Hillsboro, OR Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing provision
- CDC § 12.27.320(F)
- Age threshold
- Over 50 years old or exceptionally significant
- Reviewing body
- Historic Landmarks Advisory Committee, Planning Commission, Council
- Owner opt-out
- May refuse City-initiated nomination before Council vote
- Minor alteration
- Type II administrative review, § 12.27.360
- Major alteration
- Type III quasi-judicial review, § 12.27.370
- Post-removal wait
- 120-day hold on demolition permits
Summary
Hillsboro's Cultural Resource Overlay, Community Development Code § 12.27.320, prohibits altering, relocating or demolishing any property listed on the city's Cultural Resource Inventory without following Subchapter 12.27's approval process. Designation attaches to specific structures or features named in a City Council ordinance, requires the site be at least 50 years old or exceptionally significant, and property owners may refuse a City-initiated nomination before Council acts.
A.Application. The Cultural Resource Overlay (CRO) applies to properties designated by City Council Resolution or Ordinance as Cultural Resources and regulated as Goal 5 resources. The list of designated Cultural Resources is referred to as the Cultural Resource Inventory Map. ... C.Cultural Resource Designation Boundary. ... the provisions of this section shall be applied only to the structures or features specifically included in the designation... F.Compliance Required. No designated cultural resource in the CRO shall be altered, relocated or demolished without compliance with this Subchapter.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 1 | Community Development Code: Supplement 1).
Full Breakdown
320 applies the Cultural Resource Overlay (CRO) to properties designated by City Council Resolution or Ordinance and listed on the Cultural Resource Inventory Map, including sites the City inherits on annexation from a Washington County Community Plan Map. ' The designation boundary defaults to the resource's lot lines, but under Subsection C only applies to the structures or features actually named in the designation, so an outbuilding not listed in the Inventory entry is not automatically regulated. D sets the substantive criteria the Historic Landmarks Advisory Committee (HLAC), Planning Commission and City Council use to add a site: it must sit within city limits, be over 50 years old or of exceptional importance, retain historic integrity (no major alterations such as changed roof pitch, enlarged principal-facade windows, added or removed upper stories, or non-historic exterior cladding), and meet at least one historic-significance test tied to events, persons, architectural type, or archaeological information. C lets the affected owner refuse consent in writing at any time before the Council votes, which removes the property from further consideration. 030.
Violations & Fines
Because Subsection F makes compliance a precondition to any alteration, relocation or demolition, unpermitted work on a listed resource is a Development Code violation enforceable through the City's building-permit and code-compliance process; the Building Official may treat unauthorized demolition as grounds to deny or revoke permits. Section 12.27.340 adds a deterrent for owners seeking to shed the designation after alteration: following Council removal of a site from the Cultural Resource Inventory, the City withholds any demolition or modification permit for the site 'for at least 120 days from the date of the resolution.'
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Hillsboro property owner refuse a historic designation?
How old must a building be for Hillsboro's Cultural Resource Overlay?
What happens if I want to demolish a listed cultural resource?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hillsboro
Compare Hillsboro to another location·View the Oregon historic preservation overview
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Historic-Cultural Monuments in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Washington County handle historic-cultural monuments.