Overview
The City of Sierra Madre’s historic preservation ordinance provides a process to recognize an individual property or a historic district as a historic landmark — a term that also applies to city properties nominated to the City Register or the National Register of Historic Places. Until such designation is finalized, a property is referred to as a potential historical resource. Properties are designated under historic and/or architectural criteria.
Although that is an odd distinction, the respective terms are defined in a way that broadly corresponds to the National Register criteria. Historic corresponds to NR Criterion A (“associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history”) and Criterion B (“associated with the lives of persons significant in our past”). Architectural corresponds to NR Criterion C (“embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction, or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values”).
The ordinance also defines the terms rehabilitation and restoration, which correspond to the definitions and protocols established in the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. The purpose of these protections and protocols is to avoid substantial adverse change — i.e. demolition, destruction, relocation or alteration that would impair the significance of a historical resource. Such provisions only apply to building exteriors.
The City requires a Certificate of Appropriateness granting planning commission approval for any work on historic landmark properties, including adaptive reuse.
In addition to the designation process described below, the city ordinance establishes provisions for de-designation; for exemptions due to economic hardship; and for necessary maintenance and repair that might fall short of established standards.
Most of the designation criteria and treatment standards are directly derived from the stringent protocols of the National Register for Historic Places and the Secretary of the Interior. Be sure to engage a qualified historian to prepare a historic assessment or treatment plan, since they will be familiar with all of these standards and their application to your situation.
Process / Timeline
Historic designation requires submission to the planning commission of a nomination application. Notification of the nomination shall be sent to the property owner(s) and occupant(s) of the property within thirty days of the receipt of the nomination. No application shall be accepted or processed unless accompanied by the written consent of the property owner. Next the commission schedules a public hearing, at the earliest possible commission meeting. Within 60 days of that initial public hearing, the commission makes a recommendation to the city council, either adopting or disapproving the designation application, in whole or in part. A final decision is made within 30 days of that public hearing.
Although any party can submit such a nomination, it will stand a far better chance of success if the property is vetted and the nomination is prepared by a qualified historian. In that capacity I have prepared scores of historic assessments, including Mills Act support, for properties in Sierra Madre. See, for instance, my assessment of the Sierra Madre Library at this link. And see here for various documents that I wrote or helped prepare for a house in Sierra Madre, including a successful landmark nomination and a Mills Act workplan. See the next section for more information on Mills Act benefits in Sierra Madre.
Mills Act and Other Incentives
As indicated in the City’s preservation ordinance, there are potential benefits for owners who maintain historic properties in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. The benefits can include:
- waiver of city building permit and plan check fees as established by resolution of the city council;
- use of the State Historical Building Code (SHBC) as the governing building code, providing alternative building regulations to facilitate rehabilitation, preservation, restoration or relocation;
- Mills Act contracts approved by the city council; or
- Change of use, subject to a conditional use permit granted by the planning commission pursuant to Chapter 17.60, to facilitate adaptive reuse of historic landmarks in accordance with section 17.82.065.
The most lucrative of these potential benefits is application for Mills Act tax incentives. The Mills Act application process is briefly described at this link from the Sierra Madre Planning Department. See my descripton at this link for more information on this locally-disbursed state funding.
Who Benefits from the Mills Act Incentive?
Participation in the Mills Act program is voluntary and is restricted to owners of designated historic properties. Property owners with comparatively low property taxes, such as those benefitting from Proposition 13 limits on assessed value change over time, will not likely benefit from a Mills Act contract because the assessed value under the Mills Act will likely be higher than the current base-year value of the property. In general, owners who benefit most from a Mills Act contract are those who have acquired their properties in the last 10 years.
Further Advantages of Historic Assessment
Beyond the incentives listed above, there are other potential benefits to having a property formally assessed by a qualified historian. Uncovering the property’s story —including its architects, builders, occupants and renovation timeline, as revealed in a range of textual and visual records — can be helpful for:
- Establishing historic significance for buildings of note, thereby facilitating heritage designation; access to preservation resources including restoration grants and tax incentives; and protection from unwanted alterations;
- Guiding restoration efforts by ensuring that the materials, construction methods and style are historically appropriate, thus preserving the property’s character and maintaining or increasing its value;
- Adding market value by demonstrating its association with significant people (e.g. architects, builders, owners, occupants) or events;
- Legal and planning benefits including facilitation of zoning issues, building permits, or disputes about property modifications, especially in historic districts.
I’m a Pasadena-based architectural historian who has written scores of assessments for properties in Sierra Madre, and hundreds for properties throughout Los Angeles County.
If you own a property that is more than 50 years old, schedule a consultation to find out whether historic designation is right for you.
If any of the above links are broken or incorrect, or if you would like to suggest other resources for preservation in Sierra Madre, please let me know.
Not in Sierra Madre? Click on a link below for historic designation in
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