Alameda County, CA Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)
Key Facts
- Designating body
- Board of Supervisors
- Requires
- Hearing + consultant evaluation
- Before altering listed property
- Certificate of appropriateness
- Register name
- Alameda County Register
- Scope
- Unincorporated areas + county buildings
Summary
Alameda County lists historically significant properties as landmarks, structures of merit, or historic-district contributors on its own Alameda County Register, covering unincorporated areas plus county-owned buildings anywhere in the county.
A nominated resource shall be added to the Alameda County Register as a landmark if the Board of Supervisors finds, after holding the hearings required by this chapter, that all of the requirements set forth below are satisfied: 1. The nominated resource meets one or more of the following criteria: a. It is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of the history of the county, the region, the state or the nation; b. It is associated with the lives of persons significant in the county's past.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 17.62, the county's historic preservation ordinance, lets the Board of Supervisors designate a landmark if it meets one or more criteria, association with significant historic events, association with significant people, distinctive construction type, or similar, after a hearing and an evaluation by a qualified historical resources consultant. Listed landmarks, contributing resources, and historic-district properties then need a certificate of appropriateness before any exterior or qualifying interior alteration or demolition. The register covers unincorporated Alameda County (Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, Ashland, Cherryland, and similar communities) plus any county-owned property, even inside an incorporated city.
Violations & Fines
Altering or demolishing a landmark, contributing resource, or historic-district property without an approved certificate of appropriateness violates Chapter 17.62 and can be blocked or unwound by county code enforcement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides if a property becomes an Alameda County landmark?
Can I remodel a listed landmark's exterior without approval?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alameda County
California rules heatmap·Compare Alameda County to another location·View the California historic preservation overview
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