By Clarence Cromwell
Carl and Laurie Cooper can't tear down the turn-of-the-century Craftsman house they bought on Withey Road, the Monte Sereno City Council decided Aug. 20.
The council further ruled Sept. 3 that the Coopers can't expand the house beyond what zoning codes allow now.
The city's Heritage Preservation Committee concluded that the house is important enough to add to the list, its members stated in a Dec. 28, 1995 memo. But they agreed with the Coopers' architect, Gary Schloh, who said the building is too decrepit to preserve and could slide down the slope it's perched on because the foundation is weakened.
Skeptical of Schloh's report, the council hired a specialist in renovating historical buildings in August before rendering a decision. Loring Wyllie Jr. said the house needs some repairs to make it liveable, but it is well-built and is still in good shape.
The house was constructed in 1902 of redwood beams, which the Coopers wanted to reuse to build their new home.
Saving the house won't be easy. Wyllie said moving the building would cost approximately 75 percent of the price of tearing it down and building a new house, but a huge list of repairs awaits the Coopers if they take that route because the house has been neglected.
Plaster is gone from walls, leaving bare lathes, and some posts have rot or water damage near the kitchen sink and under the front porch. The roof has a few leaks. And a sun porch on the south side of the house sags because the posts that support it came loose from their concrete footings.
Wyllie said the building will not slide downhill, because the slope is stable.
The council additionally decided on Sept. 3 that the Coopers must keep the house small enough to meet current zoning regulations, which will let them expand the house to 10,495 square feet, rather than the 12,458 they requested. The Coopers asserted that the house should be exempt from size limitations because of its historical status, but councilmembers agreed that the exemption wasn't intended for expansion of old houses, but to allow houses that were too big at the time zoning laws went into effect.
Carl Cooper said he was frustrated that the process has delayed his plans to live on his property and that there's not a refined process for requests to improve old buildings.
"It should not take years for the city to make up its mind what it wants," he said. "It is very frustrating and expensive having to deal with these people."
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, September 18, 1996.
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