A heavily vandalized, graffiti-covered house that sits on what may have been the first European settlement in Petaluma won a reprieve from the bulldozer Tuesday night while planning commissioners further explore its historical significance.
The Beck house in Cedar Grove was believed to have been built in the 1930s and added onto in the 1950s, according to a 2006 city-commissioned report.
But historical preservation committee member Terry Kosewic and another builder who spoke said it may be as old as 1905, based on its design characteristics and building materials.
The city report concluded that the house no longer retains any historic value since it has been modified over the decades and, in the past few years, left to deteriorate as squatters have badly damaged it.
The property owner, former North Bay Construction company owner John Barella, was ordered last year to clean up the property and protect two historic structures on the land from further neglect. The city said Barella hasn't complied with the notice of violation. Barella said the city has delayed approval of the necessary permits.
Barella sought permission from the joint Planning Commission and Historic and Cultural Preservation Committee to demolish the Beck house, which required approval because it was built pre-1945.
The other historic structure, the Bloom-Tunstall house, built in the 1860s, can't be demolished. Other derelict structures on the property built after 1945 can be torn down without city permission.
The possibility that the house could have greater historical significance than thought prompted commission members to seek confirmation of the house's age and relation to Cedar Grove's history.
The Cedar Grove area - a 7-acre parcel off Lakeville Street between the Petaluma River and the railroad tracks - is considered the location of the earliest historical-era structure in Petaluma, the 1850 hunting camp hut of John Lockwood, believed to be the first European resident of Petaluma.
The following year, the first trading post in Petaluma was established on a boat in the Petaluma Creek, next to the camp.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Cedar Grove was host to a private city garden, an amusement park, picnic grounds, bowling alley and the city's first hotel.
Commissioners had strong words for Barella, who they said has nearly demolished the house through neglect and has let the Bloom-Tunstall House fall into disrepair as well.
Barella's representative said after the meeting that Barella would decide whether to demolish all the other structures while the Beck house's future is debated, or wait for a final ruling by the city. A commission decision could be appealed to the City Council.
The commission will discuss the issue at its next meeting, April 8.
You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 762-7297 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.
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