By Linda Taaffe

Los Altos recently put in place a better process to review the possible demolition of historic homes, but not before losing a 1908 farmhouse on University Avenue last week.

The yellow, shingled house that allegedly belonged to city founder Paul Shoup’s silent partner was one of those homes that fell through the cracks, said Randall Hull, vice chairman of the city’s historical commission.

Its significance apparently remained unnoticed until after the planning department issued a demolition permit last December - by that time, it was too late to save the home.

“It was for some unknown reason overlooked. Because the structure was not listed on the city’s Historic Resource Inventory and the historical commission had little data on the home, we couldn’t take action toward preservation,” Hull said.

Although the house was not officially rated, Hull was confident it would have qualified for a spot on the city’s historical inventory. The design alone would have earned top scores, he estimated.

Not all was lost, however; the demolition prompted the commission to rework the process with city planners to red flag any Los Altos home 50 years or older that comes through the planning department for any modifications. This will allow the commission to investigate a home’s significance.

The owners of the two-story farm house said the home’s structure needed significant repair. The floor plan was not usable due to several odd additions over the years, they added.

The family hired a salvage company to preserve about 60 percent of the home’s materials by selling and dismantling much of the structure before hiring a wrecking crew to raze the remaining pieces.

Despite the new process, Hull said no home is protected from the wrecking ball. Even homes that score high on the inventory and are considered landmark properties may be razed if the Los Altos City Council approves it. The commission merely makes recommendations, Hull said. The council has the final say.

The commission evaluates properties based on criteria used by both the State Office of Historic Preservation and the National Register for Historic Places. A house is scored on who lived in the home, who built the home, as well as the home’s style and architecture.There are currently only 120 structures on the city’s historic inventory.

If a home doesn’t score enough points, the commission won’t typically recommend that it be saved. This was the case in the Spanish Revival home on First Street and Edith Avenue. The city recently approved a demolition permit for the home.