BEING DIFFERENT CAN BE GOOD The whole of EPA is historic. Being historic means it can get money and assistance like any other historic place...if it reaches out for help and seeks advice from historic preservation agencies. http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=27961 A place or thing becomes historic when it is no longer in vogue and does not represent common current practice. The entire town was built out by the 1950's, and most of it dated from decades earlier. This does not make EPA a modern city. And that is actually an advantage. Modern cities try to outdo each other to build the tallest and most expensive buildings. Nothing is allowed to age gracefully before it is pulled down and replaced by something shinier and slicker. But aging gives a a place character and can make it eligible for an economic system that values age and texture. Tourism is one among these. The houses of EPA are too small by modern standards. Just the way Palo Alto's houses were too small by standards of the Silicon Valley up and coming. Even white professionals were driven out of PA as a result. If you follow the stylistic trends for housing and development, there is no way for this to accommodate a low income minority community. It has to do with "non essential" matters like style and the religion of "bigger and newer is better." EPA can reject that religion and still have a good economy, and one that allows it to survive among its neighbors while serving its different-from-mainstream population. It can market its differentness. It has not done that thus far. Historic Preservation is a tool for marketing differentness. An even better initial place to look for help is the San Mateo Office of Historic Preservation, whose director is Mitch Postel. He was very helpful in the formation of EPA HAS. http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21520