In June 2002, the City Council accepted a donation of a 1918 redwood barn for the Heritage Orchard Park from Ms. Clara Bianchi of San Jose, California. The donation was accepted as a means to ensure the City’s future ability to maintain the Orchard Heritage Park as a "working" orchard. In November 2002, the City Council entered into an agreement with the Sunnyvale Historical Society and Museum Association for handling the relocation of the barn including dismantling, transporting, grading, foundation roofing and other aspects of reconstructing the barn. To date the barn has been dismantled, permits have been issued and the reconstruction process is underway. In order to reconstruct the barn in a more accurate manner, the Building Official applied the California Historic Building Code. Prior to final occupancy, an official historic designation is required to satisfy the requirements of the Historic Building Code. Staff has reviewed the project in accordance with the City’s Heritage Preservation Code and considers the barn to meet the requirements for Heritage Resource designation.

A Class 31 Categorical Exemption relieves this project from California Environmental Quality Act provisions, as amended, in accordance with Resolution #193-86. Class 31 Categorical Exemptions includes actions for historic preservation.

The Municipal Code defines a Heritage Resource as " improvements, buildings, portions or buildings, structures, signs, features, sites, scenic areas, views and vistas, places, areas, landscapes, trees, or other natural objects or objects of scientific, aesthetic, educational, political, social, cultural, architectural, or historical significance to the citizens of the city, the Santa Clara Valley region, the state, or the nation, which are designated and determined to be appropriate for preservation by the City Council.

A project may be designated as a Heritage Resource if it meets the Criteria of the National Register of Historic Places, or one of other adopted findings. Staff believes the projects meets the following finding from the Sunnyvale Municipal Code.

SMC 19.96.050(a) It exemplifies or reflects special elements of the city’s cultural, social, economic, political, aesthetic engineering, architectural, or natural history.

The Bianchi Bros. Orchard barn was constructed circa 1918 on ranch land located at Capitol Avenue and Hostetter Road in San Jose and has been in continuous use since that time. It is a good example of a classic American barn with unpretentious architecture. The barn was built of local old growth redwood by local craftsmen to fit the landscape and serve the needs of the family’s orchard. Like other old barns, the Bianchi barn evokes our national heritage of agriculture as well as the City’s own heritage as an agricultural area.

The Bianchi Ranch was purchased in 1940 by Dominic and Santino Bianchi who farmed French plum, walnut, cherry and apricot trees. The Bianchi brothers, noted for their time saving and efficient inventions in fruit processing and drying, used the barn along with an attached dehydrator to process fruits for many orchards in the area. Their sister Clara donated the barn to the City of Sunnyvale in 2002 to recognize her brothers’ place in local agricultural history. The barn will continue to function as a working barn for the ten-acre apricot orchard at Orchard Heritage Park.

Findings

In order to designate a resource as a Heritage Resource, the Heritage Preservation Commission shall make a recommendation to the City Council regarding Heritage Resource designation. Prior to recommending approval, the Heritage Preservation Commission shall find:

• That the proposed heritage resource, or heritage resource district, has significance; and
• That the proposed designation may be made without imposing and undue hardship upon the owner of the property; and
• The approval or approval with modifications of the application is consistent with the purpose and criteria of the Heritage Preservation Code.

Staff believes all three findings can be made. The barn would provide a significant symbol of the City’s past agricultural heritage particularly in the Orchard Heritage Park setting near the OHPIE interpretive center. The barn was donated with additional funds for reconstruction and maintenance. A Heritage Resource designation would not impose a hardship on the City. The designation is consistent with the intent and purpose of the Heritage Preservation Code to recognize that the City’s character and history are reflected in its cultural, historical and architectural heritage. These historical and cultural foundations should be preserved as living parts of community life and development to build an understanding of the City’s past so that future generations may enjoy the City’s heritage.

Fiscal Impact

No fiscal impacts other than normal fees and taxes are expected.

1. Recommend that the City Council adopt a Heritage Resource designation for the Bianchi Barn.
2. Recommend that the City Council not adopt the Heritage Resource designation.

Recommend Alternative 1 to the City Council.