Agenda - 05-04-2004-5m - Laserfiche WebLink

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~--~~ ORANGE COUNTY ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCE CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM To: David Stancil, Environment and Resource Conservation Director Lori Taft, Recreation and Parks Director From: Tina Moon, Land Use/Preservation Planner Date: March 2, 2004 Updated, March 22, 2004 Re: Laws House -Little River Park and Natural Area Reuse & Stabilization As the budget requirements associated with the Little River Park and Natural Area continue to increase staff from both counties have looked far options to reduce costs. Qne major question is what to do with the Laws House, the existing turn-of-the-century dwelling located near the park entrance.. There are several viable options, and county staff should consider each option carefully since the first few park projects are likely to be precedent setting. There are seven basic alternatives for the Laws House: 1) Demolish the house; 2) Deconstruct the house; 3) Move the house off the site; 4) Relocate the house to another area on the site; 5) Stabilize the house and consider future use(s) and renovation plans; 6) Renovate the house for immediate re-use; or 7) Renovate the exterior of the house as an attractive shell for atmosphere, use the interior for storage. 1) Demolish the house. Demolition offers a "quick-and-dirty" albeit shortsighted solution. The immediate costs would be those associated with contracting out a wrecking crew to obtain a demolition permit, bulldoze the stricture, separate the materials, transport the materials to the landfill, and pay for disposal. Unfortunately, once the house is destroyed it (along with any associated information) is gone forever. This is particularly important if there is any interest in developing interpretative signs or historic trails on the park site, The mill sites, though interesting, are gone; any display signage would be largely speculative. The caretaker's cottage is a substantially altered dwelling, from another time period, moved from another part of the county. It has no historic significance to the property and may in fact cause visitors confusion over the progression of history on the site. The Laws farmstead is the only building complex that people can actually see and touch that is linked the to the property, not to mention its association to the Laws family--prominent Qrange County landowners dating back to the 1700s. This touches on some hardcore preservation philosophies about misinforming the public with rewritten history, Orange County's policy to encourage deconstruction whenever it appears feasible may eliminate demolition as an option. The administrative issues associated with storing salvaged construction material and setting up a mechanism to reuse it within a reasonable length of time, however, may limit the practically of deconstruction for this project.