WHEREAS, on June 3, 2002, the Landmarks
Preservation Commission voted to establish an ad-hoc subcommittee to
visit the site to discern the extent of the original Ratcliff Building,
to assess the open spaces and views, and to continue the public hearing
to July 1, 2002; and
WHEREAS, on July 1, 2002, the Landmarks Preservation Commission
found that the site, 28 cedar trees at the northeast corner of the site
and the 1916 Ratcliff Building is worthy as a City of Berkeley Landmark
because it is a unique and historic asset to the neighborhood. One of
early Berkeley's most significant architects, Ratcliff's work and style
has long been recognized as part of the fabric of the neighborhood and
as a community resource. Moreover, the formation of the Corporation
Yard played a critical role in shaping Berkeley's modem municipal government
and prompted the development of the Public Works Department, as it exists
today. The Ratcliff Building offers the community an educational resource
and a historic glimpse of Berkeley's rich architectural past; and
WHEREAS, on July 1, 2002, the Landmarks
Preservation Commission, pursuant to section 3.24.100.A of the Landmarks
Preservation Ordinance, found that the following features are significant
and should be preserved:
Ratcliff building: the gables, original footprint, small patio open
space on northeast corner, garden setback on north side of the building,
window patterning and wood framing, decorative brickwork, brick pilasters,
two dominant bays on west side of east/west wing, bay window on east
side of east/west wing, double arched entryway on south side of east/west
wing, original low brick wall and pillar at northwest corner of east/west
wing, garages on west side of north/south wing, three sliding wood garage
doors, south wood wall in north/south wing, and the interior exposed
trusswork of the roofing system; 28 Cedar trees at the northeast corner
of the site; and
WHEREAS, on October 22, 2002, the Public
Works Department appealed the Landmarks Preservation Commission's decision;
and
WHEREAS, on October 22, 2002, the Council
certified the Landmarks Preservation Commission's decision for review
and set a public hearing for December 17, 2002; and
WHEREAS, on December17, 2002, the Council
conducted a public hearing on the designation of the Corporation Yard
as a Landmark; and
WHEREAS, the City's Landmarks Preservation
Ordinance (BMC chapter 3.24) does not compel the designation of any
historic resource, and grants the Council discretion to reverse or modify
decisions by the Landmarks Preservation Commission based on its independent
judgment as to the significance of the resource, as well as other public
interests; and
WHEREAS, the City has been providing vital
community services from the Corporation Yard for 86 years by adapting
its use and configuration to the evolving needs of the City; and
WHEREAS, the Building Official has notified
the Public Works Department that the Ratcliff Building is an unreinforced
masonry structure in the highest Risk Category and is vulnerable to
heavy damage and possible collapse in the event of an earthquake, thereby
threatening many lives and much property, and has ordered the Public
Works Department to vacate the building and seismically upgrade, or
demolish it; and
WHEREAS, designating the entire site and
the original shed portion of the Ratcliff building as a landmark will
prevent the City from continuing to provide services in an efficient
and fiscally sound manner that also affords a safe working environment
for its employees by seriously impairing the Public Works Department's
ability to:
1. place temporary modular offices on-site for the relocation of employees
from the seismically unsafe Ratcliff Building, which the Seismic Technical
Advisory Group has determined is subject to extensive life-threatening
damage from moderate earthquake shaking;
2. comply with the City's own Unreinforced Masonry Ordinance as other
property owners are required to do, because there is no other facility
available for their relocation;
3. remove the original shed portion of the Ratcliff building that can
not feasibly be adapted for reuse, and which projects into the center
of the corporation yard, interfering with the organization and circulation
of vehicles and equipment;
4. organize the yard for improved safety, circulation and efficiency
as required by the evolving needs of the community; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that of
the three main features of the Landmarks Preservation Commission's designation,
which included the site, the 1916 Ratcliff building and the 28 cedar
trees, the designation of the site shall be excluded from the designation
because the inclusion of this feature is overbroad, its continued preservation
would impair the City's ability to preserve more important resources,
and will hinder the operations of this City's Corporation yard; and
WHEREAS, the Landmarks Preservation Commission's
Notice of Decision (NOD) referenced fifteen architectural features of
the Ratcliff building and site that the Commission considers significant
and worthy of preservation; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that five
of these features should be removed from protection as landmark elements
under this resolution, as follows:
1. the "garden setback" along Allston Way;
2. the original footprint of the original north-south shed of the Ratcliff
building;
3. the garages on the west side of the north/south wing;
4. the three sliding wood garage doors;
5. the south facing wood wall in the north/south wing; and
WHEREAS, the Council finds that the "garden
setback" on north side of the building should not be included in
the designation because the area is completely paved with asphalt and
is used for parking and does not have historical merit; and
WHEREAS, the Council finds that the small, lean-to addition near
the south-west corner of the 1916 Ratcliff building should not be included
in the designation because this addition obscures the double arched
entryway, a detail determined to be important by the LPC, and that this
addition is not contemporary with the 1916 Ratcliff building and has
not, nor is likely to attain, individual historical merit; and
WHEREAS, the Council finds that the larger addition along the
southern facade of the 1916 Ratcliff building should not be included
in the designation because this addition is not contemporary with the
1916 Ratcliff building and has not, nor is likely to attain, individual
historical merit; and
WHEREAS, the original north/south shed would not only be costly
to seismically upgrade and renovate, but also projects into the center
of the yard, thereby interfering with the organization and circulation
and storage of vehicles and equipment that would be displaced by temporary
modular offices, which would otherwise be located in the employee parking
area, thus forcing employees to park in the adjoining neighborhood;
and
WHEREAS, since its construction in 1916,
much of the original north/south shed's exterior elevation has been
changed or covered over by additions and modifications. The west side
of the original shed, which consisted of fifteen, 12-foot wide bays
defined by brick piers and siding wood doors, has been modified by the
removal of most of the piers and doors and the construction of exterior
walls. Most of the shed interior has been built-out for office space
with new communicating openings through the original east facing brick
wall into the 1950's additions. Its continued preservation severely
diminishes the City's ability to perform any restoration work that might
be contemplated on the remainder of the Ratcliff building; and
WHEREAS, ten features identified by the
Landmarks Preservation Commission would retain full protection as elements
of the designated landmark, as follows:
1. gables,
2. the small patio open space on the northeast corner,
3.
window patterning and wood framing,
4. decorative brickwork,
5. brick
pilasters,
6. two dominant bays on the west side of the east/west wing,
7. the original low brick wall and pillar at the northwest corner of
the east/west wing,
8. the bay window on east side of east/west wing,
9. the double arched entryway on south side of east/west wing,
10. the
interior exposed trusswork of the roofing system in the east/west wing;
and
WHEREAS, two features would actually be
enhanced by the modified designation adopted by this resolution, including
the bay window on the east side of the east/west wing and the double
arched entryway on the south side of the east/west wing; and
WHEREAS, the Council further determines
that there is a critical public need for economically feasible renovation
of the Corporation Yard and the Ratcliff building, as well as uninterrupted
efficient operation of the Corporation Yard; and
WHEREAS at the conclusion of the public hearing the Council directed
staff to return with a resolution that would: (1) designate only the
main portion of the Ratcliff building that is parallel with Allston
Way and the twenty-eight (28) cedar trees at the northeast corner of
the site a City of Berkeley Landmark; and (2) reverse the Landmarks
Preservation Commission's decision to designate the entire site, the
shed portion of the Ratcliff building and other structures on the site.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Berkeley
that the boundary of the Landmark Designation for 1326 Allston Way,
Assessor's Parcel No. 056-1993-015-01, shall extend five feet beyond
the perimeter of the main portion of the original Ratcliff building
that is parallel with and facing Allston Way, and the area within the
drip line of the twenty-eight (28) cedar trees located between the Ratcliff
building and Allston Way at the northeast side of the parcel as depicted
on the attached map.
The foregoing Resolution was adopted by the Berkeley
City Council on January 14, 2003 by the following vote:
Ayes: Councilmembers Breland, Hawley, Maio,
Olds, Shirek, Spring, Wozniak and Mayor Bates.
Noes: Councilmember Worthington.
Absent: None.
Attest: Sherry Kellly , City Clerk