Politics & Government

Historic House Is Focus of Preservation Effort

A division of parcels on Las Huertas Road is before the Lafayette Planning Commission. Facebook site is called "Save Lafayette's History."

A planning commission division of lot lines with the intention to demolish a historic house on Las Huertas Road has inspired a Facebook site with a lofty goal: "Save Lafayette's History."

The proposal that would affect the lots for a historic house at 3344 Las Huertas Road was originally on the agenda of the Planning Commission for Monday, April 15. There's a notice on the Planning Commission web page that, due to a lack of a quorum, this hearing has been continued to the commission meeting on Monday, May 6.

The new "Save Lafayette's History" Facebook page warns of the potential of demolition of the house, formerly owned by Sumner McAllister, a developer of synthetic rubber during World War II.

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The house was occupied until her death two years ago, at the age of 101, by McAllister's widow Marjorie McAllister Stolley, said one neighbor who asked to remain anonymous. With landscaping, creek views, a fountain and a guest house, the Monterey Colonial house is popular with neighborhood strollers, including folks wandering along the road from the nearby Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail.

The Facebook page asks concerned residents to send a letter to the commission "expressing the importance of this historical home to the community."

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The proposal is for a lot line revision between a vacant 34,303-square-foot lot and the 82,897-square-foot lot the historic house is on. The owners of the lots are Charles and Denise Rosson. Las Huertas means "the orchards" in Spanish.


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