Canyon Service Station in Santa Monica Canyon gained historic-cultural monument status yesterday after the Los Angeles City Council voted to preserve it as a local landmark. This designation recognizes the structure as important to the history of the City, state or nation, and requires Cultural Heritage Commission review for proposed exterior and interior alterations. It also prevents the demolition of the station for one year. “The City Council approved the landmarking by a unanimous vote,” said George Wolfberg, president of the Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association. The SMCCA, which represents neighbors and residents, has been tirelessly pursuing the preservation of the 80-year-old station since learning that the property was going to be sold last November. At that time, owner Monica Queen closed the station, which sits on a small portion of the 17,000-sq.-ft. lot on Entrada Drive. Queen is a descendant of the Marquez family, the original holders of the Rancho Boca de Santa Monica land grant. The SMCCA, fearing that there would be nothing to stop the new owner from demolishing the station, appealed to the L.A. Cultural Heritage Commission to designate Canyon Service as a historic-cultural monument. With approval from the Commission, the proposal then went to the City Council’s Planning and Land-Use Management Committee, which voted last week to preserve the station as a landmark. Wolfberg said that he assumed that there would be a positive outcome since Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski was supporting it. The designation has also been backed by the Pacific Palisades Historical Society, the Palisades Community Council, the Society for Commercial Archeology and the Route 66 Association. In a strange and complicated twist, Queen officially closed escrow just two days before the PLUM Committee’s vote. The new owner, Santa Monica Canyon resident Chris Hoffmann, purchased the property for $2.1 million. “I just hope that he will be a person the advocates can have a fruitful discussion with,” Wolfberg said, emphasizing that the community goal is to save the station. “We’re assuming he’s not a developer.” Local homeowners and businessmen such as realtor Mike Deasy, who is also on the SMCCA board, had expressed interest in buying the station to preserve it on site if Hoffmann had not proceeded with the sale. They considered a joint venture between Brian Clark, who operated the station from 1995 to 2004, and neighbors/investors. “The councilwoman was pleased that the [Queen] family was able to reach a sale with the designation in place,” Kevin Keller, chief planning deputy for Councilwoman Miscikowski, told the Palisadian-Post. “I think everyone’s indicated a real willingness to work together and move forward from this step.” Wolfberg said that the SMCCA is soliciting ideas from anyone who might have input about the future of Canyon Service Station. Contact: www.smcca.org.
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