Atherton moves to protect historic Lindenwood fountain Atherton moves to protect historic Lindenwood fountain (April 27, 2005)

** Council passes emergency rules to protect Flood estate artifacts.

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

Personal attacks, threats of litigation and accusations of unconstitutionality. It sounds like someone must be contemplating historic preservation regulations.

Fearing the loss of an enormous Victorian fountain that once graced the Flood Estate, the Atherton City Council tackled the always-controversial topic at a highly charged but sparsely attended meeting on April 20.

The council passed an emergency ordinance, giving town officials at least 45 days to figure out a long-term solutuion to protect historic artifacts in the Lindenwood neighborhood and elsewhere in Atherton.

Lindenwood is dotted with objects, including streetlamps, urns, benches and statues, that were once part of Linden Towers, the elaborate 1880 estate of Silver King James C. Flood.

The council voted 4-1, with Councilman Charles Marsala opposed, to pass an urgency ordinance requiring a conditional use permit before any of the historic objects could be moved, altered or destroyed. The permits would be granted by the Planning Commission, and decisions could be appealed to the City Council.

Currently, Atherton has no regulations regarding the preservation of these historic resources.

The urgency ordinance triggered an outraged response from Menlo Park resident Manuel Enriquez, who is in the midst of purchasing property in Lindenwood -- at 42 Flood Circle, the home of the elaborate, three-tier fountain made by J.W. Fiske.

Mr. Enriquez, who said he plans to demolish the house on the site and build a New England-style home for his family, told the City Council that he likes the fountain. He just doesn't want it on his property. He suggested that Holbrook-Palmer Park might make a better location for it.

"My intent all long has never been to destroy the fountain," Mr. Enriquez said, adding that the 4-foot-deep catch basin below the fountain would be destroyed.

"You should tread lightly on a private citizen's rights who is thinking about donating (the fountain) to the town," he said.

Bill Garrett, a Palo Alto attorney representing Mr. Enriquez, told the council the urgency ordinance is an unreasonable and unconstitutional restriction on private property.

Marion Oster, who lives next door to 42 Flood Circle, heads the Atherton Heritage Association and is the director of the Lindenwood Homes Association's historic artifacts committee. She said that when Linden Towers was dismantled and the property sold in 1935, each parcel in the original Flood Circle subdivision was given at least one artifact from the estate.

While some artifacts have been lost, many Lindenwood residents have gone to great expense to preserve them, and the neighborhood association conducts popular walking tours to view them, Ms. Oster said.

"This is not one woman's campaign," said Tom Hill, a Lindenwood Homes Association director. "If you took a survey, you would find overwhelming support in the neighborhood for preserving this fountain where it is. I certainly believe the public welfare is at stake."

However, real estate agents involved in the sale of the property accused Ms. Oster of trying to undermine the sale so she could buy 42 Flood Circle at a discount.

"This is a thinly veiled attempt to unsettle this sale," said Barbara Tyler, the Realtor representing Mr. Enriquez. "Ms. Oster put in an offer below what was accepted. I think there's some conflict of interest."

Ms. Oster said she and her husband never made an offer on the property, although they were offered a chance to buy it for $3.7 million by heirs of Virginia Chapman, the late owner.

Ms. Oster said she declined, and the house was put on the market with a $3.5 million asking price.

She was interested in the property in order to expand her garden and refurbish the fountain, she said.

"The allegation that somehow I was going after them in order to get the value of the property down was just horrible," she said after the meeting. "I have worked on these artifacts in Lindenwood for a long time."

At the meeting, Councilman Alan Carlson pointed out that, as Ms. Oster is not a member of the City Council and cannot vote on the issue, there is no conflict of interest.

"This was an issue before I was aware this property was for sale," Mr. Carlson said. "I don't think I'd be inclined to make anybody live with anything on their property that they don't like, but right now we don't have a process."

Mr. Marsala, who voted against the urgency ordinance, said he thought the 42 Flood Circle property should be exempt because the sale was "too far along in the pipeline."

Although the council last month delegated to the General Plan Committee the task of proposing historic preservation regulations, council members decided the matter needed to be settled more quickly, and directed town staff to prepare a report for the next City Council meeting in May.

Mr. Carlson said the council aims to put in place an ordinance that would balance private property rights with the public good.

"I'd hate to see any of these artifacts lost to the town of Atherton," he said.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.