Pleasant Hill City Leaders Looking To Preserve Local Landmarks

The mayor and vice mayor of Pleasant Hill are trying to figure out how to better preserve local cultural and historical landmarks and benefit from the lessons learned in losing the 46-year-old  "dome" theater.

A discussion item on the July 1 city council agenda will open conversation about the city's methods of recognizing and protecting cultural and historial resources in Pleasant Hill, with a recommendation to conduct a public workshop on the issue.

Mayor Michael Harris and Vice Mayor Jack Weir requested that the city look deeper into its policies on cultural and historical landmarks after a public appeal in May to save the "dome" theater from demolition failed. The site could not be preserved under state protections, which stipulate that landmarks must be at least 50 years old, and the city currently has no ordinances or resources devoted directly to protecting local cultural and historical sites. An "Arts, Historical and Cultural Resources Management Commission" was authorized by the city council in 1993, but never implemented. 

The first step in establishing preservation power, says Weir, is to develop an agency "that will take responsibility for inventorying potential sites" and put in place a process for local landmarks "by which they can be evaluated for protection." 

Weir has lived in Pleasant Hill since 1950 and sits on the board of the Pleasant Hill Historical Society (PHHS), which manages Pleasant Hill's only official landmark, Rodgers Ranch. The historical society has been plagued by problems and Rodgers Ranch is "struggling without a strong sponsor organization," says Weir. The ranch dates back to 1868 and currently belongs to the Pleasant Hill Recreation and Park District, which provides some financial aid and maintenance support, but has its "hands full," according to Weir.

The historical society is still recovering after a significant setback in 2008, when the organization was evicted from its home in the Old Schoolhouse because the building was deemed structurally unsafe.

"Now our vast collection of historical artifacts and memorabilia sits in a storage locker, for which we pay a monthly fee," said Weir. "It is almost impossible to carry out cataloging and managing the display of these wonderful items."

Meanwhile, added Weir, "the Old Schoolhouse itself languishes, empty and unused, and may very well be deserving of protective designation."  

"Having lived here for over 60 years, I suspect there are other sites that would engender strong public preservation support; how to fund such protection is a major hurdle," said Weir. "Property owners must cooperate, and may require compensation."

Without anything to offer SyWest, the owners of the iconic "dome" theater in Pleasant Hill, the fate of the building was left entirely to the will of the developers. It was demolished on May 8, 2013, despite public protest and the establishment a non-profit organization to "Save the Dome".

"We will try to find a way to leverage the interest shown by that group into a constructive forward-looking endeavor," said Weir.  "In my view, any opportunity to save the Dome evaporated years ago, regrettably, but I'm doing all I can to benefit from lessons learned. We need to find a way to be proactive, rather than reactive."