City of Beverly Hills Historic Designation

Historic Preservation Ordinance

The Historic Preservation Ordinance of the City of Beverly Hills intends to “acknowledge, honor, and encourage the continued maintenance and preservation of those select properties in the city that, through exceptional architecture or a direct connection to important historical events, contribute to an understanding and appreciation of the city’s history.” It makes provisions for an inventory of eligible properties (§10.3.3210), and a register of designated sites (§10.3.3211), in addition to other matters describe below. See the next sections for a synopsis of the procedure for historic designation for individual properties, and of resulting benefits including Mills Act incentives.

Landmark Designation Criteria

Section A of City code §10.3.3212 states that a property may be nominated and designated as a landmark if it first meets all of the following criteria:

it is at least 45 years of age, or is a property of extraordinary significance;
it possesses high artistic or aesthetic value, and embodies the distinctive characteristics of an architectural style or architectural type or architectural period;
it retains substantial integrity from its period of significance; and
it has continued historic value to the community such that its designation as a landmark is reasonable and necessary to promote and further the purposes of this article.

Section B notes that a landmark must also satisfy at least one of the following criteria:

it is listed on the national register of historic places;
it is an exceptional work by a master architect;
it is an exceptional work that was owned and occupied by a person of great importance, and was directly connected to a momentous event in the person’s endeavors or the history of the nation. For purposes of this subsection B3, personal events such as birth, death, marriage, social interaction, and the like shall not be deemed to be momentous;
it is an exceptional property that was owned and occupied by a person of great local prominence;
it is an iconic property; or
the landmark designation procedure is initiated, or expressly agreed to, by the owner(s) of the property.

Many of the criteria in the above sections are ultimately derived from the National Register for Historic Places, whose standards of proof are subject to widely-accepted guidelines and ample precedents. Other parts (e.g. the stringently-defined conceptions of the “exceptional work” and “iconic property”) are anomalous, making it very hard for anyone to protect historic properties without owner consent.

The good news is that owners who wish to protect heritage properties in perpetuity, and to reap the attendant benefits of Mills Act tax benefits, can do so by enlisting a qualified historian to make the case for landmarking significant but non-“exceptional/iconic” properties.

The ordinance also includes criteria for the designation of historic districts (§10.3.3213).

Designation procedures

The City includes detailed designation procedures for individual landmarks (§9.56.120) and historic districts (§9.56.130), which can be initiated by anyone including the Landmarks Commission itself. The process involves restrictions on alterations to the property while the application is pending, as well as procedures and timelines for public hearings and Commission decisions.

Other historic preservation procedures

The ordinance also includes sections on criteria and procedures for such matters as Certificates of Appropriateness (§10.3.3219), Economic Hardship (§10.3.3220) and Ineligibility (§10.3.3221); Historic Property Disclosures (§10.3.3223); and many other matters including enforcement, and penalties.

Mills Act incentives

Introduction

The most renowned incentive for historic designation throughout California is eligibility for Mills Act tax benefits, available in Beverly Hills to owners of City designated landmark properties. 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 for Mills Act contracts in Beverly Hills.

Application requirements

The City of Beverly Hills Planning Division accepts Mills Act Contract applications on an annual basis, with an application deadline of May 31. All Mills Act Contract applications must include the following:

completed Mills Act Application Form;
Mills Act contract application fee;
Copy of Grant Deed, including legal description;
Property Tax Adjustment Worksheet;
Digital Photographs of the exterior elevation of the building(s), and interiors if applicable, complete with street views and a photo log made to stipulated specifications;
a 10-Year Rehabilitation/Maintenance Plan and Timeline, including a site plan and all work to be completed within the next ten years plus itemized cost estimates;
a copy of the most recent property tax bill;
a completed Notary of Acknowledgement Affidavit

Page 6 of the application form itemizes the components of the Rehabilitation/Maintenance Plan, including cost estimates (to be verified by City staff); photographs of the building and street; and plans, drawings, material samples, brochures, etc. as needed, along with any additional information required during the review process for clarification. Pages 7-9 provide samples of the kind of work that might be approved. As indicated on page 10 of the form, all work affecting the exterior of the property are subject to staff and/or Cultural Heritage Commission review and approval before work begins. Such work will also require a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) from the Planning Division and any associated permits from the Building & Safety Division. And all work must meet all City requirements, and comply with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. This highly specialized work requires the collaboration of a qualified architectural historian and a qualified historic architect.

Designation proceedings

City code §10.3.3215 describes the procedure for review of applications for historic designation by the Cultural Heritage Commission, and for declaration of eligibility or ineligibility by City Council.

Key Mills Act provisions and obligations

As in most places, the focus of Mills Act benefits in the City of Beverly Hills Mills Act Contract is for structural work or for restoration or maintenance of the exterior, especially features visible from the public right-of-way.

As indicated in a City application form, City staff will make periodic inspections of Mills Act properties to ensure that the work plan is being followed.

The contract will remain in effect for the property even if it changes ownership. The tax savings serves as an incentive for buyers in the real estate market.

Valuation cap

There is an annual cap on the tax assessed value of participating properties of $8 million cap for SFR properties, $10 million cap for MFRs properties, and $7.5 million cap for commercial properties.

The annual cap on lost property tax to the City has been set at $100,000 per annum, or $1,000,000 over 10 years.

How property taxes are calculated and reduced

The City provides an estimated tax adjustment worksheet to help owners calculate potential savings. The final tax adjustments are conducted by the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office following state guidelines for establishing an income approach to value, based on a property’s ability to produce rental income.

Who benefits from the Mills Act incentive?

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 preservation incentives for landmarked properties or contributors to historic districts include a process by which owners of locally designated historic landmarks may request waivers or deviations from certain development standards. As with the Mills Act procedure, the owners must demonstrate that the properties are being maintained in accordance with the Secretary Of The Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties; or that they at least protects and preserves the historic and architectural qualities and the character defining features that make the property a landmark or contributing property; and they also avoid a substantial adverse impact on the neighborhood. This complex process would require the services of a qualified architectural historian, and possibly a historic architect to ensure successful compliance.

Beyond those municipally-specific 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 have worked extensively in Beverly Hills, and 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 Beverly Hills, please let me know.

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