Anthony Tordillos
Running for:
City Council District 3
Campaign Website:
1) The severely neglected state of Willis Polk's 1905 First Church of Christ, Scientist across from St. James Park has vexed residents and City officials for years. As D3 Councilmember, what actions would you take to hold current owner Z&L Properties accountable for their neglect? What actions would you take to facilitate its urgently-needed rehabilitation? Do you have a vision for the adaptive reuse of the structure?
The First Church of Christ, Scientist is a highly-visible and centrally located historic gem that has been neglected for far too long. I believe that the City must take swift action to secure the facility and plan for its desperately-need rehabilitation. And, critically, the City must learn from the failures of this site in order to strengthen our protections for historic resources and prevent this scenario from playing out at other sites in the future.
In the short term, I support recent actions by the Code Enforcement department to place liens on the property following Z&L’s failure to pay existing blight-related fines. As swiftly as possible the City should follow the precedent set with neglected properties at 100 North 4th Street and ask the courts to appoint a receiver to secure the property and oversee its sale to a new owner. In the event a new owner cannot be identified, the City should also evaluate the option of acquiring the property itself in order to more closely manage its restoration and surrounding redevelopment.
It’s also important to look at the history of this site to identify lessons for the future. It’s worth noting that the church sat neglected and in disrepair for years before the City began issuing fines against Z&L in 2023. Moving forward, the City must be much more proactive in enforcing codes and anti-blight regulations for negligent property owners, especially in cases involving historic resources. I support efforts to raise the fines for blighted properties, and the City should evaluate other ways of strengthening enforcement options. Looking further back into this site’s history, it’s important to recognize that the original development agreement for this site granted the City the right to repurchase the property in the event development failed to move forward. This site would likely be in a much better position had the City pursued this repurchase option when it became clear the project had stalled. For future development agreements, the City should include similar repurchase clauses and they should be more aggressive in leveraging those options when it becomes clear that developers are not acting in good faith to uphold their obligations.
As for the future use of the church, I think the City should be open to all ideas as it seeks a new owner for the building and developer for the surrounding land. Given the large auditorium and existing raised gallery area, I would personally love to see the church restored and used as a performing arts space, similar to what PAC*SJ described in its adaptive reuse study from 1991. Given the church’s proximity to the Hillbrook School, there could be opportunities to leverage the space for student programming, and it could also support the local music scene being developed at Levitt Pavilion.
2) Are there other properties on PAC*SJ’s 2022, 2023, and 2024 “Endangered Eight” lists, or any other culturally important sites, whether in District 3 or beyond, that you would use your power of elected office to help address, and how?
Yes, I would use my platform on Council to help address the burnt out Lawrence Hotel. We’re now more than 4 years removed from the fire that destroyed the interior of this building, and we’ve seen very little movement from the current property owner to protect the remaining structure and move towards reconstructing or redeveloping the building. On Council I’ll push to hold the property owner accountable and ensure appropriate fines are being enforced in the face of continued inaction. And as the current or future owners of the property look toward rebuilding or redeveloping the site, I’ll advocate for requiring preservation of the intact historic facade for incorporation into the future structure, similar to what’s planned for the facades of the Herrold College and Hegerich & Kemling Auto Sales buildings on Market Street.
I would also prioritize preservation of Diridon Station from the 2022 “Endangered Eight” list. I’m glad to see that recent versions of the Diridon Integrated Station Concept Plan propose incorporating the historic depot into the expanded station, and on Council I’ll continue to advocate for protecting this historic asset from demolition.
3) In the past five years alone, at least ten vacant historic buildings in San José have been lost to fire. Often, these properties are left vacant after tenants are displaced in anticipation of future development that may never materialize. Would you support entitlement conditions that hold property owners accountable, such as: ensuring sites are occupied and actively used by residents or businesses, rather than sitting vacant; providing effective physical and electronic site security and monitoring if occupancy is not feasible; providing surety bonds to ensure payment of fines for code violations or loss of historic structures; and allowing PRNS to designate appropriate City parklands as receiver sites for historic buildings suitable for relocation?
Unfortunately, fires in vacant historic buildings are an increasingly common issue in District 3. Prior to its demolition, there were multiple recent fires in the Bo Town restaurant building a few blocks from our home, and I have friends who live directly adjacent to the two Victorian homes that recently burned down on North 4th Street. On the Planning Commission, I also voted to support a project to rebuild the historic Graves House after it burned down in 2022. The City must do more to hold property owners accountable and prevent future incidents that not only endanger historic resources but pose significant safety risks to our neighbors.
In terms of specific solutions, I do not know that an occupancy requirement would be feasible, especially for projects involving active construction or redevelopment. That said, requiring sites to be secure and monitored is a common sense condition to include in development permits. I’ll note that each of the examples I listed above had multiple previous incidents or code enforcement violations prior to the fires that destroyed the structures, so it’s clear the City must also be more proactive in enforcing existing codes and intervening when property owners prove negligent. I would need to research surety bonds more to ensure they would not act as too severe of an impediment to new development before committing to support their use, but from what I know they seem like a reasonable option for the City to explore to ensure payment of code violation related fines.
4) In 2022 California passed SB9, which allows by-right redevelopment of up to four new units on most R1 (single-family-zoned) parcels statewide, but exempted historic properties, historic districts, and R2 (duplex-zoned) neighborhoods from eligibility. In 2025, City Council will consider expanding SB9-type entitlements to include historic properties and R2 districts. Do you believe this type of development can be appropriate for historic homes and older neighborhoods? If yes, how, and if no, why not?
As the proud owner of a historic home located in the Reed City Landmark Historic District, I believe I have a unique perspective on this issue. I have many neighbors who have built tastefully designed ADUs in their backyards, and my neighborhood has many examples of homes that have been subdivided into duplexes over the decades while retaining their historic charm.
Based on these experiences in my own neighborhood, I believe that with thoughtfully crafted design guidelines and development standards that SB9-style development can provide gentle infill density without detracting from the beauty and character of our older neighborhoods. This flexibility has the potential to give more families the opportunity to live in and invest in these neighborhoods and can support efforts of existing residents to age in place by giving them new ways to tap into the value of their properties.
As the city looks to expand this type of development, we must ensure that objective design standards are established to minimize impacts on existing historic neighborhoods. For example, I would support regulation that allows an existing single-family home to be remodeled as a duplex, but I would not support allowing the demolition of existing historic resources for the purposes of redevelopment. On larger lots, I would also support allowing flag lot subdivisions to allow a new home or duplex to be developed behind the existing home. And for all projects the city should continue to follow best practices to minimize exterior alternations to existing historic structures and ensure that the design of new development compliments existing historic character. With these safeguards in place I believe that expanding this type of development can give homeowners more flexibility and encourage new investment in our older neighborhoods while preserving the character and historic architecture that makes these neighborhoods special.
5) What role do you believe that historic places should play in building a vibrant and culturally diverse future for District 3 and San José? Is there a particular project or effort you have undertaken or would propose to undertake, either professionally or personally, that best embodies your vision for sustaining these places in San José?
Historic places contribute to the special and unique character of San José. They offer residents the opportunity to connect with our city’s past, to celebrate the rich cultural diversity of our community, and to highlight the unique assets that set San José apart from other cities. My husband and I chose to purchase a historic home because we wanted to be responsible stewards of preserving a small piece of San José history for future generations. Unfortunately, we know firsthand that maintaining and restoring these historic properties is a costly endeavor, and I’ve seen in my own neighborhood how many historic homes in San José are falling into disrepair. I’d love to work towards an initiative, potentially in partnership with a philanthropic partner, to provide grants for owners of historic homes for maintenance and restoration. The City could serve as a partner here to educate folks about programs like the Mills Act, which can help provide tax savings for folks investing in historic properties. San José has some of the most beautiful historic homes in the Bay Area, and encouraging careful preservation of these assets will beautify our neighborhoods and contribute to our local culture.