July 02, 2004

Back to the table of Contents Page

Classifieds

Palo Alto Online

City loses lawsuit over historic home

by Bill D'Agostino

As the historic Briones House moves closer to demolition, the city is scrambling to find a means to save it in spite of a recent legal setback.

Last month, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge John Herlihy ruled that the city must hold a hearing to decide whether the home's owners can raze the building, located at 4155 Old Adobe Road and originally built by California pioneer and feminist icon Juana Briones. The judge concluded that the contract between the city and the owners, which the city argued effectively prohibited demolition, was too vague to be enforceable.

The Palo Alto City Council will consider appealing the judge's complicated 19-page decision during its July 12 meeting.

"We're still trying to figure this one out," Assistant City Attorney Bill Mayfield said wearily.

The ruling adds yet another twist to an already pretzel-shaped, and costly, six-year legal saga.

"And it's not over by a long shot, I'm sure," Mayfield said. Fighting the case is estimated to have cost the city $350,000 so far. Plus, as the losing party, Palo Alto could pay even more to the owners, whose attorney will file to have the city fork over his $375,000 in fees.

The house, located on the 4500-acre Rancho La Purissima Concepcion that Briones bought when she was 42-years-old, is reportedly the oldest home still standing in the city. However, it has been altered greatly since Briones built it from clay and straw. For instance, craftsman-style wings and a second story were added in 1900.

It's also in terrible condition, and would reportedly cost an estimated $1 million to repair and make inhabitable.

"It's not structurally sound at all," said Kent Mitchell, the attorney for the owners. The Juana Briones Heritage Foundation is hoping to rebuild the house, transforming it into a museum to teach early California history.

Briones, who lived from 1802 to 1889, was the first woman to own a home in the area later known as San Francisco. She battled gender stereotypes and an abusive husband on her road to becoming a successful businesswoman and renowned humanitarian. A park and a school are named for her in Palo Alto.

The home on Old Adobe Road is significant both for women's history and Latino history, according to Halimah Van Tuyl, co-president of the foundation. "Even thinking about demolishing this house is a huge loss to our community," she said.

The home is currently on the city's list of historic properties, although it is no longer on the state's. Local historians believe the home was her summer residence or retirement home. But state historians have, in recent years, argued that the second owner likely tore down most of the original 1850's-era building and questioned whether Briones ever actually lived there.

More than a year ago, Herlihy tentatively ruled that the owners, Jaim Nulman and Avelyn Welczer, would have to restore the home. His new judgment -- based on additional arguments from both sides -- reverses that decision.

The couple purchased the property in 1997, knowing that the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake had greatly damaged it and that a previous owner had made illegal alterations to the structure. Still, the city denied Nulman and Welczer a demolition permit.

The couple sued the city in October 1998, arguing the house was unfixable. The city counter-sued, saying the couple was required to do repairs because of a 1988 contract that required the home to be accessible to the public in exchange for a tax break.

Both sides made numerous arguments about the contract's validity. The judge's new decision ruled that the contract -- which both parties agreed was "not a model of legal clarity," according to the judgment -- was too unclear and that the city had waited too long to enforce it.

Even if the city successfully appeals the new decision, the owners will still be able to legally tear down the historic building in February 2008, when the 1988 contract expires.

Staff writer Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com

E-mail a friend a link to this story.