Discussion And Possible Action on the General
Plan Land Use Element Update with a Focus on
Historic Preservation Policies
Community Development
January 6, 2026
Historic Preservation Program
1. Historic Preservation Ordinance
• Title 10/Chapter 4
2. Historic Context Statement
3. Historic Preservation Plan
2 Purpose
1. To safeguard the City's heritage by encouraging the protection of landmarks representing significant elements of its history
2. To foster civic and neighborhood pride and a sense of identity based on an appreciation of the City's past and the recognition and use of historic resources
3. To enhance the visual character of the City by preserving diverse architectural styles reflecting phases of the City's history
4. To take whatever steps are reasonable and necessary to safeguard the property rights of owners whose property is declared to be a landmark or is located in an historic district
3 Nomination For Local Landmark
• Nomination can only be made
by property owner
• Property must be 50 years old
• Subject to criteria
• Can be 30 years old
• Exceptional
• Risk of demolition
• Historic District
4 Historic Landmark • 154 properties • Owner nominations • Eligible for Mills Act • Criteria: “Historical, cultural, aesthetic or architectural
character or value, or which
represents one or more
architectural periods or styles
typical to the history of the
City”
5 Potential Historic Resources
• Not designated by owner
• 1986-1996 Survey – Historic Resources Inventory
• 1024 properties
• 173 rated“A” or “B”
• COA for demolition or alternation
Issues
• Survey must be updated every 5 years (CPRC 5024.1)
• Conflicts with requirement for owner consent and purpose of protecting property rights
• Limited ability to impose historic requirements
6 Certificate of Appropriateness (COA)
Required prior to making alternations or demolition
Applies to “Landmark” and “Potentially Historic”
Criteria:
1. Conforms to the prescriptive standards adopted by the Commission (Secretary’s Standards for Rehab); and
2. Will not detrimentally alter, destroy or adversely affect any exterior improvement or exterior architectural feature; and
3. Will retain the essential elements that make the resource significant.
7 CEQA Requirements
Must be eligible or listed on State and National Register Criterion 1 - Is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of California's history and cultural heritage
Criterion 2 - Is associated with the lives of persons important in our past
Criterion 3 - Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, or represents the work of an important creative individual, or possesses high artistic values Criterion 4 - Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history
8 Land Use Element (LUE) Policies
Planning Commission Recommendations (8/1/24):
Policy LU-7.1 Historic landmarks and districts. Encourage the voluntary designation of potentially historic resources as landmarks or historic districts. Strengthen the City’s objective identification of potentially historic buildings, resources, landmarks or historic districts in residential, commercial, public/institutional, and industrial zones.
IM-LU-66 Historic preservation ordinance. Update and periodically review the historic preservation ordinance to incorporate findings of the updated Historic Resources Survey. Develop the City processes and ordinances to objectively designate historic buildings, resources, landmarks, and historic districts. Develop the City processes and ordinances required to protect and preserve historic buildings, resources, landmarks, and historic districts that have been designated as historic.
9 Policy Considerations
Should the LUE policies and ordinance continue with voluntary designation or provide the City with the ability to designate properties?
Does the City Council agree with the amendments proposed by the PC?
➢Mandating historic designation would provide greater protection and preservation of properties 50 years or older
➢Would impact property rights and comes with potential legal and political challenges
10 Policy Considerations (continued)
➢Three to four properties are listed as historic landmarks each year under the current process which requires owner consent and is incentivized by the Mills Act Contract
➢PAC subcommittee working with staff on exploring ways to educate the community and promote the benefits and value of owning a historic landmark, which could lead to an increase in the number of voluntary nominations
11 Policy Considerations (continued)
Consider amending the Municipal Code to remove requirement that “Potential Historic Resources” rated as A or B be treated as historic landmark properties
➢Historic Resources Inventory (Circa 1986-1996) identified 1,024 properties ➢173 properties are rated as A or B
➢Owners did not provide consent to be included on this list and some were not informed
➢Properties rated as A or B are treated as historic resources in that they are required to obtain a Certificate of Appropriateness for modifications or demolition
12 Policy Considerations (continued)
Should the City move forward with preparing an update Historic Resources Survey at this time?
➢There is some value in that it would provide an updated list and new information on 50+ year-old properties throughout the City ➢Cost would likely be $100-200k or more
➢It would create a new list of potentially historic properties that would be treated as historic under the current requirements
➢There needs to be significant outreach and notification to affected property owners
➢It is a staff/time intensive effort
13 RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Receive and file report and provide policy direction to staff
2. Continue Land Use Element Discussion to January 20, 2026
3. Direct staff to prepare an ordinance amending the Municipal Code to remove requirement that “Potential Historic Resources” rated as A or B be treated as historic landmark properties 14