San Luis Obispo County, CA Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

The H combining designation is layered onto a parcel's base zoning to flag it as containing an archeological site or a historic structure, site, or area important to local, state, or national history. A states the standards exist to protect these resources by requiring new uses and alterations to be designed with consideration for preserving them. Subsection B restricts how a designated parcel can even be subdivided: if a historic structure sits on a parcel smaller than the minimum size otherwise required for its land use category, that undersized parcel can only be transferred to a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charity or a public agency, no residential use may be established there, and the applicant must record a declaration of restrictions with County Counsel's approval before or concurrent with any map recordation.

Subsection C then sets the permitting bar for actual construction work: a Minor Use Permit is required for all new structures and uses within the H designation, and for any modification, including restoration, alteration that changes historic or architectural character, demolition, or relocation, of an existing historic structure. The only carve-out is for minor exterior or interior alterations that do not materially change the historic character of the structure. An application must also include a description of the measures proposed to protect the identified historic resource, and the environmental initial study must evaluate effects on the site's visual character and on the actual archeological or historic resources, with specific findings required before the Review Authority can approve the permit.