City of San Gabriel Historic Designation

San Gabriel’s Historic Preservation Ordinance

The City of San Gabriel is famous for such historic sites as the San Gabriel Mission, Spanish Colonial Revival-style buildings of the 1920s and ’30s, and a mix of noteworthy residential neighborhoods. San Gabriel became the second city in Los Angeles County (following the City of Los Angeles) to adopt a historic preservation ordinance in 1965. There was some early progress in the landmarking of the historic Mission District, and some commercial architecture along Valley Boulevard. But it is mainly in the past decade that more comprehensive measures were taken toward the protection of historic resources including private residences.

The City’s revamped Historic Preservation Ordinance provides a clearly-defined regulatory framework for the designation of historic resources on the City’s Register of Historic Resources, along with incentives to preserve them. See below for a synopsis of the procedure for historic designation for individual properties, and of resulting benefits including Mills Act incentives.

Eligibility and designation criteria for historic landmarks

City code §153.607 states that to be eligible for designation, a building or other historic resource must be determined significant under the prescribed designation criteria, and it must retain sufficient integrity to convey its historic significance. To be eligible for designation the property must meet at least one of the following criteria:

it is or was once associated or identified with important events or broad patterns of development that have made a significant contribution to the cultural, architectural, social, historical, economic, and political heritage of the city, region, state, or nation;
it is or was once associated with an important person or persons who made a significant contribution to the history, development, and/or culture of the city, region, state, or nation;
it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a style, type, period, or method of construction; represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic or aesthetic values; or it represents one of the last, best remaining examples of an architectural type or style in a neighborhood or the city that was once common but is increasingly rare;
it has yielded or has the potential to yield information important to the prehistory or history of the city, region, state, or nation.

In addition, an eligible property must retain integrity from its period of significance, as determined by a qualified architectural historian or historian. A proposed historic landmark need not retain all seven aspects of historic integrity (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association), but it must retain sufficient integrity to convey the reasons for its cultural, architectural, social, historical, economic, and political significance. Poor condition and neglect are not necessarily result in a loss of integrity. Integrity is evaluated with reference to the particular characteristics that support the property’s eligibility under the appropriate criteria and theme of significance.

All of these criteria, including the seven aspects of integrity, are derived from the National Register for Historic Places guidelines. Although the process is the same, the thresholds of local designation are lower for local designation than for designation on the state or national registers.

The ordinance also includes designation criteria for historic districts (§153.608).

Designation procedures

As indicated in §153.609 of the City code, anyone may request the nomination of a historic resource as a historic landmark or district in the City Register by submitting an application to the Historic Preservation and Cultural Resource Commission, and the owner must be notified. The applications are to be completed using a form provided by the City, containing all required information, including the following, for an individual property:

the assessor’s parcel number and legal description of the site;
a description of the property and statement of how it qualifies under the criteria described in § 153.607 or 153.608;
a detailed architectural description, enumerating the property’s character-defining features, elevations, and spaces;
construction chronology of the property, including detailed history of major alterations/additions;
ownership history;
a statement of significance describing why and how the property or feature meets the eligibility criteria of the code including the area of significance, theme, and period of significance;
current photographs and (if available) historic photographs, maps, sketches, drawings, or other descriptive material as available to support the nomination;
any applicable fees as determined by the Director, and such other information as requested by the Commission or Director.

The same section of the ordinance itemizes the steps required for confirmation, review, determination, and designation of eligibility. Much of this process is highly technical, warranting the services of a qualified historian as required by the City. These experts will be familiar with the assessment process including liaising with the client and regulatory authorities.

See §153.610 of the ordinance for the procedures for designating a historic district.

Other matters covered in the historic preservation ordinance

The ordinance also includes sections on the criteria and process for many other procedures including identification and adoption of conservation overlay zones (§153.611); amendment or rescission of designation (§153.612); duty to maintain designated resources (§153.613); and processes for minor and major alterations (§153.615-618).

Mills Act incentives

Introduction

The most renowned incentive for historic designation throughout California is eligibility for Mills Act tax benefits, available in San Gabriel since 2001. The Mills Act is a California state law permitting local governments to offer property tax relief to owners of qualified historic properties who agree to restore, maintain, and protect them, as specified in approved 10-year (minimum) contracts. Here are the basic requirements, processes and benefits.

General requirements

Mills Act contracts are periodically reviewed by the City Council, on the advice of the Director and Commission. In compliance with §§ 50280 through 50290 of the California Government Code, the contract includes the following provisions:

the term of the contract shall be for a minimum of 10 years;
the applicant and property owner is required to comply, during the term of the contract, with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, as well as the California Historical Building Code;
the City is authorized to conduct periodic inspections of the Qualified Historic Property to determine the applicant’s and owner’s compliance with the contract; and
the contract will be binding upon all successors-in-interest of the owner.

Application requirements

The City of San Gabriel accepts Mills Act Contract applications on a regular basis. All Mills Act Contract applications are to be filed with the Planning Division, and include the following:

a completed application form;
an ownership disclosure;
a complete legal description, including site plan and photographs of the property;
a copy of the latest grant deed or title report for the property;
a rehabilitation plan/maintenance list of the work to be completed within the ten-year contract period, including cost estimates and the year in which the work will be completed;
a financial analysis showing current property taxes and estimated taxes for the property under the contract;
an application filing fee as determined by Council Resolution.

Who benefits from the Mills Act incentive?

The greatest benefit of historic designation in San Gabriel is the potential for a substantial reduction in property taxes through the Mills Act incentive. Participation in the Mills Act program across California 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 incentives

Other local incentives for landmarking a property or historic district include preservation easements, which may be acquired by the city through donation or purchase, and a number of potential regulatory preservation incentives, including:

California Historical Building Code (CCR Title 24, Part 8), provisions, guiding upgrades and alterations to designated cultural resources;
transfer of development rights, permitting the sale of unused development rights from designated cultural resources to development sites; and
exemption from design review for major alterations; new construction and in-fill within the boundaries of designated historic districts; new construction, additions to, and alterations of a parcel including a designated cultural resource; exemption for nonconforming uses; reduction of commercial parking requirements; and residential waiver for garage space requirement.

Beyond all of those incentives for designation, there are more general benefits to having a property formally assessed by a qualified historian, whether or not it is ultimately deemed eligible, and whether or not it receives Mills Act funding. Uncovering the property’s story — including its architects, builders, occupants and construction chronology, as revealed in a range of textual and visual records — could 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 hundreds of assessments of properties throughout Los Angeles County. I’m a regular visitor to San Gabriel, and I look forward to helping preserve its historic fabric.

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 San Gabriel, please let me know.

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