Historic Preservation Committee approves "The Lineup" redevelopment with archaeological monitoring requirement

Tyler Walter, a senior planner with the Planning Division, told the Historic Preservation Committee the item before the panel is Project 25-0779, a commercial redevelopment commonly known as "The Lineup," encompassing 51 and 71 South Oak Street and the mini park at 340 East Main Street in downtown Ventura.

Walter said the proposal fits within the downtown specific plan T61 zone and ranges from one to two stories, with frontage and massing revised to respond to concerns the committee raised at a December 2025 hearing. He told members the applicant has scaled back an upper-level terrace and adjusted massing behind the historic Great Eastern building and provided a materials palette showing preservation of the terrazzo entry and painted facade. Walter said staff finds the revised plan consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's Standard No. 9 for additions that are differentiated but compatible in scale and proportion and that standard No. 8 procedures for inadvertent archaeological discoveries are included as conditions.

Committee members pressed staff and the applicant about the potential for subsurface archaeological resources. One member pointed to a footnote in the Historic Resources Group (HRG) report noting that recommendations for identification and treatment of possible archaeological resources were beyond the scope of that report and that the project is not located in a mapped archaeological zone. The planner confirmed the standard condition requiring work to stop and notification of the city if resources are uncovered, and that a qualified professional must evaluate any discovery.

The applicant, speaking from the podium, said the small park at Main Street sits about 3 feet higher than the southern elevation and that construction will involve significant imported soil, which the applicant said would limit disturbance to native soils; the applicant noted one structure will have footings and planter boxes and that utilities' depths are not fully shown in the drawings.

Despite the applicant's description of limited native soil disturbance, several committee members said they remain concerned about possible trenching or excavation into native soil and recommended stronger protections. A motion was made to approve the historic design review with the revisions presented and to add a condition requiring a qualified archaeological monitor to be present during any ground-disturbing activities in the park area. The motion was seconded. The committee approved the motion on a roll call vote: Stratton Yes; Ular Yes; Thomas Yes; Houston Yes.

The committee's approval is a recommendation to the decision-making sequence: the project will next be heard by the Design Review Committee (DRC) and then by the director's hearing for final decision. The approval includes standard procedures for inadvertent discoveries and the additional archaeological monitoring condition for the park area, as the HPC recorded.