Gilroy is working on updating its list of historic properties for the first time in 34 years.
The city’s existing historic resources inventory, which was prepared in 1986, identifies commercial, residential and public buildings that are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register of Historical Resources and local significance.
In 2018, the city entered into a $94,000 agreement with Encinitas-based engineering consulting firm Dudek to update Gilroy’s historic resource inventory as well as its Historic Context Statement.
The Historic Heritage Committee reviewed Dudek’s report during its May 20 meeting, and agreed to extend its discussion to its next meeting before making a recommendation to the planning commission.
Over a period of five weeks in 2018, Dudek surveyed 3,374 properties within the city that were built in 1974 or earlier.
The firm recommended that 224 of the 360 currently designated properties stay on the historic inventory, while 136 properties be removed and that 55 be added. Dudek also reviewed the city’s 10 designated historic districts, recommending that seven of them be removed “due to a lack of integrity,” according to its report.
Among the criteria to be added to the inventory, properties must reflect elements of the city’s cultural, social, economic, political, aesthetic, engineering or architectural history, the report stated.To view the report and the list of properties, visit tinyurl.com/y7no932s.
