Palm Springs, CA Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

070 lets the City Council designate a site, structure, building or object as a Class 1 historic resource (Palm Springs' "Landmark" tier) or Class 2 historic resource ("Historic Merit" tier) if it demonstrates historical significance. An owner, an owner's representative, or an authorized City representative can file an application with the Historic Preservation Officer (HPO) after a required pre-application conference; applications must be signed and notarized by the record owner and include photographs, architect and construction history, a character-defining-features assessment, and ownership history. Class 1 status requires meeting one or more of seven criteria under subsection (C)(1)(a), covering association with historically significant events or persons, embodiment of a construction period or method, work of a master architect, or likely archaeological information value, plus an integrity evaluation using the National Park Service's National Register Bulletin standards.

Class 2 status applies the same substantive criteria but skips the integrity finding, covering resources that have lost some historic fabric. 040, which reviews the HPO's staff report at a noticed public hearing and recommends approval, modification or denial to the City Council; an HSPB recommendation lapses if the Council doesn't act within one year. The Council then holds its own public hearing and issues a recorded resolution. Class 1 resources become eligible for a Mills Act property-tax reduction agreement; Class 2 resources qualify only if the underlying historic structure still exists. 190, a real limit given how much of Palm Springs sits on checkerboarded tribal trust sections.