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SOHO President's Monthly Message
June 2016
By Jaye MacAskill
 As Board President, I'm so happy to contribute to SOHO's monthly eNews, allowing me the opportunity to engage with our members, other fellow historic preservationists, community and business leaders, and decision makers.
Since June is LGBTQ month, I'm reminded of our Lifetime Achievement Award winners at last month's People In Preservation celebration. Jeffrey Shorn and his husband, Charles Kaminski, are exceptional preservationists who happen to be gay. Recently, Chuck was instrumental in bringing public support to saving the Michels-Carey apartment in a building at Florida Street and El Cajon Boulevard. That's where some of the earliest meetings of local gay men took place to address the AIDS crisis and gay rights.
For the past 10 years, I've lived a couple of short blocks from there. Not only did that simple little saltbox have great character and a unique architectural style for this region, it was the Plymouth Rock of San Diego's LGBT community. That is, until a greedy developer, H.G. Fenton, illegally tore it down, despite knowing full well a National Register of Historic Places nomination was in the works. Fortunately, I didn't have to see the destruction because I was out of town that day, or should I say, "that evening," since the demo crew made sure to start their dirty work at 5pm, when there was little chance of stopping it.
SOHO did manage to reach City of San Diego staff, who recognized their mistake in issuing a demo permit. But when they arrived on the scene with a stop-work order, guess what? They found nothing but dirt, rubble and wood debris.
I didn't need to be there to feel as I do now: angry and disgusted.
Now, a full year later, H.G. Fenton has left us neighbors, and the boulevard, with a big, empty and ugly vacant lot. As the months pass since that May evening's rush-rush demo job, I watch the graffiti, weeds and piles of trash continue to grow. So much for PRIDE in El Cajon Boulevard's history and neighborhood character.
Let's be clear. H.G. Fenton acted illegally and unethically, making no mention of the demo plans when they met with Chuck and other advocates the very morning the building was razed. Yet this historic San Diego company, founded in 1906, claims on its web site: "When you read through our values, you'll see that they're honest and straightforward." Here are Fenton's top two values: "We do what we say we will do and we do it well. We are fair minded and honest with each other and those with whom we do business."
Normally, SOHO has a good working relationship with all parties involved with a historic resource. In fact, the smartest developers come to us first, before even entering into a design review process or community outreach. SOHO typically improves their projects, often reduces their costs and contributes a perspective that reaches far beyond any individual building. Intelligent developers recognize this. We set a high bar that numerous developers have come to respect and view as advantageous to the success of their projects.
H.G. Fenton, which irreparably harmed our LGBT and architectural heritage, chose not to take advantage of SOHO's expertise and Chuck's knowledge. Let's hope they do so in the future.
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