BACKGROUND:
The Historic Preservation Ordinance, Chapter 8.62 of the Cathedral City Municipal Code, was approved by the City Council on November 30, 2022. The Ordinance establishes three application processes; 1) to obtain historic designation, 2) certificate of appropriateness, and 3) removal or downgrading of historic designation.
The Planning Department will administer the application and review process and will serve as the staff liaison to the Historic Preservation Committee and the City Council in the review of these applications.
DISCUSSION:
The Planning Department has prepared an application property owners will use to seek designation of their property, undertake any activity requiring a certificate of appropriateness, or modifications to the designation after approval. The proposed application form is attached.
Staff also completed an analysis of the costs incurred by each application type (see attachment 2), excluding additional costs that may be incurred for City provided surveys, studies, or investigations:
•Obtain historic designation = $3,096.50
•Certificate of appropriateness = $1,691.50
•Removal of downgrading of historic designation = $2,619.00 The policy of the City Council is that in normal circumstances fees should be charged to recover the fully burdened costs incurred by the City in providing services to applicants.
Staff also researched the processes laid out in the ordinances in neighboring cities and the fees charged by cities with comparable processes. The fee for historic designation is:
•Palm Springs = no fee
•Rancho Mirage = $500
•Palm Desert = no fee
•Redlands = no fee
The cities analyzed did not have a process or fee for removal or downgrading of the historic designation after approval and only the cities of Palm Springs and Redlands charged for the certificate of appropriateness:
•Palm Desert – Minor alteration = $561, Major alteration = $1,956, Demolition = $2,952
•Redlands – Minor alteration = $356, Major alteration = $615 The application and fee analysis were presented to the Historic Preservation Committee on January 17, 2023. After deliberation, the Committee approved a recommendation to the City Council that no fee be charged to obtain the historic designation and the fees for the certificate of appropriateness and removal or downgrading of historic designation be adopted as presented. The Committee also recommended a fee be charged for the issuance of the markers for approved sites that would help offset staff costs associated with obtaining the historic designation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None