Today the City Council approved a motion to designate a tract of 108 Joseph Eichler-designed homes in the Valley as a historic preservation overlay zone, according to Ken Bernstein, director of Office of Historic Resources.The Granada Hills area is now the 25th preservation overlay zone in the Los Angeles, and the 3rd in the Valley. In anticipation of today's vote, the Daily News covered the story, noting that the district is only the second modernist tract granted preservation (the other is the Gregory Ain tract in Mar Vista) in the city. More about Eichler and the area via the Daily News: "Between 1962 and 1964, the visionary builder replaced the orange groves of Balboa Highlands with rows of post-and-beam houses with open beams, open floor plans, walls of glass and private interior atriums." Meanwhile, this designation is a long time coming. Long-departed City Councilman Hal Bernson (Greig Smith's predecessor) introduced this motion back in 2003, according to Bernstein, but a backlog of applicants and funding issues delayed the process. Meanwhile, Bernstein told the paper how notable the nomination was. '"This is very significant,' said Bernstein. Balboa Highlands is the first Valley post-war neighborhood to achieve historic district status. 'It is, in many ways, a coming of age in the Valley.'" Designating a district an HPOZ is meant to encourage the preservation of the exterior of the homes, and encourage construction that fits in with the neighborhood.
· Preserving Eichler's Valley homes [DN]
· HPOZ Archives [Curbed LA]
Filed under:
Loading comments...