Dixon Family Overcomes Obstacle in Building Dream Home, Garden in Honor of their Deceased Son

A Dixon family’s goal of building their dream home, highlighted by a garden that will honor their son who died tragically at a young age, came closer to fruition Tuesday night during a meeting of the Dixon Planning Commission.

Although long-time Dixon residents Hortencia and Victor Guerrero received approval in March to build their 3,898-square-foot home on 220 South First St., Dixon residents Karl Spangler and his daughter Ginger Emerson, filed an appeal with the support of the community group Old Town Neighbors Neighborhood Association.

The Dixon Planning Commission unanimously denied the appeal, but it doesn’t mean that Spangler, Emerson and the Old Town Neighbors Neighborhood Association will stop the appeal of the home as its currently designed.

“I think we will be appealing it to the (Dixon) City Council,” Ginger Emerson said after the meeting. “Because we got mixed messages.”

In December 2008, the Guerrero family experienced tragedy when their 15-year-old son Samuel died from exposure to E.Coli bacteria. Hortencia Guerrero told the planning commission that she would plant her son’s favorite flowers in the garden. She told them that it’s a private, healing place for herself and her family so that they could try and move past the pain of losing their son.

“We are just surprised that anybody would ever, would ever fear that this project would cause any negative impact in the community,” Hortencia Guerrero said after Tuesday’s meeting.

Confusion arose from a statement written by the Guerrero’s hired architect Bill Poon to David Dowswell, director of the city’s Community Development Department, describing his client’s intent for the home.

The letter stated “Their intent for the memorial is first and foremost a formal public garden, visible to the public, which would be a tribute to the whole community, Samuel’s friends, and anyone that was touched by him in any way. As a venue for spiritual healing through positive family interactions, the garden is to be used for communal gathering as well as quiet reflection.”

Several Planning Commission members said the letter was confusing and said that it made it sound as if the home and garden would be open to the public at large.

But Hortencia Guerrero told the commission that the home and its garden would be private and that herself and her husband, Victor, would live there and eventually pass it along to their children.

“It’s not a church,” she told the commission. “We go to church.”

At the meeting, Ginger Emerson addressed the Commission and the Guerrero family and said that the appeal was “In no way intended to discount the Guerrero’s tragic loss.”

She then raised several objections to the home and garden including concerns over the design. She told the commission that the design did not conform to Section 12.19.21A of the Zoning Ordinance that states that the architectural style, scale, height, material, setbacks and roof line of single family dwellings and secondary living units be compatible with existing buildings in the area and the goals and objectives of the General Plan.

A staff report stated that the only aspect of the design of the home that may not conform to the Zoning Ordinance is the home’s front setback, 74 feet 6 inches, which the report noted was considerably more than front setbacks of other homes on South First Street. The report also noted that there are homes with similar setbacks sprinkled throughout the city.

Emerson also told the council that the home does not conform to Section 12.19.20B of the Zoning Ordinance that states “Good Architectural character is based upon the suitability of a building or site for its purpose; upon the appropriate use of sound materials, good relationship with other structures and the character of the City; and upon the principles of harmony, preparation and design in the elements of the building or site.”

But a staff report noted, “The house has been designed to be a single family home. Having a large garden area in front of the house is not unique to Dixon. The architectural design of this home is more in keeping with the overall character of old town and the City than any home and/or multi-family structure built in the last 40 years.”

Concerns arose over traffic in the neighborhood, the privacy of surrounding neighbors due to a large second-story window that’s part of the design, and parking issues that may arise from family gatherings once or twice a month at the home.

“I am just concerned with the amount of traffic and people in a residential area,” Commission member Yvonne McCluskey said.

But the Guerreros said that they could accommodate up to 10 cars on the 20-car parking lot they own as part of their business, Guerrero Tax and Financial Services, along West Mayes Street.

Angela Meisenheimer, a friend of the Guerreros who works at Coldwell Banker, told the commission that the appeal was “mean-spirited,” and that the home would be a “wonderful addition to the neighborhood.”

She also told the commission through her work in the community, which included organizing local Neighborhood Watch programs, she was familiar with most of the associations in Dixon, but had never heard of the Old Town Neighbors Neighborhood Association.

The Old Time Neighbors is a relatively new group, Emerson said, that so far consists of Dixon residents Susan and David Werrin, Sandy Block, Patricia Graves, Martha Pearson and Emerson herself. All of the aforementioned names signed a letter in support of the appeal.

“The people who signed the letter are all wonderful people,” Emerson told the Commission.

Hortencia Guerrero said they are a couple of years from completing the home, but if the appeal reaches the Dixon City Council and is sustained, then it would be another obstacle that the family must overcome.

But for now, Hortencia Guerrero said she was “Relieved and happy,” with the Commission’s decision.