2025-11537-HDRB. 521 Calle Corvo

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City of Santa Fe
Historic Districts Review Board
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law
Case # 2025-11537-HDRB
Address – 521 Calle Corvo
Agent’s Name – Rajah Bose, Architect
Owner/Applicant’s Name – Louis Pepper & Ruth Williamson
THIS MATTER came before the Historic Districts Review Board (“Board”) for hearing
on January 13, 2026.
BACKGROUND
The single-family residence at 521 Calle Corvo is listed as contributing to the Downtown
and Eastside Historic District. The roughly 1,346-square-foot structure was built in 1946 in the
Territorial Revival architectural design style, as seen by the red brick coping on top of the
parapet, recessed wooden-framed, picture windows, and terra-cotta tile on the entry portal,
commonly observed on the Calle Corvo streetscape. According to a 2025 Historic Cultural
Properties Inventory, this is possibly the second house built in the Calle Corvo subdivision. The
house has a modified H-plan with a symmetrical front façade. Its composition centers on an
inset portal flanked by cubic projections. The arrangement recalls the influence of the historic
Roque Lobato House, whose form was repeatedly adapted to organize small Territorial-style
dwellings. It includes an attached one-car garage and a short front yard wall.
At this hearing, the Applicant asks the Board to review the structure’s historic status and
to designate primary facades, if applicable. The GIS map, a 1984 Historic Building Inventory,
and historic cases refer to the structure as contributing. However, there is no record of a status
review. Most likely, the status is a result of the mass inventory of the Historic Districts in the
1980s. In September, 2025, John Murphey authored a Historic Cultural Property Inventory on
the property and concluded that since the main residential structure has maintained its original
footprint since 1958, the structure should remain contributing, and further that the south, street-
facing façades should be designated as primary. The Staff recommends the historic status of the
main residential structure be maintained as contributing, and the south façades (1, 2, 3 and 4),
including the portal but excluding the non-historic doors and windows, be designated as primary.
This recommendation excludes the garage and yard wall. Based on aerial evidence and the 1984
HBI, which did not note a garage or yard wall, the garage and yard wall were constructed after
1984, and are not 50 years old.
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

Finding of Fact and Conclusions of Law – Status or Primary Façade Designation
Case # 2025-11537-HDRB
p. 2
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 main residential structure be maintained as contributing, and the south
façades (1, 2, 3, and 4), including the portal but excluding non-historic doors and
windows, be designated as primary, per SFCC Section 14-5.2(C), Designation of
Significant and Contributing Structures. Staff recommended that the garage structure and
yard wall be designated as non-contributing due to their modernity.
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
of a “contributing structure,” as recommended by Staff. The Board finds that the red
brick coping, picture windows and terra-cotta tile on the entry portal are historic
architectural design qualities that contribute to the Calle Corvo streetscape.
11. The Board finds that the South façades are the primary elevations of the structure, with
the features that define the character of the structure’s architecture, including the portal
and window and door openings but excluding the non-historic windows and doors.
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:

Finding of Fact and Conclusions of Law – Status or Primary Façade Designation
Case # 2025-11537-HDRB
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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 maintains the structure’s contributing status.
4. The Board designates the following elevations of the main house as the primary
façades: South facades # 1, 2, 3 and 4.
IT IS SO ORDERED ON THIS 22nd 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