The Fremont City Council on Tuesday will consider approving construction of 17 two-story detached houses on a site in Warm Springs that’s the remnant of an orchard homestead.
San Jose-based developer Robson Homes plans to build Spanish- and Mediterranean Revival-style homes ranging from 2,641 to 2,996 square feet on 4,000- to 4,950-square-foot lots on a 2.65-acre site just west of the Ursa Drive/Plomosa Way intersection.
The parcel is what remains of the original 12.4-acre orchard established by Antone Silva in 1905. According to a staff report, walnuts and apricots once were grown and processed there, similar to many Portuguese-owned and operated orchards that used to be common in the area.
The site contains a single-family home built in 1928 that belonged to the Silvas and has been vacant for five years, as well as a tankhouse, a barn, a processing and mixing shed, some remaining orchard trees and a Canary Island palm tree. It also features a 1,100-foot driveway off Warm Springs Boulevard leading to the property.
The site currently is eligible for “historic listing on both the National and California Registers of Historic Resources as a significant example of a small‐scale, family‐run orchard established in the early twentieth century by Portuguese immigrants in Washington Township,” the staff report says.
Under Robson Homes’ proposal, however, the site wouldn’t qualify for the listing because the Silva home and tankhouse would be relocated to its eastern edge fronting Ursa Drive and renovated. The palm tree would be moved there too.
The barn and other structures would be demolished, and the remaining orchard trees removed.
“As a rural landscape, none of the individual buildings and structures is eligible for the register” on their own, the report says. “The demolition or loss of individual components…would represent a significant impact to the historic integrity of the property. As such, the remaining relocated buildings would no longer be considered historic.”
The Silva family and some neighbors said at a Feb. 8 Planning Commission meeting they support the plan and noted that relocating the home would allow it to be seen by more people and recognized for its character.
But at a previous Historic Architectural Review Board meeting, some people said they hope the property will be maintained in its current state as a historic resource.
“This property appears to be one of the last agricultural parcels with a remnant orchard along Warm Springs Boulevard, as residential subdivisions have replaced the orchards that were once located along its length,” the report says.
Robson Homes wants to restore the exterior of the Silva home to its original style, remodel the interior and add a 600-square-foot structure to it, as well as a detached garage. The tankhouse — a two-story, tapered tower structure — would be renovated as an office and artist’s loft, the report adds.
The Planning Commission previously approved the project by a vote of 4-2, with Commissioners Alice Cavette and Kathryn McDonald opposed. Commissioner Roman Reed was absent.
Cavette said at the meeting that because all 17 of the new houses would have second floors 57 percent to 66 percent the size of the first floors — which exceeds city guidelines for homes built on small lots — she wouldn’t support it. McDonald also expressed concern about housing density.
Cavette’s proposal to reduce the second-floor sizes of six of the homes to meet guidelines went nowhere after Commissioner Craig Steckler motioned to approve the project as is.
The Fremont City Council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the Council Chambers at 3300 Capitol Ave., Building A. You can view the agenda packet with the project plans at fremont.gov/AgendaCenter/City-Council-4.