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

PMC 20.15.010 sets the designation criteria: 'With owner's consent, any building, structure, site, object, or district may be designated for inclusion in the City of Pasco Register of Historic Resources if it is significantly associated with the history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or cultural heritage of the community; if it has integrity; if it is at least 50 years old, or is of lesser age and has exceptional importance,' and the property must also fall into one of eleven listed categories, from association with significant historical events to being an outstanding work of a noted designer or architect.

Under PMC 20.15.020, anyone may nominate a property with the owner's consent, and the Historic Preservation Commission reviews nominations at a public hearing noticed under the Open Public Meetings Act (Chapter 42.30 RCW) before recommending listing to City Council; for historic districts, consent from 75 percent of property owners counts as adequate owner consent. Listed properties are recorded on official zoning records with an 'HR' designation and registered with the Franklin County Recorder's and Auditor's offices, though PMC 20.15.020(5) makes clear the designation 'shall not change or modify the underlying zone classification.' PMC 20.15.040 spells out the practical effect of listing: before any work on a register property, other than ordinary repair, maintenance, or defined emergency measures, the owner must obtain a certificate of appropriateness from the Commission, and before whole or partial demolition, the owner must instead obtain a waiver of that certificate.

PMC 20.20.010 extends this review to any change of use, new construction, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, remodeling, repair, moving or demolition affecting a listed property or a contributing property within a listed historic district, covering all interior and exterior features that contributed to the original designation. Once Pasco is a certified local government, listed taxable properties become eligible for special tax valuation on rehabilitation under Chapter 20.25 PMC.