City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: JULY 28, 2026 FROM: COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WARD: 1
DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: PLANNING CASE PC-2026-00128 – REQUEST BY THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION TO DEDESIGNATE TWO PARCELS LOCATED AT 4472 AND 4480 ORANGE ST, DESIGNATED AS STRUCTURES OF MERIT, AND MODIFY THE PROSPECT PLACE HISTORIC DISTRICT BOUNDARY TO REMOVE THE PARCELS FROM THE DISTRICT ISSUE:
Adopt a resolution to dedesignate two parcels, located at 4472 and 4480 Orange Street, previously designated as Structures of Merit, and modify the Prospect Place Historic District Boundary to remove the subject parcels from the district.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
Determine that Planning Case PC-2026-00128 (Historic Designation) for the dedesignation of the Structure of Merit designated parcels located at 4472 & 4480 Orange Street and modification of the Prospect Place Historic District Boundary is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Rule) and 21084.1 (Historical Resource), as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity will have a significant effect on the environment; Approve Planning Case PC-2026-00128 (Historic Designation), based on the facts of findings, to dedesignate and remove 4472 & 4480 Orange Street from the Prospect Place Historic District; Adopt the attached Resolution (Attachment 1) dedesignating 4472 & 4480 Orange Street and modifying the boundary of the Prospect Place Historic District; Approve the attached findings for the Zoning Code Map Amendment to remove the CR — Cultural Resources Overlay Zone from the subject properties; and Introduce, and subsequently adopt, the attached Ordinance to rezone 4472 & 4480 Orange Street from the DSP-RES-SP-CR – Downtown Specific Plan Residential District and Cultural Resources Overlay Zones to the DSP-RES-SP – Downtown Specific Plan Residential District.
CULTURAL HERITAGE BOARD RECOMMENDATION:
On April 15, 2026, the Cultural Heritage Board (CHB) unanimously voted (5 ayes, 2 absent) to recommend that the City Council approve Planning Case PC-2026-00128 and dedesignate the parcels at 4472 and 4480 Orange Street and remove them from the Prospect Place Historic District (Attachments 4 and 5).
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A “Structure of Merit” is defined in Section 20.50.010 of Title 20 of the Riverside Municipal Code as:
Any improvement or natural feature which contributes to the broader understanding of the historical, archaeological, cultural, architectural, community, aesthetic, or artistic heritage of the City while retaining sufficient integrity; and Meets one or more of the following criteria:
Has a unique location, embodies a singular physical characteristic, or contains a view or vista representing an established and familiar visual feature within a neighborhood, community or area; Is an example of a type of building which was once common but is now rare in its neighborhood, community or area; Is connected with a business or use which was once common but is now rare; Has yielded or may be likely to yield, information important in history or prehistory; or Represents an improvement or Cultural Resource that no longer exhibits the high degree of integrity sufficient for landmark designation yet still retains necessary integrity under one or more of the landmark criteria to convey cultural resource significance as a structure or resource of merit.
A “Contributor” is defined in Section 20.50.010 of Title 20 of the Riverside Municipal Code as a building structure within a Historic District or Neighborhood Conservation Area that provides appropriate historic context, historic architecture, historic association or historic value, or is capable of yielding important information about the period.
DISCUSSION:
On October 15, 2025, the Cultural Heritage Board approved a Certificate of Appropriateness request, Planning Case DP-2025-00269, by the Riverside County Office of Education to demolish the fire damaged structure at 4472 Orange Street.
As part of the Certificate of Appropriateness for the demolition of 4472 Orange Street, Condition of Approval #1 states:
Within one-year of approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness, the applicant shall submit an application to dedesignate the subject property and modify the Prospect Place Historic District Boundary by removing 4472 and 4480 Orange Street.
A residence at 4480 Orange Street was previously demolished as part of a project approved by City Council on January 27, 1987. A demolition permit for the building at 4472 Orange Street was issued on March 12, 2026, and the building was subsequently demolished.
As there are no original structures on the parcels, it has been determined that they no longer meet the criteria for Structures of Merit listing. Additionally, the parcels no longer contribute to the historic significance of the Prospect Place Historic District, as defined by Title 20. As the parcels are on the edge of the district, their removal will have no impact to the significance or integrity of the district.
PUBLIC COMMENT
As of the writing of this report, no responses have been received by staff regarding this dedesignation request.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact resulting from the dedesignation.
Prepared by: Scott Watson, Historic Preservation Officer Reviewed by: Miranda Evans, Community & Economic Development Director Certified as to
availability of funds: Julie Nemes, Finance Director
Approved by: Edward Enriquez, Interim City Manager/Chief Financial Officer Approved as to form: Rebecca McKee-Reimbold, Interim City Attorney Attachments:
Resolution for Historic Designation
Recommended Findings for CR Overlay Zone
Ordinance
Cultural Heritage Board Staff Report – April 15, 2026
Cultural Heritage Board Minutes – April 15, 2026
Presentation
PC-2026-00128 (HD) – 4472 & 4480 Orange St ● Page 3