Talmadge Historic District and City of San Diego - We Need Your Help!

Many are aware that Talmadge has a recently designated historic district and that a large majority of homes within this district are listed as contributors, but may not know precisely what that entails.  I thought it would be apt to get an update on the fight for the preservation of our special neighborhood.  

I went straight to the source, having a conversation with local preservation activist, President Emeritus and founder of the Talmadge Historic Society, Laura Henson. 

First and foremost, I want to thank you, Laura Henson, for all you have done to get us this far.  Having a portion of Talmadge be recognized at the national and state level as an historic district is quite a feat.  It seems that the next step would be to get the district recognized by the City of San Diego.  Without that recognition, homeowners cannot apply for Mills Act, which provides for reduced property taxes in exchange for maintaining the home with historic (or historic-like) materials. And  yet, the City of San Diego is imposing and regulating the execution of any modifications to homes that sit within the district. While many see the value in living within a maintained historic district, it is costly to maintain and update homes that have been neglected within historic guidelines.  It seems like they are forcing homeowners to comply with these guidelines with no financial relief.

Megan: Can you provide a brief overview of the district?

Laura: There are two subdivisions within the Talmadge Gates that were recently designated as Talmadge Park Estates Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Because our community has much of its original Great Depression Era architectural character, 70 % of our homes have been determined to be Contributors to the district.

Megan: Does being listed as a contributor provide eligibility to apply for Mills Act?

Laura: Historic districts within San Diego are best maintained when the City of San Diego provides both a stick (regulations) and a carrot (incentive programs like the Mills Act). San Diego is currently regulating Contributors by requiring permits for what one does to the outside of their homes including hardscaping and fencing in the yard. They do this to ensure that the district maintains its historic integrity.

As to the carrot, The City of San Diego has been denying us access to use a procedure called “Criterion E” which would allow us to have an expedited path forward to be recognized locally and therefore give us access to the Mills Act.

That the City of San Diego is not following their own procedures to allow an expedited way to the Mills Act is grossly unfair. Especially when 50 other municipalities within the State of California give automatic access to the Mills Act when a district is listed on the National Register.

Megan: Why would the City delay in giving Talmadge access to the Mills Act?

Laura: Well, this is not a Talmadge thing or a National Register thing. The City of San Diego has not processed a historic district since 2018 and currently has 8 potential local districts that have been waiting for 9 years to be processed by City staff.

Megan: What underlying factors may be affecting this process?

Laura:  Well, ever since the preservation movement was founded in 1966, due to developer overreach and the demolition of the magnificent Penn Station in New York City, there has been a battle between preservationists and the building industry. There has been a swing back and forth for decades and sadly the middle ground has never been achieved. Our Mayor, Todd Gloria, has been heavily influenced by the building industry, and has been slow walking the planning department’s preservation efforts, especially in processing historic districts.

Developers are currently promoting deregulation of the housing industry and because districts are regulated, they do not want them. There is a long history of overreach on both sides but promoting deregulation of any industry has never ended well.

Megan: What do you need help with to support this process and get Talmadge property owners within the district on the path to being recognized as a local historic district, and to benefit from the Mills Act?

Laura: If you are interested in participating in this advocacy, please go to the www.TPEHD.org website to sign up to get involved. There are postcards to be signed, letters to be written and public meetings to be attended. We are a small group of volunteers and really need some help if we are to be successful in this.

We can promote the benefits of preservation, and access the Mills Act if we work together. We can have responsible development and preservation. They are not mutually exclusive.