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LOS ANGELES CONSERVANCY Preservation Report Card | 2014

An ordinance alone is not enough.

Even an iron-clad ordinance is not as effective as a cohesive approach to
preservation using a range of tools. In California, one of the strongest tools
for preservation is the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA). Communities need to under-
stand their responsibilities in using CEQA to pro-
tect threatened resources. For more information
about the importance of CEQA, see page 21.

CEQA sometimes is not fully embraced by a com-
munity, in terms of identifying historic resources
and considering preservation alternatives. Two ex-
amples from 2013 include a 1930 Mediterranean
Revival building at 3901 San Fernando Road in
Glendale and the 1959 Mid-Century Modern St.
Martha’s Episcopal Church in West Covina.
Despite being identified as significant, this 1930 Though the Conservancy submitted comments and/or testified that both
building in Glendale was approved for demolition in the structures were architecturally significant, they were approved for demo-
environmental review process for a replacement project.
Photo by Adrian Scott Fine/L.A. Conservancy. lition as part of certified development projects for their respective sites.

In each case, the cities relied on and accepted flawed cultural resource
evaluations that were part of the environmental review for the development
projects. Neither structure was identified as a historic resource in its re-
spective environmental review. Yet the Glendale building had been pre-
viously surveyed and identified as eligible for listing in both the California
and National Registers, and the historical record for the West Covina
church included substantial and compelling evidence of its significance.

Comparing previous grades is not “apples to apples.”

The new scoring system has changed the distribution of grades among
communities. While the number of “A” grades has more than doubled since
2008, the number of “F” grades has also increased. We discourage making
direct comparisons of the 2014 scores to those from 2003 and 2008, which
would be misleading.

We have designed a scoring system to be more helpful by clarifying the
elements and priorities of a strong preservation program. Rather than making
an inaccurate comparison to previous grades, we encourage communities
to focus on the specific elements of their grades for 2014 and how they can
The City of West Covina relied on flawed cultural improve, using specific resources and assistance (see page 13).
resource evaluations in approving the demolition
of the 1959 St. Martha's Episcopal Church.
Photo by Alan Hess.

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