Eichler Victory in Sacramento!

'Eichler homes' and 'preservation' have come together for a big‐time win in Sacramento!

An effort to preserve Sacramento's lone Eichler neighborhood succeeded on May 21, when the Sacramento City Council unanimously approved the nomination for the 'South Land Park Hills (Eichler) Historic District,' which comes with enforceable guidelines to preserve the homes' looks.

And it all began with cookies and cocoa.

"It only took five years," a leader of that effort, Susan Henas, observed as she left the Council meeting that day.

Surprisingly, given the importance of the tracts created by Joe Eichler, few have historic designation. There are currently four Eichler developments in Northern California on the National Register of Historic Places. South Land Park Hills now becomes the first NorCal Eichler tract with local historic status, joining four others in SoCal that have received that distinction.

Why so few? Well, it's a lot of work, documenting the significance of the homes, winning neighborhood support, working through bureaucracy.

While approval of the historic district did not require a vote of the residents, the lion's share of homeowners polled backed the designation. In addition, 49 of the tract's estimated 60 homes, all of which were designed by architects Jones & Emmons and built in 1955‐'56, were deemed to 'contribute' to the historical nature of the tract.

How did the neighbors in South Land Park succeed? What can other historically minded Eichler owners learn from them?

Get social.

"The Social Committee was so pivotal in getting everything else running," says Gisela Gutierrez, who helped organize the group, "because it brought people together."

She recalls the first gathering, in February 2020, "right before everything shut down" due to Covid. The idea was to promote the idea of a historic district, but in a non‐threatening way.

"We had to make sure that we worded the invitations to the gatherings to indicate that it was a social gathering, and that it wasn't a meeting about the historic district," Gisela says. "I remember the very first one we had, which I hosted, and it was cookies and cocoa."

"Some people came and asked, 'When's the meeting? When are we going to start talking about the historic district?' And I said, no, no, this is just a social gathering."

Gisela Gutierrez, Susan and Dane Henas, and Gretchen Steinberg (leader of the preservation group Sacramento Modern) led the charge, with other members of the 'Eichler Historic District Design Guidelines Advisory Committee'—Jacquolyn Duerr, Maria Pabon, and Steve Guest.

It was a two‐pronged effort that involved winning over neighbors, and meetings with city officials to work out details of a historic district with guidelines to protect the homes.

"What was nice is, when we did have the social gatherings and the topic eventually came up about the historic district," Gisela says, "we could have a casual conversation about it. There wasn't really this intensity. It was just comfortable and relaxed."

The pandemic halted gatherings, but leaders worked via Zoom with city planners on design guidelines and other issues. A 'spring fling' and other community events tied to the district plan resumed as the pandemic waned.

Proponents talked up the benefits of a historic district whenever they could. It helps, they say, that South Land Park is walkable, and neighbors know neighbors.

"You talk to people," Susan says. "Sometimes it's not necessarily planned events. I'm sitting out here doing yard work. I'll talk with whoever goes by."

There was opposition to the district from a couple of people, and one voiced strong objections at the first meeting. But negativity never took hold.

There were concerns that rules would prevent homeowners from making changes to their homes, but Gisela says these were easy to dispel.

"At one of our meetings, Susan and Sean [de Courcy, the city's planning director] reiterated that you can do whatever you want inside to your home," Gisela says. "New kitchen? Right. New bathroom? It's OK." Historic district rules would only affect portions of the home visible from the street.

It also helped that neighbors were primed to the value of their homes, thanks to the Eichler Network and its CA‐Modern magazine, Gretchen says, and to the modern home tours and other work her group, SacMod, had done over the years.

Gisela recalls a dramatic moment at a get‐together where one neighbor "said that in Palo Alto you have two‐story homes, a second level added onto the garage on an Eichler. Number one, it doesn't look right. And number two, you now have people looking into your backyard that didn't before.

"And that [moment] was [like] a light bulb that I saw go on for a lot of people that were in the room, that they wanted to maintain their privacy and the look of the neighborhood. That was a really interesting comment that I think shifted things a little bit."

Dane Henas says promoters kept things friendly, never coming across as "hardcore activists, out there like screaming people," something he had seen in a different neighborhood.

What advice do the leaders in South Land Park have for other Eichler owners seeking to preserve their neighborhoods?

"Be patient," Gretchen says. "Be persistent."

"And use the opportunity to get to know your neighbors, and to truly form a community," Gisela says.

"It's the long game," Gretchen adds. "And know the process. Understand how things work at the local level."

• The Eichlers of South Land Park Hills are located on Oakridge Way, Fordham Way, and South Land Park Drive. For our archived profile of the neighborhood, click here.