8I
Date: February 24, 2026
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Historic Preservation Commission
Michelle Ramirez, Community Development Director
By: Brice Kennedy, Planning Assistant | [email protected] Subject: Historic Preservation Commission and Community Development – Accept and File 2025 Historic Preservation Commission Annual Report. Expenditure: None.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation of the Historic Preservation Commission and the Community Development Director that City Council accept and file the 2025 Historic Preservation Commission Annual Report.
FUNDING
None required.
DISCUSSION
On January 15, 2026, staff presented the 2025 Annual Report to the Historic Preservation Commission. The report summarized the activities of the Historic Preservation Commission for the period of January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025. Upon conclusion of the item, the Historic Preservation Commission approved the 2025 Annual Report and moved that it be forwarded to City Council for acceptance and filing.
A copy of the 2025 Annual Report has been attached for City Council’s information. It would be appropriate for the City Council to now accept and file this report.
ATTACHMENT
1. 2025 Historic Preservation Commission Annual Report
1 ATTACHMENT 1
C
ity of Torrance
Historic Preservation Commission
Annual Report
January 202
5 to December 202
5 Powers and
Duties
of the Commission
The Historic Preservation Commission makes decisions and provides direction
regarding matters
concerning properties
that are
requesting
landmark
designation or have been designated historic
resources.
Commission
Members
The Historic Preservation Commission is comprised of seven members
who are
residents of the community
and
have prior demonstrated interest in and knowledge of the City’s historical, architectural and cultural heritage
. They are
appointed by the City Council to serve a four
-
year term and no more than two
consecutive terms
and
there shall be
o
ne member with a professional background in design or
construction, with at least two years of experience with historic preservation, and
o
ne member who meets
the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards for History or Architectural History, or with a demonstrated background or experience in researching, writing, teaching, or interpreting history or historic materials
The
following Commission members served on the Historic Preservation Commission between January 202
5 and December 202
5 .
Current
Chair
person
Mia Higginbotham
and Vice Chair
person
Adam Schwartz
were appointed
o
n
August 21
,
202
5 .
Following the passing of Commissioner
Maureen O’Donnell on
May
18,
2024,
a
seat of the Commission
continues to remain unfilled
.
Commissioner
Term Begins
Current Term
Mi
ke
Griffiths
7/1/2025
7/1/2025
–
6/30/
2029
Gene Higginbotham
7/1/202
3 7/1/202
3 -
6/30/2026
Mia Higginbotham (
Chair)
7/1/2023
7/1/2023
-
6/30/2027
Adam Schwartz
(Vice Chair)
7/1/2023
7/1/2023
-
6/30/202
9 Marifrances Trivelli
7/1/2024
7/1/2024
-
6/30/2028
Kurt Weideman
7/1/2023
7/1/2023
-
6/30/2027
Unscheduled Vacancy
Term Expires 6/30/202
6 1
2 Meetings
The Historic Preservation Commission is regularly scheduled to meet on the third Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. The meetings for January 202
5 to December 202
5 were held in the West Annex Commission
Room within the West Annex of Torrance City Hall.
The
Historic Preservation Commission met on the following dates:
January 1
6 , 202
5 June
19 , 202
5 November 20, 2025
March 2
0 , 202
5 August
21 , 202
5 May
15 , 202
5 September 1
8 , 202
5 Summary of Annual Activities
In 202
5 ,
the Historic Preservation Commission held
seven
meetings, during which a total of 11 agenda
items were reviewed including
three
public hearings.
Administrative Matters
The Commission considered the following under Administrative Matters:
▪
Review
and
f
orward the 2024 Historic Preservation
A
nnual
R
eport to the City Council
▪
Provide
direction
for
Historic Preservation Month
Certificate of Recognition
and
o
utreach efforts
▪
Review and
forward the
Mills Act
C
ontract
A
pplication process and procedures
to the City Council
▪
Appointi
ng of
Chairperson Mia Higginbotham and Vice Chairperson Adam Schwartz ▪
Consider
Mills Act Contract
s
for Historic Landmark #2
and Histori
c Land
mark
#
3 ▪
R
eview
the
S
ummary of
O
utreach
E
fforts
report
and conduct a public outreach discussion
Hearings
Last year, t
he Commission
approved
three
new Historic Landmark Designation
requests
under
Public
Hearings:
Approval
of
HPC25
-
00001: FRANCES MCCUTCHON
The Historic Preservation Commission
c
onduct
ed
a Public Hearing and
adopted a resolution
for approval
of a Historic Landmark Designation (HPC25
-
00001) for an existing singlefamily residence in R
-
1 Zone,
Torrance Tract Overlay, at 1504 Acacia Avenue (APN 7355 -
010
-
018).
Approval
of
HPC25
-
00003: HAROLD JAY HOFFMAN (ALICIA JACOBSEN)
The Historic Preservation Commission
conducted
a Public Hearing and
adopted
a
resolution
for approval
of a Historic Landmark Designation (HPC25
-
00003) for an existing single
-
family residence in the R
-
1 Zone,
Torrance Tract Overlay, located at 1620 Post Avenue (APN 7355 -
018
-
025).
2 3
Approval
of HPC25
-
00006: ANHVAN BUI
The Historic Preservation Commission
conducted
a Public Hearing
and adopted
a
resolution
for the
approval of a Historic Landmark Designation (HPC25
-
00006), and recommend that the City Council enter
into a Mills Act Contract (HPC25
-
00004) for an existing duplex on property located within the Torrance Tract Overlay and Small Lot, Lot
-
Medium Ove
rlay in the Two
-
Family Residential (R
-
2) Zone at 1753 Andreo
Avenue and 1963 218th Street (APN 7357
-
016
-
015)
C
ommunity Engagement
and
Outreach
Under
direction
of the Historic Preservation Commission,
community
outreach
engagement efforts
have
persisted and continue
to raise awareness about the Historic Preservation program.
Pop
-
up
Engagement Ac
tivities
Members of the Historic Preservation Commission and
Community Development Department staff
have
attended
local
events in the past year with the goal of promoting the Historic Preservation Program,
participating
in several in
-
person outreach activities to raise awareness of preservation efforts and foster community interest.
In 2025, Commissioners and City staff conducted public outreach at several community events to promote historic preservation programs and initiatives. On May 24, 2025, Commissioner Schwartz staffed an informational table at the Torrance Farmers Market
at Wilson Park
, followed by participation at the City
Yard Open House on June 21, 2025, where Commissioners and City staff hosted informational tables. City staff also hosted informational tables at the Rock Around the Block event in Downtown Torrance on July 17, 2025, the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 Business Expo and Showcase on October 22, 2025, and the Annual Holiday Stroll in Downtown Torrance on December 3, 2025.
Throughout these events, staff and Commissioners engaged community members in discussions regarding local historic resources, landmark designation, and Historic Preservation Commission initiatives, including the Mills Act contract process. Informational ma
terials and program application packets were distributed, along with free merchandise
.
The free
merchandise this year included Torrance Historic Preservation
branded
seed packets, bumper stickers, chip clips
,
and insulated canvas lunch
bags
. These outreach
efforts
generated direct follow
-
up interest, including
one
-
on
-
one
meeting
s
with
residents
and
City staff
to
further
discuss application materials and submittal processes
.
Historic Preservation Program
Website and
Flyer
As the number of landmark
-
designated properties continued to increase in 2025, the Historic Preservation Program landing webpage and informational flyer were redesigned with coordinated graphic design elements to better showcase photographs and detailed in formation about designated properties. The
updated webpage now includes summaries of Commission actions, expanded historical and architectural information for landmarked properties, and photographs of property owners receiving recognition awards from the C
ommission
.
3 4
Historic Preservation Month
Certificate of Recognition
In May 2025,
t
he Month of May 2025 was recognized as National Preservation Month via Certificate of Recognition on behalf of the City Council to the Historic Preservation Commission.
Historic Preservation Month
Social Media Outreach
Historic Preservation Commissioners
, working together with the Torrance
Historical Society, curated
pictures and captions for the
City’s annual Historic Preservation Month
social media outreach
campaign
.
Staff worked with the
Communications division
to post on the City’s Facebook and Instagram
accounts.
In 2025
,
the
campaign strategy included posting a full caption and image on Facebook, an Instagram story with a link to the Facebook
post and
creating a highlight section that will have all the
Instagram stories saved within. The rationale for this approach is based on last year's analytics and successful posts on Facebook.
The following is a summary of the Historic Preservation Program’s 2025 social media and website performance. Facebook reached 294,658 users, with top
-
performing posts including the family home of
George Wallace Post (May 28, 2025), which reached over 43,00 0 users with more than 60,000 views and
845 engagements; Downtown Torrance looking northeast on El Prado from Cravens (May 25, 2025), which reached over 33,000 users with more than 36,000 views and 975 engagements; and the Hollywood Riviera Beach Club (May
9, 2025), which reached over 27,000 users with more than 35,000 views and 275 engagements. Instagram reached 26,745 users, with leading posts featuring the Fred Marlow “spec” House in the Hollywood Riviera (May 13, 2025), reaching 2,592 users; the 1947 Mi litary Parade (May 17, 2025),
reaching 2,228 users; and a view looking down El Prado Avenue toward Torrance High School (May 13, 2025), reaching 1,690 users. Website traffic also increased, with the Historic Preservation page of the City of Torrance websit
e record
ing
a 30.39
%
increase from May 2024
.
Future Aspirations and Areas of Interest of the Commission
In 2026, the Historic Preservation Commission and City staff will continue to build on the strong momentum achieved over the past year in advancing the Historic Preservation Program.
With
three
landmark designations approved in the past year, t
he City now recognizes
six
designated historic
landmarks
.
The Commission’s goal is to continue t
his progress
through the refinement of
coordinated
outreach, clear application processes, and sustained collaboration between the Commission, staff, and the community.
The Commissi
o
n
s
a
r
e
a
s
o
f
i
n
t
e
r
e
s
t
remain
focused
on
increasing applications for Mills Act contracts and
landmark designation within the Torrance Tract through continued community engagement, educational outreach,
strategic use of online platforms
, and
a meeting with City Council
.
Additionally,
staff
are
continuing to work with
the
top performing selected
preservation consulting firm
to
include commercial
properties within the Torrance Tract
within the Historic Preservation program
. This initiative would further
strengthen the City’s preservation framework, encourage broader property owner participation, and support the Historic Preservation Commission’s long
-
term goal of expanding the program citywide.
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