'Circle Church' Is Not Historic Site, Council Says

SANTA CRUZ, CA — The Santa Cruz City Council voted unanimously at its Tuesday meeting to reject to designate the so-called "Circle Church" property at 111 Errett Circle as a historic landmark, quashing a neighborhood effort to prevent the site from become a housing site for up to 30 housing units, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported.

The Circle Church property is so named because it sits at the center of a neighborhood laid out in circles (see map below). It has long been the site of churches, but a group of mostly local investor-developers banded together to buy the property for $3.3 million and create a housing development, the Sentinel reported.

The city Historic Preservation Commission rejected the notion that the property could be a historic landmark last month. In a report to the commission, the city noted that just 26 of the 600 structures on the city's Historic Building Survey are designated as landmarks — a more prestigious claim.

The church is shaped like a "U" and was completed in 1961, the city wrote. It does not meet criteria for being listed on the city Historic Building Survey, state Register of Historical Resources or federal Register of Historic Places.

The council sided with the city and commission Tuesday, meaning plans for the housing development can proceed.

Read more at the Sentinel.