Juana Briones House Demolition Permit Hearing
Held February 26, Palo Alto City Hall
 
Regretfully, the judge hearing this case issued a decision which rejected the argument that a CEQA process must be followed prior to granting the demolition permit for the Juana Briones House.  Although there are people who doubt the legality of this judgment, we of the Juana Briones Heritage Foundation decided not to pursue this case any further in a legal arena.
 
The hearing for demolition will be pro-forma in nature since the judge's decision limits the city's options to such an extent that granting the permit is all but assured.  In spite of this fact we intend to be present at the hearing to voice our dismay at this decision and stand witness to the unfortunate erasure of an important historical artifact.  We encourage others to attend in this spirit. 
 
Although we appear to have lost the battle to save the Briones House, we realize an important aspect of our work is to bring a wider recognition of Juana Briones as a exemplary California Latina pioneer.  Toward that end, we have been granted  an Official State Historical Marker that will commemorate her home site and rancho.  It will be placed at the nearby Esther Clark Park .  We hope that the pediment of the marker will be composed of some of the original stonework extant at the home. There will be an official dedication of the Marker later this year, of which you will receive notice.
 
In addition, the current owners, through their attorney, have made provisions that allow limited access to the property for the purposes of conducting an architectural and archeological investigation, compiling a photographic record and salvaging certain limited items from the house which could be used for museum display or archival preservation.
 
There are several individuals and organizations that have shown interest in receiving such items and of conducting studies of the site prior to and during deconstruction. There may be a meeting with the owners' legal representatives prior to the hearing.  

The Palo Alto Daily News published an report on this issue.
Supporters of the cause of preserving the oldest extant dwelling in Palo Alto, and one associated with a significant Latina pioneer, Juana Briones, can help by writing letters to the Palo Alto City Council, or to the newspaper referenced above. View comments on this article.

Juana Briones House in Imminent Danger of Being Destroyed
Send inquiries to: Clark Akatiff

A Handful of Adobe, A Houseful of History...One Woman Built it, All of us can save it.

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