Snohomish County, WA Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)
Key Facts
- Register created by
- SCC 30.32D.020
- Nomination
- Any person may nominate, SCC 30.32D.030
- Minimum age
- 50 years (40 if exceptionally significant)
- Reviewing body
- Historic Preservation Commission
- Map marking
- "HR" notation on zoning map
Summary
Snohomish County keeps a register of historic places under SCC 30.32D.020 to identify significant buildings, sites, structures and districts, and SCC 30.32D.030 lets any person nominate a property for the honorary listing.
30.32D.020 Creation of county register of historic places. There is hereby established a Snohomish county register of historic places that identifies historic buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts within the county. 30.32D.030 Designation of property on county register.
(1) Listing on the county register is an honorary designation denoting significant association with the historic, architectural, archaeological, engineering, or cultural heritage of the community. Property is listed individually or as properties that as a group contribute to the historical integrity of an historic district.
(2) The historic preservation commission, as established in Title 2 SCC, or any person may nominate a building, site, structure, object, or district for placement on the county register by submitting a letter to the historic preservation commission.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through legislation passed August 12, 2026).
Full Breakdown
020 establishes the Snohomish County Register of Historic Places to identify historic buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts within the county. 030 explains that listing is an honorary designation denoting significant association with the historic, architectural, archaeological, engineering, or cultural heritage of the community, and a property can be listed individually or as part of a contributing group in a historic district. The county's Historic Preservation Commission, established in Title 2 SCC, or any person, may nominate a building, site, structure, object, or district by submitting a letter to the commission.
045 and mailed to the owner, occupant, and nominator. 040 criteria, which require the property to be at least fifty years old (or forty years old if of exceptional historical significance) and to meet added tests of historic association, integrity, and significance, the commission designates it on the register and the department marks the county zoning maps with an 'HR' notation on that property. 31 SCC.
Violations & Fines
Register listing itself is honorary and carries no independent penalty for the owner, but altering or demolishing a property listed on the county register without following the certificate of appropriateness or waiver procedure in SCC 30.32D.060 through .090 puts the project out of compliance with chapter 30.32D and can hold up permit approval until the review process is completed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can nominate a property for the Snohomish County Register of Historic Places?
How old does a building have to be to qualify?
Does listing on the county register restrict what an owner can do?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Snohomish County
Compare Snohomish County to another location·View the Washington historic preservation overview
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