapel of the Immaculate Conception
Our Wish List for the Adobe Chapel
Thank You's
Adobe Chapel Welcomes the Old Town Community
An Exciting Opportunity for Volunteers
Bringing History Alive at the Whaley House
Who is the Chinese Gardener at the Whaley House?
Cheap San Diego Housing
Resource Directory (33-page pdf)
Four Treatment Approaches
Yeah, yeah, yeah - Modernism Rocks!
Some Like It Preserved
People In Preservation
Getting to Know Your SOHO Staff
Houses Available, Must be Moved
Notice: Date Moved for SOHO Board Directors Meetings
Notice to all Members with email
Found San Diego
Strength in Numbers
Lost San Diego
DOWNLOAD full magazine as pdf (4.3mb)
|
