San Jose designates individual properties as City Landmarks or Structures of Merit under SJMC Chapter 13.48, with City Council approval after Historic Landmarks Commission recommendation, triggering Historic Preservation Permit review for exterior alterations and demolition.
SJMC Chapter 13.48 lets the City Council designate City Landmarks for properties of exceptional historical, architectural, or cultural significance, plus Structures of Merit for less rare but locally important buildings. Designation follows a Historic Landmarks Commission recommendation, public hearings, and a recorded notice running with the land. Once designated, exterior alterations, additions, relocations, and demolitions require a Historic Preservation Permit, with criteria measured against the Secretary of the Interior's Standards. The city maintains an inventory and Historic Resources Inventory survey. Federally listed and California Register properties also receive consideration. Property owners may pursue Mills Act contracts for tax savings on landmarked properties.
Performing work on a designated landmark without a Historic Preservation Permit, demolishing without authorization, or breaching a Mills Act contract can trigger stop-work orders, civil penalties, restoration orders, and tax recapture by the County Assessor.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
San Jose, CA
San Jose Municipal Code Title 7 (Animal Care and Control) requires dogs in public places, city parks, and trails to be on a leash no longer than six feet, re...
San Jose, CA
San Jose imposes no general restriction on year-round lawn ornaments, statuary, or religious displays on private residential property. The sign code (SJMC Ch...
San Jose, CA
San Jose has no city ordinance specifically regulating residential inflatable holiday displays. Size, height, and motor noise are not restricted by the munic...
San Jose, CA
San Jose has no ordinance limiting the duration, brightness, or hours of residential holiday lighting. The general nuisance provisions in SJMC Title 6 and th...
San Jose, CA
A built-in outdoor kitchen in San Jose typically requires multiple permits: a building permit for any structural roof or counter exceeding the patio cover ex...
San Jose, CA
San Jose does not have a dedicated ordinance for backyard smokers, pellet grills, or wood-fired ovens. Use is governed by the multifamily balcony restriction...
See how San Jose's historic-cultural monuments rules stack up against other locations.
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