On June 6, a Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Leslie Nichols voided Jaim Nulman and Avelyn Welczer's demolition permit for the historic Juana Briones home. The judge wrote that the city needs to conduct an environmental impact review that considers "feasible alternatives" to demolition.

Juana Briones de Miranda was a Latina businesswoman, humanitarian, and landowner who built a rare earthen-walled house in the 1840s in what later became Palo Alto.

The group Friends of Juana Briones filed suit against Palo Alto in April of 2007 after working for years urging the city to make the home's owners preserve the house, as was required by the terms of their purchase contract. "This was the last possible way to save this home," the Friends' lawyer told the Palo Alto Daily News. "More often than not, a solution is found at this stage," she added.

Photos 1 | 2 | Save The House That Juana Built | Wikipedia: Juana Briones de Miranda