“I can’t define pornography, but I know it when I see it.” So goes Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s infamous quote. Such subjectivity is something we may all relate to, but as a method of official decision-making, it stinks. Yet, by all appearances, Sonoma may be on the verge of adopting new design regulations based on this subjective approach.
For the 12 years I was on the Sonoma City Council, city policy specifically exempted single-family homes from Design Review Commission review for a remodel or newly constructed single family home. Aside from the administrative time and expense of such a review, this policy arose from the recognition that the variation in home design and style is what had made Sonoma’s oldest neighborhoods desirable.
Recent proposals before the city council would require Design Review Commission review of any home more than 50 years old in the city’s historic district. This district covers the vast majority of the city and within it are 1,600 homes. Of these, many are more than 50 years old, but the structures themselves are not notably historic. Under the proposal, roof pitch changes, increases in square footage over 10 percent, and adding second stories would all trigger design review. Up until now, these types of changes were governed solely by the building codes, for safety, and required no commission review at all.
This brings us to the question: What does “historic” look like? The answer, of course, is impossible to answer, since what constitutes “historic” changes with the times. The “Victorian” look was once in fashion, as were “Craftsman” and more modern “Bauhaus” and “ranch” but these “historic” styles of homes have nothing in common with each other. So, in attempting to impose “historic style or standards” to homes in the historic district, the process inevitably leads to an entirely subjective matter of “taste.”
“De gustibus non disputandum est.” In matters of taste, there is no dispute, or so goes the Latin quote. In plain English, this means that “just because I like it does not mean that you have to like it.” Accordingly, when it comes to a man (or woman) and his or her castle, such matters of taste are best left out of the public sector. To have a committee of five citizens decide what is historically appropriate and what is not will lead to unfriendly battles between neighbors, appeals to the city council, and fractiousness without end.
Design review of commercial and large housing developments was put in place because such projects impact the community as a whole. Big commercial projects on main roads generate design impacts and impressions on everyone. The process is not perfect, but limited as it is, it has been workable and generally favorable. Imposing the same level of review on one single family home, however, makes no sense. I might not like what my neighbor builds, or he might not like what I have built, but our decisions do not have the same level of impact as a shopping center or big development of 50 homes.
Attempting to protect our historic character by regulating the design of private homes, may well accomplish the opposite and end up ruining what charm and character remains.
