A Clovis-based developer with family ties to Sonora is exploring options to relocate a beloved building on Mono Way, known as the Bird House, as he moves forward with plans to build a new Dutch Bros Coffee and Take 5 Oil Change on the property.
Michael Fillebrown said he’s “making every effort” to save the quirky longtime landmark from the bulldozer after news of the project’s approval by the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors at a public meeting Tuesday sparked concern among some in the community about the structure’s fate.
“I’ll do whatever I can to get it to the right place,” Fillebrown said in a phone interview Wednesday.
A relative of the late Hal Bird, who built the Bird House in the late 1960s as offices for his real estate business, is supposed to meet with Fillebrown later this week to evaluate the potential of having the long-vacant building moved elsewhere.
If that doesn’t work out, Fillebrown said he’s already received a number of calls and offers since Tuesday from others who want to see the iconic structure preserved.
Fillebrown emphasized that he’s not making any guarantees, because the building will have to go one way or another if it interferes with his project, but he currently feels optimistic about finding a new home before they break ground in the next couple of months.
“With the amount of interest, I don’t think that will be a problem,” Fillebrown said.
There was some debate among county supervisors over Fillebrown’s project at Tuesday’s meeting before they ultimately voted 4-1 to approve the required zoning changes and site development permit for the property at 12840 and 12842 Mono Way.
District 5 Supervisor Jaron Brandon was opposed and advocated for the plans to be sent to the county’s Historic Preservation Review Commission because he felt the Bird House could meet the criteria for being considered historic, which would prevent it from demolition.
County staff noted the developer was required to hire an outside consultant to evaluate the property’s historical significance, and it was determined that the structure did not meet the criteria for protection.
Other county supervisors said they didn’t feel the project should be delayed any further because the developer had already met all of the county’s requirements.
Fillebrown said the current plan is to have the new Dutch Bros Coffee and Take 5 Oil Change operational before the end of the year. His company, Main Gate Development Partners, works on such projects for Dutch Bros and other corporate tenants.
“I think it will be great for the area,” he said of the opportunity for additional business along the Mono Way corridor.
News about the approval of the plans quickly caught the attention of some in the community. An online petition on Change.org titled “Save the iconic Birdhouse on Mono Way” had gained 870 verified signatures in support as of Wednesday afternoon.
The petition was started Tuesday afternoon and shared across social media by Soulsbyville resident Lori Underwood, who said she isn’t opposed to the development plans for the property but hopes to inspire action that will lead to the Bird House’s relocation and preservation.
Underwood said she was raised in Sonora and believes the structure holds sentimental value to many in the community.
“We need new business, and I love Dutch Bros, but we just want to see if we can work together and come up with a community-friendly solution,” she said. “If we can get people on both sides of whatever to work together, that would be pretty amazing.”
Robin Johnson, daughter of the late Hal Bird, relayed the origins of the Bird House to The Union Democrat for an article in 2018 and again during a phone interview Wednesday.
Johnson’s father had come to Tuolumne County in 1955 as a California Highway Patrol officer. He retired in the late 1960s and bought the yellow ranch house that’s still located behind the Bird House.
Hal Bird wanted to build an office for his real estate business, and being one who enjoyed playing off his name, he commissioned his friend and contractor Harold “Swish” Peterson to build a life-size replica of a bird house that sat on his desk.
“It was my father’s dream to kind of capitalize on his name,“ Johnson, of Jamestown, said in the phone interview Wednesday. “He just had a sense of humor and liked to be unique in that way.”
Johnson said her father’s business flourished over the ensuing years. He also served as president of Sonora Pass Vacationland and Tuolumne County Board of Realtors.
Hal Bird retired in 1992 and rented the Bird House to a car dealer. After his death in 2000, the nearly 2-acre property was sold to Phillip Davis, owner of Sonora Mattress.
The tract was left in a trust for Davis’ grandchildren following his death in 2017, though the Bird House was vacant for many years before that.
Johnson said her family is looking into options for having the structure relocated, and they were surprised by the outpouring of appreciation since news of the development plans became public.
“It was heartwarming, because it certainly was important to my father, and he would be happy to know that there were other people it brought joy to,” she said. “It’s very nice to know that it means something to other people, too. It would be a sad thing if that was demolished.”
Contact Alex MacLean at amaclean@uniondemocrat.com or (209) 588-4541.