Candidates to contact

Before making contact

Confirm whether each person is currently under contract with Carmel-by-the-Sea, is on a current City-qualified-professional list, or could be asked to evaluate a Chapman House application for the City. A person with a current City role should remain independent on the City side rather than be retained privately.

Anthony Kirk, Ph.D.

Strongest nearby first contact · 9.5/10. Kirk appears on Monterey County’s current Qualified Historian and Architectural Historian Consultants list and has completed historic-property assessments in Monterey County, including residential work.

In one Monterey County case, he concluded that a 1933 house lacked sufficient historical or architectural significance for listing on the National, California, or Monterey County registers. His analysis addressed historical association, architectural distinction, physical attributes, and significance—the same questions likely to matter here. He also co-prepared historic work for the Richard Neutra Connell House in Pebble Beach and holds a Ph.D. in American history from UC Santa Barbara.

His listed location has varied between Los Gatos and Santa Barbara; confirm his current practice location and availability.

Richard “Rick” Janick

Exceptional Carmel knowledge, subject to a conflict check · 9.5/10 if independent. Janick is Carmel-based, has more than 40 years of architectural-history experience, and is Professor Emeritus of Art History / architectural history at Monterey Peninsula College. His work has focused on Carmel, Pebble Beach, Monterey, and Pacific Grove architecture.

He has prepared numerous DPR 523 evaluations for Carmel properties, including the Frank Lloyd Wright Clinton Walker House, and understands the City’s inventory system, historic context, and past eligibility decisions unusually well.

Older City records identify Janick as a Carmel historic consultant. Before discussing the Chapman House substantively, ask whether he is currently under City contract, on a current qualified-professional list, or otherwise available to the City as an evaluator. If so, do not retain him privately.

Kathryn “Katie” Haley, M.A.

Independent peer-review option · 9/10. Haley is a Senior Architectural Historian with Dudek’s Santa Cruz office. Public consultant lists identify her there, and a Santa Cruz report documents her peer review of another consultant’s DPR 523 historic-significance evaluation against National Register, California Register, and local criteria.

That is particularly relevant because the Chapman House already has a 2020 evaluation. A first assignment could test whether that evaluation accurately described the property, whether its integrity analysis remains valid, and whether its conclusions are supportable today.

Michael Mazgai

Useful local knowledge and referral source · 8/10 for that role. Mazgai is based in the Salinas area, is described publicly as an architectural historian, belongs to several Monterey-area historical organizations, and serves on the Salinas Historic Resources Board.

He appears to know Monterey County architectural history and the current local inventory work well. However, the available research did not verify that he meets the Secretary of the Interior Professional Qualification Standards or show the same body of DPR and property-evaluation work found for Kirk, Janick, and Haley.

He is worth contacting for local knowledge and referrals, but qualifications should be verified before retaining him as the author of a professional reassessment.

Do not retain privately: Kent Seavey

Seavey is highly knowledgeable about Monterey Peninsula architectural history, but a May 2026 Pacific Grove public record identifies him as a current consulting historian for the Cities of Carmel and San Juan Bautista. He should remain independent on the City side of any Chapman House matter.