Rick Ator
Running for:
Council District 9
Campaign Website:
1) The Preservation Action Council of San Jose (PAC*SJ) was formed in 1990 with concern for the abandonment of Willis Polk's First Church of Christ, Scientist on St. James Square. The continued abandonment has vexed residents and City officials for years. As Councilmember, what actions would you take to hold the current owner accountable for the neglect and re-establish its presence in the St. James Square Historic District? What actions would you take to facilitate its urgently-needed rehabilitation? Do you have a vision for the adaptive reuse of the structure?
Are there other properties on PAC*SJ’s Endangered 8 list, or any other culturally important sites, that you would encourage San Jose to collaborate on revitalization?
I fully support Mayor Mahan's 2025 eminent domain initiative and would push the Council to see it through without delay. The City should escalate daily fines and aggressively collect on existing liens against Z&L Properties while that process moves forward. Once the City secures the property, I would prioritize immediate stabilization followed by an open RFP targeting preservation-minded developers with real financing and a credible adaptive reuse plan — activating the church itself as a cultural venue, performance space, or civic anchor before any consideration of adjacent development.
2) In the past five years alone, at least ten vacant historic buildings in San José have been lost to fire. Often, these properties are left vacant after tenants are displaced in anticipation of future development that may never materialize. Would you support entitlement conditions that would hold property owners accountable? If so, what would those look like?
Yes. Property owners who displace tenants in anticipation of development and then leave buildings vacant should face real consequences. Entitlement conditions should include mandatory timelines for breaking ground, with fines that escalate the longer a property sits vacant. If a developer fails to meet those timelines, the City should have clear authority to claw back entitlements. Vacant historic buildings are a fire risk and a neighborhood blight — the permitting process is the right leverage point to prevent that outcome.
3) California Senate Bill SB 79 was recently signed into law by Governor Newsom, allowing by-right multistory new construction within a half-mile of qualifying transit stops, including 56 in San Jose. Many of these new TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) zones cover areas with high concentrations of historic buildings and pedestrian-scaled commercial corridors. SB 79 specifically allowed cities to exempt locally-designated historic resources from upzoning through the creation of local alternative plans, yet San Jose City Council recently voted not to do so. What do you think the role of the Council should be in exercising local control of planning decisions impacting historic resources?
The Council should have used the exemption. SB 79 gave San Jose an explicit off-ramp to protect locally-designated historic resources, and the Council chose not to take it. That was the wrong call. Historic districts and pedestrian-scaled corridors are exactly what make neighborhoods worth living in — and once they're gone, no amount of transit-oriented development brings them back.
As Councilmember, I would advocate for the City to develop a local alternative plan that protects designated historic resources from by-right upzoning while still meeting our housing obligations. Local control exists for a reason. Using it to protect irreplaceable assets isn't obstructionism — it's responsible planning.
4) How would you motivate and incentivize the development community to view adaptive reuse of historic structures not as an obstacle, but as a design opportunity? What partnerships do you envision for stewardship of sites and buildings?
Streamlined permitting and reduced fees for adaptive reuse projects — making it faster and cheaper to rehabilitate than to demolish and rebuild. The City should also actively connect developers with state and federal historic tax credits, which significantly improve project economics. The development community responds to incentives; the City needs to make preservation the path of least resistance, not the path of most resistance.
For stewardship partnerships, the City should work directly with organizations like PAC*SJ, History San Jose, and community land trusts to identify preservation-minded buyers and operators before properties reach crisis stage.
5) How do you think that preserving historic buildings and districts might contribute to the economic vitality of San Jose by enhancing its distinctive qualities of place, drawing visitors and local residents alike?
Historic buildings and walkable districts are what give a city character that can't be replicated. They attract the restaurants, small businesses, and cultural venues that draw residents and visitors — and that economic activity generates tax revenue and neighborhood investment. San Jose has struggled with downtown vitality precisely because so much of its historic fabric has been lost. Preservation isn't nostalgia — it's an economic development strategy.