CC SR 20240116 I - Hatano Farm Historical Nomination
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 01/16/2024
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Consent Calendar
AGENDA TITLE:
Consideration and possible action to approve a request to nominate the state historic
designation of Hatano Farm for a 2024 Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Award.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Retroactively approve Historic Resources Group’s request to nominate the
successful state historic designation of Hatano Farm for a 2024 Los Angeles
Conservancy Preservation Award.
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact to the City, as Historic Resources Group will
cover the cost of the $150 nomination fee.
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Megan Barnes, Senior Administrative Analyst
REVIEWED BY: Same as below
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
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BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
In January 2023, the State Historical Resources Commission voted unanimously to
designate Hatano Farm as a California Point of Historical Interest and for listing on the
California Register of Historical Resources.
Established in 1953 on a hillside located at what is today the Ken Dyda Civic Center,
Hatano Farm is the last vestige of the tradition of Japanese American truck farming that
once dominated the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Background information on the farm and its
cultural significance can be found in the City’s nomination application (PDF) on the State
Historical Resources Commission website. The nomination effort was led by the City’s
historic research consultant, Historic Resources Group, in collaboration with Staff, the
Palos Verdes Library District, and the Hatano family.
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On January 8, 2024, Historic Resources Group contacted Staff with a request to nominate
the successful Hatano Farm historic designation for a 2024 Los Angeles Conservancy
Preservation Award. The Los Angeles Conservancy is a nonprofit historic preservation
organization founded in 1978 to save the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles. The
Conservancy’s mission is to work through education and advocacy to recognize,
preserve, and revitalize the historic architectural and cultural resources of Los Angeles
County. Each year, the Conservancy showcases outstanding achievements in historic
preservation throughout the county. Winners of the 2023 Preservation Awards included
the preservation and restoration of the Hollywood Sign, the listing of the Carthay
Neighborhoods Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places, the restoration
of the Downtown L.A. Proper Hotel, and the City of Long Beach’s Suburbanization and
Race Historic Context Statement, to name a few.
The 2024 awardees will be recognized at a reception in May 2024, with a date and
location to be announced. More information about the Conservancy’s Preservation
Awards is available on the Los Angeles Conservancy website.
The deadline to apply for the Preservation Awards is January 12, 2024. Because this
deadline falls before the January 16, 2024 City Council meeting, the City Manager
authorized Historic Resources Group to proceed with submitting the nomination and
directed Staff to bring a consent item to tonight’s meeting for consideration of retroactive
approval by the City Council. Staff will have the opportunity to review the application
narrative and will provide it to the City Council as late correspondence.
According to Historic Resources Group, winning the prestigious award would not impose
any limits on what can be done on the farm site in the future, but would celebrate the
City’s successful preservation efforts. It should be noted that the site is already
encumbered with restrictions based on the City’s Natural Community Conservation Plan
/ Habitat Conservation Plan (NCCP/HCP) and the property being located in the City’s
Palos Verdes Nature Preserve. Historic Resources Group will cover the cost of the $150
nomination fee. Plans for a permanent plaque at Hatano Farm recognizing the state
historic designation and for future use of the farm site will be presented to the City Council
at a future meeting.
CONCLUSION:
Given the importance of preserving the legacy of Hatano Farm to the City Council and
the community, Staff recommends the City Council retroactively approve Historic
Resources Group’s request to nominate the successful state historic designation of
Hatano Farm for a 2024 Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Award.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative actions are available for
the City Council’s consideration:
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1. Do not approve the request and direct Staff to withdraw the nomination.
2. Take other action, as deemed appropriate by the City Council.
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