Lacey, WA Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

Lacey's code does not use the word monument. Its local landmark list is the Lacey Register of Historic Places, created by Lacey Municipal Code § 16.53.030 within the Historic Preservation and Cultural Resources Ordinance of the city of Lacey (Chapter 16.53).

Any person can nominate a building, structure, site, object, or district, and members of the Lacey historical commission, the body established in Chapter 2.42 LMC, can generate nominations too. The commission weighs each nomination at a public meeting. Notice goes to the owner, the nomination authors, and any lessees, runs in a newspaper of general circulation in Lacey, and is posted on the property. Before the commission sends its recommendation to the Lacey City Council, it obtains a signed statement from the owner of record that the owner is willing to have the property listed. A district nomination also goes to the planning commission for review and recommendation to the council.

The eleven categories in subsection A cover associations with significant events and people, distinctive architecture, the work of an outstanding designer, archaeological information, relocated buildings, birthplaces and graves, cemeteries, reconstructed buildings, and folk architecture. Listed properties are recorded on the official zoning records with an HR designation, which does not change the underlying zone.

The code calls listing an honorary designation, but it carries duties. Section 16.53.030(D)(2) requires the owner to request a certificate of appropriateness from the commission before any work other than ordinary repair and maintenance, painting, and emergency measures. Subsection (D)(3) requires a waiver of the certificate before whole or partial demolition. Under § 16.53.040 the commission review runs a maximum of thirty days from receipt of the request. For a demolition waiver, the applicant meets the commission to look for alternatives, and those talks run no longer than 45 calendar days from the first meeting unless either party asks for an extension. A waiver can carry up to 45 additional calendar days and a requirement to mitigate the loss, and after demolition the commission starts removal from the register.

Section 16.53.060 keeps every bulk, use, setback, and other zoning control in force for a listed property. Section 16.53.050 opens special property tax valuation to listed properties under a ten year agreement, and § 16.53.080 puts an inadvertent discovery note on building, grading, and land clearing permits.