Mason County, WA Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

Adopted by Ordinance 79-05 in 2005 and codified at Mason County Code Chapter 17.40, the Historic Preservation Ordinance of Mason County creates a seven-member historic preservation commission, appointed by the Board of County Commissioners, that maintains the countywide historic inventory and the Mason County Register of Historic Places. Under § 17.40.050(a), a building, structure, site, object, or district qualifies for the local register if it is significantly associated with the community's history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or cultural heritage; has integrity; is at least fifty years old (or younger with exceptional importance); and meets at least two of eleven listed criteria, from association with significant historic events to being an outstanding work of a noted designer.

Any person may nominate a property, but the owner must consent before the commission can designate it, and tribal consent is required for property inside an Indian Reservation's exterior boundary. Once listed, an owner must obtain a certificate of appropriateness from the commission, under § 17.40.060, before altering, moving, or demolishing the property, except for ordinary repair and maintenance or emergency measures; whole or partial demolition instead requires a waiver of that certificate. Listed properties substantially rehabilitated under Chapter 84.26 RCW's cost and timing rules may qualify for a ten-year special property tax valuation once Mason County becomes a state-certified local government.

Commission decisions on a certificate of appropriateness or waiver may be appealed to the Board of County Commissioners within ten days, and further appealed to Superior Court.