Mountain View, CA Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

Division 15 of Article XVI (Sec. 97) sets up the Mountain View Register of Historic Resources. Designation can start three ways: the council's initial adoption of an Initial Register (owners notified by certified mail within 30 days), a property owner's own application to the community development department, or council-initiated review that only proceeds if the owner agrees in writing (Sec. 70). Every application gets a public hearing before the zoning administrator, who recommends to the council, followed by a second public hearing and final council vote under Sec.

56. Once designated, owners of Initial Register properties get a one-time six-month window to request removal; after that, or for owner- or council-initiated designations, a property cannot come off the Register for ten years, and then only every five years on the designation anniversary (Sec. 75). Removal also requires repaying any property tax rebate already received, with interest set by council resolution, and any demolition permit for a designated resource triggers a mandatory predemolition meeting with city staff to review alternatives. Under Sec. 85, no one may make a 'significant alteration,' redevelop or relocate a designated resource without a historic preservation (HP) permit, valid for four years, reviewed by the zoning administrator at a noticed hearing.

Exempt alterations, changes needed to fix a chief building official- or fire marshal-declared unsafe condition, and ordinary repair and maintenance do not need a permit. An HP permit can only be approved if the alteration will not substantially and adversely change the resource's significance and maintains or enhances the community's appearance.