9.36.290 The Third Street Neighborhood Historic District.
a. The City Council has reviewed and considered the Historic District application for the Third Street Neighborhood, and has reviewed and considered the recommendation on the application transmitted from the Landmarks Commission.
b. The City Council finds and declares that:
1. The Third Street Neighborhood Historic District possesses aesthetic significance to Santa Monica in that the area displays a high percentage of original, turn of the century, structures, a consistency in building type, primarily the California bungalow, and a close association with the natural environment, as demonstrated in the particular by the siting of the homes on the east side of Third Street which are set into the slope of the hill. These elements combine to create an area with both a sense of place and a sense of Santa Monica's past.
2. The Third Street Neighborhood Historic District possesses historical economic significance toSanta Monica in that the Vawter family, leading developers of the Neighborhood, were also influential in the economic success of Ocean Park through the founding and operation of OceanPark's first bank and through the ownership and operation of one of Ocean Park's earliest businesses and tourist attractions, the Ocean Park Floral Company. In addition, the development of piers, bathhouses and hotels stimulated growth in the Ocean Park area by providing jobs and attracting both residents and visitors to Ocean Park and to the Third Street Neighborhood.
3. The Third Street Neighborhood Historic District possesses historic significance to Santa Monica in that the neighborhood is associated with many prominent early City residents, including theVawter, Hostetter and Archer families, and Abbot Kinney. The Vawters subdivided the District into residential lots, and also assisted in the establishment of Ocean Park's first water company and Santa Monica's first regular transportation service to Ocean Park. Moses Hostetter and his son William were both Neighborhood residents (2601 Second Street and 237 Beach Street, respectively). Moses Hostetter was a member of the Santa Monica Board of Trustees between southeast corner1896 and 1900, serving as chairman of the police, fire, and light committees. Alvin Archer constructed the American Colonial Revival home at 245 Hill Street and was also a founder of Ocean Park's first volunteer fire brigade. His wife, Louetta, was Ocean Park's first postwoman. Abbot Kinney, before developing "Venice of America," owned property on the west side of Second Street in the District, and also gave Ocean Park its name, naming the area after the eucalyptus groves planted by the Vawters near South Santa Monica Beach.
4. The Third Street Neighborhood Historic District possesses architectural significance to SantaMonica in that the area displays a variety of architectural styles, from Victorian to Gothic, toAmerican Colonial Revival, to California Craftsman, to Spanish Colonial Revival, which provide a visual representation of the Neighborhood's development through the 1930s. In addition, theNeighborhood is dominated by bungalows; twenty-nine bungalows and one bungalow court are extant in the District. While typically designed in a variety of architectural styles, the common bungalow theme is the association with the surrounding environment, the use of front porches,sun porches, front steps, overhanging eaves, and numerous windows to provide views and to merge the interior and exterior landscapes. The Third Street Neighborhood is a representative example of this architectural movement in Santa Monica.
5. The Third Street Neighborhood Historic District possesses cultural significance to Santa Monica in that the area has ties to Santa Monica's religious, artistic and political life through the inclusion of both the Church in Ocean Park and the Iglesia El Sermonte Del Monte Assembleas De Dios (built in 1916 as the First Baptist Church) in the District, the Neighborhood's proximity to the murals along the Ocean Park Boulevard/Fourth Street Overpass, and the use of the Archer House by the Ocean Park Community Center.
c. The Third Street Neighborhood Historic District boundaries consist of the area bounded on the east by the rear property line of the parcels on the east side of Third Street; bounded on the south by HillStreet including the parcels on the south side of the street but excluding the parcel on the southeast corner of Hill Street and Third Street; bounded on the west by the rear property line of the parcels on the west side of Second Street; and bounded on the north by Ocean Park Boulevard.
d. Structures that contribute to the character and integrity of the Third Street Neighborhood HistoricDistrict shall be defined as all structures built prior to 1935; noncontributing structures and sites shall be defined as post 1935 developments and vacant parcels.
e. Pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.36.130, until such time as an ordinance is adopted that specifies the nature of any alteration, restoration, construction, removal, relocation, or demolition of or to a building or structure within the Historic District that can occur without prior approval of a certificate of appropriateness, any such work must obtain approval of a certificate of appropriateness or certificate of economic hardship by the Landmarks Commission. (Prior code §9630; added by Ord. No. 1535CCS, adopted 8/7/90; amended by Ord. No. 1590CCS § 1, adopted 7/23/91)