Aurora, CO Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)
Key Facts
- Designating body
- Historic Preservation Commission + City Council
- Typical age threshold
- 50+ years (exceptions allowed)
- Who can request it
- Owner, Commission member, or Council member
- Governing instrument
- Aurora Unified Development Ordinance, not City Code
Summary
Aurora, Colorado designates significant older sites as "Cultural Heritage Sites" through the Historic Preservation Commission when they don't have enough integrity left for full landmark status.
Cultural Heritage Sites. A site and/or structure may qualify for designation as an Aurora Cultural Heritage Site if it meets one or more of the following criteria but lacks sufficient integrity (i.e., it has been significantly altered from its original historic condition) to support its designation as a landmark. Generally, Cultural Heritage Sites are more than 50 years old, but younger sites with exceptional significance to the community may be considered.
i. The property exemplifies or reflects the broad cultural, political, economic, or social history of the community; or
ii. The property is identified with a historic person or historic group significant to local history; or
iii. The property embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type inherently valuable to the study of a period, style, method of construction, or indigenous materials or craftsmanship; or
iv. The property is representative as the work of a master builder or architect; or
v. The property has the possibility to yield important archaeological information.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-30, passed June 22, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Aurora's Unified Development Ordinance creates a middle tier below full landmark designation: the Aurora Cultural Heritage Site. A property qualifies if it's been altered too much to support landmark status but still reflects the community's cultural, political, economic, or social history, is tied to a historic person or group, shows a distinctive architectural type, represents a master builder's work, or could yield archaeological information. Sites are generally 50+ years old, though younger sites of exceptional significance can qualify. A Historic Preservation Commission member, the property owner, or a City Council member can request the designation; the Commission holds a public hearing and recommends action to City Council, which makes the final call.
Violations & Fines
No fines attach to the designation itself; owners of a designated site face UDO-based review requirements for alterations and demolition, administered by the Historic Preservation Commission and Planning Director under the historic landmark/district review process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Cultural Heritage Site the same as a landmark in Aurora?
Can a property owner request the designation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Aurora
Compare Aurora to another location·View the Colorado historic preservation overview
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