Though the ordinance itself will not likely be introduced, council members will provide direction on what should be included in a new historic preservation ordinance April 19. The town's current ordinance was enacted in 1997 and does not require mandatory inclusion of historic homes in its inventory.

Since only five of about 50 possible historic properties are actually in that inventory, Mayor Curtis Wright suggested that the ordinance be brought before council again.

"I guess because I'm mayor and I can," Wright told the Los Gatos Weekly-Times of his rationale in raising the issue. "There are some homes that I consider to be critical to our heritage that are for sale. Our current ordinance is really not very effective."

Wright said that most other local cities have ordinances that require inclusion of historic properties in their heritage inventories. Such is the case in Los Gatos, Saratoga, Campbell and San Jose.

City Attorney Kirsten Powell said the ordinance will be rewritten from the ground up, rather than simply revised, based on ordinances of cities throughout California.

"The hope is that in bringing forward a new ordinance the council would clarify some of the confusion, because there's all these lists," she said, referring to several different designations given to older homes in Monte Sereno. "We're hoping to dispel all that, start over and let the council consider a new ordinance that everyone understands."

But resident Greg Galanos said the city has not used its current ordinance correctly.

His home was included in the city's historic inventory in 1996, before he purchased it, when such inclusion was mandatory. He later tried to have the home removed from the list. He said his Craftsman home does have historic character but does not meet the requirements of the historic designation.

Galanos' home was in disrepair when he bought it, and he spent money and effort restoring it. He said he has every intention of maintaining it but that a historic restriction by the city could negatively impact its resale value.

"Why would you regulate a minority when the majority are actually peaceful citizens who want to restore their properties?" Galanos said. "I'm not saying we should remove the ordinance, but it shouldn't be mandatory."

Lana Malloy, formerly a member of Monte Sereno's now-defunct historic preservation committee, said the intent of mandatory inclusion is to preserve historic elements of the city in those cases where property owners do not make the effort on their own.

"We lost a very beautiful Victorian on Daves Avenue a few years ago," Malloy said. "The property owners demolished it and built a big Mediterranean home in its place. That was a big blow to Monte Sereno's historic preservation efforts."

The council is scheduled to vote April 19 on whether the city's new cultural commission will take over the duties of the historic preservation committee. Malloy is a member of that commission, which could be made responsible for determining which homes are considered historic under a new ordinance.

"The plan the city has is not to limit what you can do to your home," Malloy said. "What we're trying to do is have those homes that are historic and maintain their style."