2025-11701-HDRB. 125 Camino Santiago

Extracted text

City of Santa Fe
Historic Districts Review Board
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law
Case # 2025-11701-HDRB
Address – 125 Camino Santiago
Agent’s Name – John A. Padilla, AIA
Owner/Applicant’s Name – Plaza del Monte, LLC
THIS MATTER came before the Historic Districts Review Board (“Board”) for hearing
on January 13, 2026.
BACKGROUND
Plaza del Monte, formerly the Plaza del Monte Retirement Compound, is an
approximately six-acre, L-shaped subdivision bounded by Bishops Lodge Road on the east and
Old Taos Highway on the west. The earliest plans by architects Kenneth Clark and Phillippe
Register in the late 1950s were for the buildings on the eastern part of the development, and were
Spanish-Pueblo Revival in style. However, when Register solely took over the project in the
1960s, his designs evolved into contemporary flat-roof structures with the use of canales, viga-
roof portales and carport elements. In the mid-1960s, Camino Santiago was extended, and
development at the western end of the development began. This is when Register chose to
eliminate several free-standing houses on the plans and replace them with quad apartments.
Once fully developed, the compound consisted of 25 single-family residences and three quad
apartment structures. The apartments include 105, 123, 125 and 126 Camino Santiago.
The quad apartments at 123 and 125 Camino Santiago, built circa 1970, are listed as non-
contributing to the Downtown and Eastside Historic District. The structure is rectangular with
bilateral symmetry, having block massing at the north and south, which bookend a portal along
the length of the east elevation. A block mass in the center has a large, square opening, and is
open on the sides to allow the portal to extend underneath. The doors and windows on the east
street-facing elevation are in a uniform pattern. The entry doors are wood with lite panels. The
windows are standard multi-lite steel casements. The north and south elevations contain three
aluminum-casement windows. The west elevation holds four patios sheltered by shallow
overhangs and sliding-door entries. The structure is 3,563 square feet and is divided into four
apartments; there is a Unit A and a Unit B at each address. A concrete and stone retaining wall
separates the structure from the northern neighboring property.
All structures in Plaza del Monte were assigned statuses under Case #s H-17-098A in
2018 and H-19-019 in 2019. Under Case # H-17-098A, the property at 123 and 125 Camino
Santiago was designated non-contributing, as they were not 50 years old at that time and deemed
non-historic. No yard walls were considered for status except for those located at 126 Camino
Santiago, which were designated contributing.
The Applicant requests a status review with primary façade designation, if applicable, for
the quadplex located at 123 and 125 Camino Santiago. The Staff finds the structure to be a

Finding of Fact and Conclusions of Law – Status or Primary Façade Designation
Case # 2025-11700-HDRB
p. 2
contributing structure due to its association with Clark and Register’s master-planned community
and historic compound, Plaza del Monte, and the association with the Presbyterian Church. The
structure is a good example of mid-century modern Santa Fe Style. Character-defining features
include the massing blocks at either end and the blocking mass in the center of the structure, and
the full-length portal on the east elevation.
FINDINGS OF FACT
After conducting a public hearing and having heard from the Applicant and all interested
persons, the Board hereby FINDS, as follows:
1. Historic Preservation Division City staff reviewed the application and related materials
and information submitted by the Applicant for conformity with applicable Santa Fe City
Code (“SFCC”) requirements and provided the Board with a written report of its findings
(Staff Report), which evaluates the factors relevant to the application.
2. Historic Preservation Division Staff Recommendation: Staff recommended the historic
status of the residential structure be upgraded to contributing with the entire east
elevation (R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5) designated as the primary façade, including the portal
but excluding the non-historic materials; and that the north property line retaining wall
be designated as non-contributing, per SFCC Section 14-5.2(C), Designation of
Significant, Contributing or Non-Contributing Status Within Historic Districts.
3. The project is subject to SFCC Section 14-5.2(C), Regulation of Significant and
Contributing Structures.
4. The project is subject to the requirements and general design standards set forth in SFCC
Section 14-5.2(D), General Design Standards.
5. The property is located in the Downtown and Eastside Historic District and is subject to
the district design standards set forth in SFCC Section 14-5.2(E).
6. SFCC Section 14-5.2(C)(2)(a-c) gives the Board authority to review and approve
“significant,” “contributing,” or “non-contributing” status designations and to designate
primary façades of contributing structures.
7. Under SFCC Section 14-12.1, the definition of a “contributing structure” is “a structure,
located in a Historic District, approximately 50 years old or older that helps to establish
and maintain the character of that Historic District. Although a contributing structure is
not unique in itself, it adds to the historic associations or historic architectural design
qualities that are significant for a district. The contributing structure may have had minor
alterations, but its integrity remains.”
8. Under SFCC Section 14-12.1, the definition of a “primary façade” is one or more
principal faces or elevations of a building with features that define the character of the
building's architecture.
9. Under SFCC Section 14-12.1, the definition of a “non-contributing structure” is a
“structure, located in a Historic District, that is less than 50 years old or that does not
exhibit sufficient historic integrity to establish and maintain the character of the Historic
District.”
10. Based on the information set forth in the Staff Report and exhibits and the testimony and
evidence presented at the hearing, the Board finds that the structure meets the definition

Finding of Fact and Conclusions of Law – Status or Primary Façade Designation
Case # 2025-11700-HDRB
p. 3
of a “contributing structure,” as recommended by staff. The structure is a good example
of mid-century modern Santa Fe Style. Character-defining features include the massing
blocks at both ends and the blocking mass in the center of the structure, and the portal
that extends the full length of the east elevation.
11. The Board finds that all façades on the east elevation (R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5) are the
primary façades of the structure, with the features that define the character of the
structure’s architecture. (These include the façades on the attached apartments at 123
Camino Santiago (R3, R4 and R5); see Case # 2025-11700-HDRB.)
12. The information contained in the application and provided in testimony and evidence
establishes that all applicable requirements for Board review have been met.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Under the circumstances and given the evidence and testimony submitted during the
hearing, the Board acted upon the application as follows:
1. The Board has the authority to review and approve the application.
2. The Board grants the Applicant’s request to review historic status.
3. The Board upgrades the status of the structure to contributing.
4. The Board designates the following as the primary façades: east (R1, R2 and R3).
IT IS SO ORDERED ON THIS 8th DAY of SEPTEMBER, 2026, BY THE
HISTORIC DISTRICTS REVIEW BOARD OF THE CITY OF SANTA FE.
_______________________ _____________
Cecilia Rios Date
Chair
FILED:
______________________ ______________
Geralyn Cardenas Date
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________ ______________
Frank Ruybalid Date
Assistant City Attorney