To Supervisors,

Please do not reverse the Mendocino Historical Review Board's denial of Mendocino Historical Review Board application MHRB_2024-0009 to replace an existing water tower staircase attached to a commercial structure with a new staircase.

The description by the Planning Department does not describe what would actually be happening and is very misleading. What would actually take place is that the water tower would be GONE.

The many letters received now and in the past (many from former members and chairs of the MHRB and none in favor of destroying this historic beauty) make clear that this is not an option. Every landowner in Mendocino is aware that they need to follow the The Mendocino Review Board Procedures Findings 1987 (Town Plan sec. 20-123) Based on the board's guidelines from 1987 the owners have a duty to maintain the buildings & structures of historic significance, and can not demolish them if they allowed to neglect maintenance.

The Mendocino Review Board Procedures Findings 1987 (Town Plan sec. 20-123) state that “the Mendocino Historical Review Board may not approve, or conditionally approve, any application for proposed work unless it affirmatively finds among other items that if the proposed work or demolition of an existing structure, that such work will not necessarily damage or destroy a structure of historic, architectural or cultural significance.”

Despite the applicant’s claims to the contrary, the MHRB Staff Report was correct in pointing out  “… the structure can be considered ‘Historically Important’” due to its known construction date and additional historical research conducted by the Kelly House Museum. (MHRB_2024-0009 Staff Report, p.4)

The owners also requested a hardship waiver, but that can not be granted because of Mendocino County Codes as Julia Krog, Director of the County's Department of Planning & Building Services, confirmed.

It seems that the owners/members of Main Street Mendo LLC want it torn down as according to them the stairs are not up to code and the structure is deteriorated and too costly to rebuild for them. It would cost $383,950.00 to tear down and rebuild. They submitted a quote by an engineer and a quote by Mendo Lake Termite Control what it would cost to deal with termite, fungus/dry rot and other findings. The owners indicate that to be compatible in regards to ADA a lift would need to be added which would cost even more, and which would mean that the water tower would have to be completely redesigned. Since 1984 various permits were obtained mostly dealing with signs for various businesses. The last last application in 2022 to tear down the water tower and replace with stairs was denied in 2023. This was only one of the three times the application to demolish this historic tower was applied for and denied. All the owners want now is stairs, no water tower (there is a plastic water storage container on site that is wrapped with wood). The owners have put the property up for sale and have so far ignored the excellent recommendation of the board to incorporate 2nd-floor, ADA-compatible access within the actual commercial building that the tower stairway currently serves. This would best serve the needs of those with ability issues. It would also significantly reduce immediate and future costs to repair and preserve the tower, because it would not have to accommodate public access and resulting wear and tear. See Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring, and Reconstructing Historic Buildings, p.78) It seems that the owners may prefer to destroy a historic structure and thereby maximize profits on a multi million real estate deal.

A second opinion is needed to see if an engineer could come up with ways to keep this water tower. It has been done in the past to repair and fix other water towers. Engineer John Siminich suggested at the MHRB Board meeting regarding this application to add steel reinforcements and encase them in wood. Another idea was to jack up the base, as Architect Bob Schlosser did on a historic house in the village using jacks, cut off the bottoms and replace with new wood materials.

Mendocino once used to have more than 150 water towers and now is left with a handful. Most are turned into vacation lodging, and not accessible to non paying customers.

The Mendosa Water Tower is a tangible link to Mendocino’s past. Initially built to serve Frank Mendosa’s saloon and later adapted for Mendosa's store, the water tower was completed in 1904. In 1974 it was deemed unsafe and was purchased for $1.00 by Jim and Brenda Coupe and reinstalled on its current site.

It is the mandate of MHRB to protect the architecture and character of the historic district and for the Board of Supervisors to support their decision. Water towers have been an essential part of Mendocino since its founding - every inhabited property had one. There aren’t many towers left in town, so to lose another one would be a loss of character and a negative impact on the integrity of the historic district.

Property maintenance, including handling safety issues, are, unfortunately, expensive.

In the research Karen McGrath former Director-Curator at the Kelley House Museum and her team have been conducting for their upcoming book, Elevated Water: a Photographic History of Mendocino's Iconic Water Towers, they have documented that there were about 76 water towers standing at any one time among our shops and houses until the mid-twentieth century. Less than a third of them remain.

The publication by Wally Smith Water Towers and Windmills of Mendocino can be purchased from the Kelley House Museum.

Old growth redwood is not required for the historic reconstruction of this tower. The Department of the Interior’s “Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties" make this clear: “…the preferred option is always replacement of the entire feature in kind (i.e., with the same material, such as wood for wood). However, when this is not feasible, a compatible substitute material that can reproduce the overall appearance of the historic material may be considered.

Growing up in Europe I am aware that Europeans value historic structures and pay for maintaining and protecting them. Many have become World Heritage Sites. It is not only important for history’s sake, but also for tourism. As our area attracts many tourists from all over the world we owe it to us and them to protect what we have. J.D. Streeter wrote that the few remaining water tower tanks are a remnant of that past and should be declared historical landmarks and perpetually preserved.

Can you image Italy allowing that the 14 towers in San Gimignano in the Tuscany near Florence would be torn down, or the tower of Pisa? The "Historic Centre of San Gimignano" is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Next to the towers (on private property) I saw some of the earliest cave paintings in the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Gimignano The leaning tower of Pisa and the neighboring cathedral, baptistery, and cemetery are included in the Piazza del Duomo UNESCO World Heritage Site. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaning_Tower_of_Pisa

Like Jim and Brenda Coupe who bought the water tower for $1 and gave it a new life, Bill Zacha bought the chicken coops for $1 and created the Mendocino Art Center, which in turn encouraged many artists to move here. John Bear sold a building to the Mendocino Unified School District for $1 which now is used by Mendocino Community Network (MCN) and provides a great service to the community.

I respectfully ask for your continued protection of this important and historic water tower by denying this appeal, Annemarie Weibel

Please see attached for opposition to this agenda item.

May 13, 2025

MHRB_2024-0009
Mendocino Historical Review Board
Water Tower Demolition Appeal – Raymond

Dear Supervisors Cline, Mulheren, Norvell, Haschak, and Williams:

By now, we know the basic story of the Mendosa water tower that stands on Main Street in Mendocino. This 30-foot-high structure was originally built to serve as a source of pressurized water for Frank Mendosa’s general store. And, like most of the water towers, it also provided thousands of gallons to the volunteer fire department in its efforts to keep that part of town from burning to the ground.

Some seventy years after it was built in 1904, the property owners deemed it structurally unsound and were preparing to demolish it, when Jim Coupe and Barry Cusick had a better idea. Carefully de-constructed and then re-assembled in 1976, they let it perform the novel function of carrying people to the second floor of a new business — as well as providing water.

Mendocino’s water towers are not just historic. Their unique architectural forms are a defining feature of this town. Our research team has documented more than 150 towers since the first one appeared in the early 1860s on west Main Street. Less than two dozen remain.

The continued existence of those still standing reveals our community’s strongly felt dedication to preserving these special structures, as well as the proper obligation property owners have demonstrated by their commitment to conserve them. Every one of the remaining towers has undergone significant reconstruction or renovation. Two examples of these successful preservation efforts are the Lansing Water Tower across from the Presbyterian Church, despite initial objections by its owners, and the oldest tower — the City Hotel Water Tower — that was re-built at considerable cost to its owners.

The Mendosa Main Street Water Tower is exceptional in another way. It is the only one where school children, local people, and visitors can personally interact with one of Mendocino’s most iconic features. Only here are we allowed to walk up to a water tower and place our hand on its rough timber supports, look upward, and then ascend its interior stairs, perhaps imagining what it would be like to have our water stored in the tank on top. This is a small, yet tangible way to experience Mendocino. Unless you are staying at one of the inns where they are available only to paying guests, all the other remaining water towers are on private property and are off limits. But here on Main Street, people can still walk up and touch water tower history.

Please ensure the preservation of one of Mendocino’s treasures.

Karen McGrath
Former Director-Curator,
Kelley House Museum