Santa Fe, NM Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

6(C) SFCC 1987 creates the Historic Districts Review Board (HDRB), a seven-member body that must include an architect, a historian, a construction-industry representative, a business owner from the historic district and a member of the Old Santa Fe Association. Beyond reviewing new construction, alteration and demolition permits in the historic districts, Subsection (C)(3) authorizes the HDRB to make recommendations to the governing body relating to the erection of appropriate plaques and markers designating historical sites and points of interest in the city. Subsection (C)(4) lets the board recommend that the city purchase or otherwise acquire, by gift, grant, bequest or devise, real or personal property of historical background and interest, and Subsection (C)(5) lets it recommend that the governing body use its eminent domain power to acquire real property of historical background and significance, including proposed means of compensation.

The HDRB must also compile and maintain a list of historical sites and structures under Subsection (C)(7), and it meets at least monthly to carry out these duties. Because these are recommending powers, not final decisions, marking or acquiring a cultural monument in Santa Fe ultimately requires action by the governing body itself; the HDRB's role is to identify the site, build the record, and bring the proposal forward. 14 for demolishing a landmark structure, where the HDRB or governing body must weigh the property's historic significance before demolition can proceed.