La Mesa, CA Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

Chapter 25.01 creates the Historic Preservation Commission: seven voting members plus one ex-officio Planning Commission representative, appointed by the Mayor with City Council approval to staggered four-year terms, with the Director of Planning handling administration under Sections 25.01.040 and 25.01.060. Section 25.03.010 lists the designation criteria: association with significant persons or events, distinctive architectural style or craftsmanship, the notable work of a builder or architect, or archaeological or paleontological research value. Under the procedure in Section 25.03.020, any person, or the Commission, Planning Director or City Council on its own motion, files a written request with the Planning Department describing the property, its Assessor's Parcel Number and any known threats to it; the Commission must hold a noticed public hearing within 45 days, with mailed notice to the owner at least 14 days ahead.

The Commission can forward a landmark recommendation to the City Council only if the owner has consented in writing; without consent, the process terminates. The City Clerk then sets a Council hearing within 30 days of the Commission's recommendation, and a Council designation is filed with the San Diego County Recorder. Once a resource is designated or inventoried, Section 25.03.040 requires a Certificate of Appropriateness before any exterior alteration, reviewed by the Commission within 60 days and appealable to the City Council within ten days, while Section 25.02.020 requires the Building Department to route any demolition or building permit touching an inventoried cultural resource to the Planning Department first.