25 September 22, 2026
Honorable Mayor and City Council
City of Long Beach
California
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation to authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute Mills Act historic property contracts with property owners of six historic properties: 347 Gladys Avenue, 417 Roswell Avenue, 729 Daisy Avenue, 1048 Magnolia Avenue, 3738 and 3738 ½ Lemon Avenue, and 3745 California Avenue. (Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5)
DISCUSSION
The Mills Act, enacted by State law in 1972, allows local governments to enter into tax abatement contracts with property owners of historic structures in exchange for a commitment to a historic preservation work program for the property. Property owners propose a work program as part of their contract and agree to restore, maintain, and preserve the historic property in accordance with specific historic preservation standards and conditions identified in the contract.
Entering into a Mills Act contract results in a property tax reassessment by the County Assessor, using the income-capitalization method, which may result in a 30 to 50 percent reduction in property tax, depending on the property. In exchange, applicants commit to a historic restoration work plan for the property. The City of Long Beach (City) Mills Act Program (Program) was originally established in 1993, under the authority of State legislation. The program has been operating since 1993 and was paused twice, once during the Great Recession and again during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mills Act contracts are executed between the City and the property owner for an initial term of ten years, with an annual automatic ten-year renewal, unless a request for non-renewal is made by either party. The City maintains various mechanisms to bring a property into compliance and can terminate the contract if the property owner breaches any of the contract terms. The Community Development Department conducts an inspection prior to the approval of Mills Act contracts for each eligible property for which applications are submitted. To ensure properties are properly maintained and that rehabilitation is occurring in accordance with the executed Mills Act contracts, contract holders are required to report back on progress of their restoration work program and allow for periodic site inspections by City staff. 2026 Mills Act Application and Review Process
Under the current Program, up to a total of 22 Mills Act contracts can be awarded in a typical year across various building categories. Starting in December 2025, staff conducted outreach to notify the public, inviting property owners to apply for the Program and to provide technical assistance with the application process. The Community Development Department hosted two mandatory public workshops for potential applicants. The first workshop was held at the Jenny Community Development
411 West Ocean Boulevard, 3rd Floor, Long Beach, CA 90802 (562) 570-5237
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Oropeza Community Center located at 401 Golden Avenue and was also livestreamed virtually on Saturday, January 24, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. The pre-application workshop provided general information about the Program property criteria, and benefits of the Program. There was a total of 63 attendees: 29 in-person attendees and 34 virtual attendees. The second workshop was held virtually on Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. via Zoom with 25 people in attendance. The second workshop provided more detailed program information, staff assistance with applications, and opportunities to ask specific questions.
Additionally, the Program team recorded both workshop meetings and made them publicly accessible on the City’s website. Interested participants were provided with an opportunity to watch the recording of the workshops and self-attest their attendance to meet the mandatory attendance requirement for the workshop. This opportunity was made available to assist owners who may not have been able to attend the day of the workshop. Overall, the outreach efforts were intended to streamline the process and provide interested parties with information and greater opportunity to participate and apply for the program.
As part of the outreach effort, informational videos about the Program in English, Spanish and Khmer were posted on the City’s website. Focused outreach was conducted for the 2026 Mills Act Program in order to engage communities that historically have less participation in the program than in previous years. Targeted outreach included direct mailers to the smaller historic districts (such as Brenner Place, Eliot Lane, Linden Drive, Lowena Drive, Minerva Drive, Grant Neighborhood [Neyham] and Drake Park Willmore City), email blasts, advertising on social media (Link LB and various social media platforms), phone and direct contact through word of mouth. A direct mailer was sent to properties listed as potentially significant in the City’s Race & Suburbanization Context Statement. Staff also collaborated with neighborhood associations and Long Beach Heritage to promote the Program. The updated application materials and supporting documents were updated to provide additional details and instructions, including an emphasis on the participation of underrepresented communities and unique properties in an effort to streamline the application process and expand the reach of the Program.
Furthermore, the Community Development Department has been working on two historic preservation initiatives that involve a broader study and recognition of various underrepresented communities in City history to help fill historical gaps within City historic preservation documents, such as the update to the Citywide Historic Context Statement which currently provides very limited information about communities of color. Building upon the Race & Suburbanization Historic Context Statement approved in 2022, a draft of the Historic Context Statement update is anticipated for public release later this year. Staff are continuing efforts to expand the historic preservation program to increase recognition and preservation of community histories that are under-represented in the historic preservation program in Long Beach. Upon completion of the Citywide Historic Context Statement update, staff will be reevaluating the design of the Program to identify ways of more equitably awarding Mills Act contracts in future years, which can include a focus on properties recognized through the Context Statement update and which represent or have a particular connection to underrepresented communities of color in Long Beach.
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Program Eligibility and 2026 Applications
To be eligible for the Program, properties must be located within a historic district or be designated as a historic landmark. Property owners may apply jointly for the Program and Historic Landmark designation during the Mills Act application period.
A total of 16 Mills Act applications were received by the Planning Bureau for the 2026 application cycle. Staff received thirteen applications from the single-family property category, one application from the duplex and triplex category, and two applications from the multifamily or mixed use residential/commercial category. One application from the single-family residential category was also included in the Exceptional Properties category because it was over the valuation limit. This category can be any type of eligible property type that is above the valuation limit if it is culturally significant, at risk for demolition, or designed by a notable architect as part of the review process. In accordance with the Program Application Guide, Applications that included a comprehensive list of restoration work and included hiring local Long Beach businesses for the restoration work were prioritized for selection.
The City received applications for properties in five out of the 18 historic districts, and six out of the nine Council Districts. By Council District, the largest number of applications filed were by property owners located in Council District 2. While there are historic properties throughout all Long Beach, the southern portion of the City retains high concentrations of older building stock and has the largest number of designated historic districts (5 districts) and historically designated properties, which explains why there is a larger number of applications in Council District 2. Council District 5 had the second highest number of total applications. The California Heights Historic District is located in Council District 5 and has the largest historic district in both area and number of properties.
On June 30, 2026, the Cultural Heritage Commission held a public hearing, took public comments and made a recommendation to approve Mills Act contracts for six properties: 347 Gladys Avenue, 417 Roswell Avenue, 729 Daisy Avenue, 1048 Magnolia Avenue, 3738 and 3738 ½ Lemon Avenue and 3745 California Avenue (Attachment A – Cultural Heritage Commission June 30, 2026).
Historic Landmark Application Requests
Properties are required to be either a contributing structure in a historic district or a designated historic landmark in order to be eligible for a Mills Act contract. To be eligible for Landmark designation, the property must meet at least one of the four criteria for landmark designation, which is outlined in Chapter 2.63.050 of the Long Beach Municipal Code. The criteria are as follows:
A. It is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of the City’s history; or
B.It is associated with the lives of persons significant in the City’s past; or Honorable Mayor and City Council
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C. It embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or it represents the work of a master, or it possesses high artistic values; or,
D. It has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in pre-history or history.
Planning Bureau staff received four landmark nomination applications (16 12th Place, 1502 East 57th Street, 1820 Snowden Avenue, and 2075 East 3 rd Street). The landmark nomination applications were submitted in conjunction with the 2026 Program applications. Landmark designation was required for all four properties as none of them are currently designated historic landmarks or located in a historic district. After reviewing the four landmark nomination applications, staff determined that additional documentation was needed for each application in order to analyze each property for landmark merit. Therefore, there are no landmark applications recommended for consideration this year.
The property owners for these four landmark nomination applications were informed that the applications were incomplete and were encouraged to consider consulting with a historic preservation consultant to prepare additional research of the history of the property for review.
At this time, any supplemental analysis could not be timely completed for this year’s Mills Act application cycle. The property owners were offered an opportunity to submit additional research to support their landmark applications on a separate timeline from the Mills Act Program.
Recommended 2026 Mills Act Contracts
A total of 16 Mills Act applications were filed this year. As discussed above, four of the applications submitted were for the properties unable to qualify for historic landmarking at this time. After evaluating the remaining 12 applications against the criteria described in the application guide and in consideration of both the historic value of each property and the strength of the workplans, staff is recommending six contracts to be awarded a Mills Act contract. Applications in this year’s application cycle reflect a broad range of proposed improvements that would support the preservation of the subject historic properties, including foundation repairs, reroofing, exterior siding repairs, plumbing and electrical upgrades, and window restoration/rehabilitation and/or replacements.
Staff are recommending Mills Act contract approval as noted for each of the following properties:
1. 347 Gladys – A one-story Craftsman Bungalow constructed in 1913 that features a low- pitched roof with side facing gable roof and a large, covered porch supported by three wide brick columns, exterior siding and wood windows. The building is intact and the workplan includes reroofing the house and attached garage, removing all non-original exterior siding and installing new exterior wood siding, comprehensive window restoration, restoration of the original front door, stripping paint from the concrete floor of the porch and removing stucco from porch support column bases, repainting the house and garage, chimney restoration and front walkway replacement. This property is a contributing property in the Bluff Heights Historic District and is located in Council District
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September 22, 2026
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2. 417 Roswell Avenue – A one story Craftsman Bungalow residence constructed in 1922 that features a low sloping roof with a front facing gable, a large, covered porch, wood windows and exterior horizontal wood siding. The building is intact and the workplan includes seismic retrofit of the building foundation, restoration of the exterior wood siding, repainting, restoration of the porch steps and walkway, removing non-original windows and installing new wood framed windows, replacing non-historic front windows with the historic diamond-pattern wooden windows, chimney restoration, replacing roof rafters damaged by termites, restoration of the ribbon driveway, plumbing and electrical system upgrades, installing a French drain system to improve water drainage, and installing new roof gutters. This property is a contributing property in the Belmont Heights Historic District and is located in Council District 3.
3. 729 Daisy Avenue – A one story Vernacular residence constructed in 1907 that features a high sloped pyramid roof, a large covered front porch, horizontal wood siding and wood windows. The building is intact and the workplan includes restoration of the front window, replacement of non-original windows with new wood windows, removal of a non-original front door and replacement with a historically appropriate door, front porch restoration, exterior siding restoration, repainting, front yard restoration and fence removal, plumbing and electrical system upgrades, and replacing non-original porch light fixture. This property is a contributing property in the Drake Park / Willmore City Historic District and is located in Council District 1.
4. 1048 Magnolia Avenue – A one-story Craftsman Bungalow residence constructed in 1907 that features a front facing gable roof system, exterior cedar wood shingles, wood windows, and a covered porch. The building is intact and the workplan features foundation repairs and a foundation seismic upgrade, installing new roof material, restoration of the exterior cedar shingles, window restoration, restoration of the original front door, restoration of the walkway leading to the front porch, installing new gutters, and removal of the vinyl front yard fence. This property is a contributing property in the Drake Park / Willmore City Historic District and is located in Council District 1.
5. 3738 and 3738 1/2 Lemon Avenue – A two-story Spanish Colonial duplex constructed in 1928 that features a small front facing gable roof with red clay roof tiles, a covered balcony located above the porch, stucco exterior walls, and double hung wood windows and doors. The building is intact, and the workplan includes major foundation repairs, exterior stucco restoration, repainting, removal of a non-original door and installing new historically appropriate entry door, removal and replacement of the concrete driveway, installation of drainage lines and a French drain to prevent water infiltration, removal of a concrete deck and tree root removal to address tree root damage to foundation, removing the wood fence from in front of the detached garage, and replacing the light fixtures on front porch. This property is a contributing property in the California Heights Historic District and is located in Council District 5.
6. 3745 California Avenue – A one-story Spanish Colonial residence constructed in 1929 featuring red clay roof tiles, exterior stucco walls, wood windows, and an enclosed courtyard. The building is intact and the workplan includes roof repairs that include Honorable Mayor and City Council
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replacing damaged roof tiles, and replacing the underlayment, stucco restoration, comprehensive window restoration, restoration of the original mahogany front door, repainting, courtyard wall restoration, electrical upgrades, re-grading perimeter soil to address water infiltration, and installing gutters. This property is a contributing property in the California Heights Historic District and is located in Council District 5.
Future Considerations
The Mills Act program should be seen within the context of larger City goals and challenges. In 2025, the Department completed an evaluation of the program, its costs and relationship of those costs to the larger City fiscal challenges. The overall unrealized property tax from the program is estimated to be approximately $400,000 per year for the 167 properties that are part of the program. It is worth noting that the cost increases annually as additional properties are added and impacts from existing contracts compound. The fees for Mills Act pre-applications and applications offset the staff costs associated with processing new applications. The fee for an inspection of a property with an existing Mills Act Contract also supports recovery of staff costs for ongoing administration of the program. There is a concern that the program largely supports primarily affluent single-family homeowners in a diverse renter-majority City with many disadvantaged communities. Lastly, there have been concerns raised by downtown condo owners in historic buildings that the current City Council directed eligibility criteria for the Program (100% of condo owners in a building must all consent to the application) is an unfair and burdensome barrier to participation.
The Department is working to address these concerns and modernize the Mills Act program to serve the needs of the City today. During calendar year 2026, the Department reviewed a number of Mills Act contracts and reached an agreement to not renew one contract. Staff will be reviewing all contracts in 2027 to determine if some older contracts should sunset to create financial flexibility to enact new contracts. The immediate cancellation of a contract is rare, requires a public hearing, and may impose fees on the property owner, a challenge that jurisdictions across the state are grappling with. On the equity front, the Department will be redoubling its efforts to tie Mills Act contracts to its expanded Historic Context Statement and spread the benefit of the Mills Act program to new neighborhoods and create a larger mix of benefits more reflective of the City as a whole. The Department will also look at strategies to enforce goals related to using local vendors for the historic repairs financed through the Mills Act contracts. This policy review also includes re-examining rules regarding condo ownership and opt in participation, although the City will continue to adhere to risk management policies and not enact contracts over the objection of individual condo owners. These policy reforms will be discussed at a study session with the Cultural Heritage Commission in Fall 2026 and presented to the Cultural Heritage Commission for recommendations to the City Council in 2027.
This matter was reviewed by Principal Deputy City Attorney Erin Weesner-McKinley on September 3, 2026 and Revenue Management Officer Valerie Valentine on September 1, 2026.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
In accordance with Section 15331 Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act, environmental review is not required for actions taken for the Honorable Mayor and City Council
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preservation or restoration of historic structures.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on September 22, 2026, to allow enough time for City Attorney to draft contracts; the property owners and City Manager to execute the contracts; and for the contracts to be recorded prior to the December 31, 2026 deadline established by the Los Angeles County Assessor for placement on the tax rolls.
SUSTAINABILITY
Implementation of the Program helps retain and restore historic landmarks. This work often is completed by reusing or reclaiming existing building materials and reducing construction waste as compared to new construction.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Mills Act generally results in a 30 to 50 percent property tax reduction for a historic property.
The approximate combined assessed property value for the proposed Mills Act historic properties is $6,222,701. The City receives approximately 22 percent of the revenue generated from the one percent property tax rate assessed on property values. The potential annual property tax revenue decrease to the General Fund Group is estimated to range from approximately $4,107 to $6,845 per year. Therefore, for the initial ten-year term, the total decrease of property tax to the General Fund Group could range from approximately $41,070 to $68,450. The Mills Act contracts require improvements made to the property and include a local hire and procurement provision. A majority of the applications specify that the property owners will hire local businesses to complete the work plan items. Implementation of the work plan items may create unknown new offsetting sales, business license, building permit and other fee and tax revenues. Given the number of properties, the impact of job creation is anticipated to be limited. Implementation of the Program has no staffing impact beyond the normal budgeted scope of duties and is consistent with adopted City Council priorities. There is no local job impact associated with this recommendation.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully submitted,
Christopher Koontz
Director of Community Development
ATTACHMENT: A – CULTURAL HERITAGE COMMISSION STAFF REPORT DATED JUNE 30, 2026