Blogsphere: Controlled training burn causes controversy

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Blogsphere: Controlled training burn causes controversy

Found around the Blog sphere: Oxnard, California, Fire Department controlled training burn causes controversy
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Calif. City Burns Down 1883 Farmhouses

By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Mar. 31, 2009

The Frank Petit House, built in 1883 and owned by Oxnard, Calif., were destroyed in a controlled fire in February 2009.

Credit: Stephen Schafer

Every once in a while, firefighters actually create fires. The Oxnard, California, Fire Department has destroyed two 19th-century houses to make way for a 75-acre sports park. City officials' efforts to find someone to move the structures proved unsuccessful. Last month they authorized firefighters to clear a three-acre site in a controlled burn.

"This [destruction] was particularly disturbing because there seemed to be some significant historical value to these houses, but the city of Oxnard didn't make enough attempts to save them," says Gary Blum, chair of the Ventura County Cultural Heritage Board and a descendant of the Petit family, which built the two houses.

The city could have facilitated moving the farmhouses by offering compensation to potential owners, Blum says. "Why not just use that money to relocate?" It also could have issued press releases about its search for a new owner or posted signs on the buildings about their impending demolition.

Built in 1883, the houses stayed in the Petit family until 1981, when they were sold to Ventura County. The county, in turn, sold them to the city of Oxnard in 2000, and the city council approved the new sports park for the site in 2005.

Despite the recent demolition, Oxnard has a history of preserving historic places. In the city center stands a collection of 15 historic houses that were relocated and saved, including a Victorian owned by the Petit family. The city oversaw the six-year project, known as Heritage Square, completed in 1991. Blum paid to move the Justin Petit Ranch House to the park in 1986; it is now home to offices and the Petit Playhouse. "Unfortunately, preservation doesn't stop with one project," Blum says. "You need to keep going."

Source article: www.preservationnation.org - Link

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Wednesday, April 1, 2009