A Spanish Eclectic house on Glen Una Drive that the City Council named a historic landmark last year could become eligible for a property tax break in exchange for a decade of restoration work.
The Heritage Preservation Commission takes up a Mills Act contract application for the Carter House, 19490 Glen Una Drive, at a special meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3. City staff recommend that the commission advise the City Council to approve the contract, which the council would then decide on.
How a Mills Act contract works
The Mills Act is a 1972 state law that allows cities and counties to enter agreements with owners of eligible historic buildings who commit to restoring and maintaining them, according to the California Office of Historic Preservation. Contracts run at least 10 years.
In return, the county assessor values the property using an income-based method rather than market value, which the state office says can cut an owner's yearly property tax bill substantially.
The property qualifies because the council designated it a historic landmark in September 2025, a memo from Associate Planner Kyle Rathbone says. The house was first added to Saratoga's Heritage Resource Inventory in 1988.
Staff found the application meets the city's Mills Act policy, noting that the owners submitted an updated state historic resources record and a baseline report on the home's condition from consultants who meet federal preservation qualification standards.
The house and the work plan
The home dates to 1930, according to that state record, and sits behind a garden wall of stucco and red tile on a lot of a little over 2 acres where Glen Una Drive meets Saratoga-Los Gatos Road (Highway 9).
The 2025 landmark ordinance describes heavily textured stucco walls, a low-slope roof of red barrel tile, heavy wood corbels under the eaves, wood and leaded-glass windows and wrought-iron light fixtures.
The owners' 10-year rehabilitation and maintenance plan includes: