For History Buffs Only
Get
the Scoop on Historic Preservation | Preservation
Efforts Taking Shape
Act
Incorporates City, or Does it?
Get the Scoop on
Historic Preservation
The 25th annual California Preservation Foundation Conference on
historic preservation is coming to Monterey April 13-16.
For the first
time, the historic building tours and concluding gala celebration are open
to local residents without Conference registration. Individuals can also
register and attend the workshops to learn how to preserve historic
resources in the community.
Call the City’s Plans & Public Works
Department at 646.3885 to get info on tours and registration.
Or
volunteer to help with registration or other conference tasks and you can
attend conference sessions for free. Call the City’s Volunteer Coordinator
at 646.3719 (sammon@ci.monterey.ca.us) to
volunteer.
Preservation Efforts
Taking Shape
Efforts to promote and support historic preservation in the City
continue to move forward. Currently, we are working to expand our
preservation effort to encompass Monterey’s history of the late 1800s and
early 1900s – which includes areas such as downtown and Cannery Row.
In addition, we continue to work with other owners of public historic
buildings in the City to coordinate activities and schedules so that
students, residents and visitors can experience a “complete” picture of
Monterey’s history.
Look for additional updates as the City completes
public reviews on (a) the Historic Master Plan; (b) the revised Historic
Preservation Ordinance, which includes regulations and incentives to help
property owners protect their historic buildings; and (c) the Cannery Row
Survey, which identifies historic buildings and historic districts in
Cannery Row.
Preservation Efforts Lauded The program to strengthen and
preserve the Pacific Biological Laboratory, a.k.a. “Doc’s Lab,” on Cannery
Row garnered recognition at a state level.
The City received the
Governor’s Historic Preservation Award for improving the building’s
stability to resist earthquakes. City ownership and maintenance of the lab
is part of a comprehensive program to preserve and interpret historic
buildings for the enjoyment of people of all ages.
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Act Incorporates City,
or Does it?
Incorporation seemed to be a ritual for Monterey.
The City of
Monterey was first incorporated 150 years ago this year on March 30, 1850,
by a special legislative act. The act declared that “all lands heretofore
known and acknowledged as the Pueblo of Monterey shall henceforth be known
as the City of Monterey.” It declared that the City would be governed by a
Mayor, Recorder and Common Council and required the election of these city
officials as well as a City Marshal, Assessor and Treasurer.
But that
was just the beginning of the odyssey toward final incorporation.
The
act of 1850 was repealed by another special legislative act (requested by
a large group of citizens and taxpayers) and the City was reincorporated
under a Charter with the same boundaries on April 30, 1851.
Then again
in 1853, the City was both dis-incorporated and reincorporated with a
provision that placed a Board of Trustees in control of the City.
In
1859 – much to the dismay of the citizenry – the Trustees sold City lands.
Because there were so many complaints, the City Charter was amended “in
such a way as to render the power of the board for good or evil,
exceedingly limited.”
In 1889 after being amended three times, the
Incorporation Act of 1853 was repealed by the State Legislature.
Finally on June 3, 1889, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors
declared the City of Monterey a municipality of the sixth class under the
provisions of the General Municipal Corporation Act of 1833. And that’s
the way it remains today.
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