An appeals court has given its blessing to the City of San Buenaventura's removal of a statue of a missionary, whom some say mistreated indigenous Americans three centuries ago, ruling the statue has no historic status that would protect against removal.
The recent ruling was authored by Justice Arthur Gilbert, with concurrence from Justices Kenneth Yegan and Hernaldo Baltodano, of California Second District Appellate Court. The decision went against the Coalition for Historical Integrity in its action against the City of San Buenaventura. The Coalition is based in Ventura and was formed in 2020.
A concrete statue of Father Junípero Serra was erected in 1936 in front of what is now City Hall. The Spanish-born Serra, who was declared a saint in 1988, was a Catholic missionary in the 1700s in what is now California. He is credited as a pivotal figure in the history of California, as he founded the Catholic California missions that would pave the way for later European and American settlement of the territory.
The statue was recast in bronze in 1989. The City dedicated the original statue as a historic landmark in 1974.
In summer 2020, the statue was the subject of vandalism and protests by people claiming Serra brutalized Native Americans. That same summer, city leaders determined the statue no longer qualified as culturally or historically significant, and decided to remove it to the private grounds of the San Buenaventura Mission.
The Coalition went to Ventura County Superior Court to block the removal, arguing the statue was indeed historic and the City did not follow procedures in taking away its historic status. However, Judge Ronda McKaig refused and the statue was moved. The Coalition appealed.
Justice Gilbert agreed with McKaig, saying the City was within its rights.
"The City contends that only the original concrete statue was designated as a landmark. It asserts that the bronze replacement was never so dedicated and is not entitled to presumptive historical status. But even if the statue is presumptively historical," the California Environmental Quality Act "expressly provides that the presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence," Gilbert said.
Gilbert pointed out the concrete statue and the bronze one are two different statues, and the bronze one does not meet the 40-year threshold required for historic designation.
"It is true that for most of the statue’s history the City viewed the original concrete statue and its bronze replacement as one. Recently however, the City viewed the statues as two separate statues. The Coalition cites no authority that prevents the City from changing its view," Gilbert said.
Gilbert noted the City's Downtown Specific Plan governs historic designations, among other things. In Gilbert's view, the Plan does not bar removal of a statue once deemed historic, but which later is determined to have no historic value.
"This case illustrates the obvious; attitudes and values change," Gilbert observed.
The Coalition has been represented by Daniel Mansueto, of Mansueto Law Office, of Los Angeles, and by Michael Alti, of Alti Law Firm in Newport Beach.
The City has been represented by Peter Howell, of Rutan & Tucker, of Irvine.