Sonoma, CA Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

42's historic preservation and infill program for the historic overlay zone, sets the designation process. Under subsection (B), a nomination can be initiated either by the historic preservation commission itself or by the property owner, with an owner-initiated application requiring supporting historical and architectural documentation plus a city council-set fee. 88's public-hearing procedures, including mailed notice to the property owner. It can approve designation only if the resource meets at least one of four criteria: association with events significant to Sonoma's history and cultural heritage, association with the lives of historically important persons, distinctive architectural or construction characteristics or the work of an important creative individual, or the likelihood of yielding important information about Sonoma's prehistory or history.

Local historic districts follow a heavier, two-body process under subsection (C): the historic preservation commission first recommends approval or denial to the city council after its own public hearing, and the city council makes the final designation by resolution after a second hearing, again with mailed notice to affected owners. Subsection (D) lets either body amend or rescind a designation using the same procedure used to create it. Subsection (E) folds in resources already designated by City Council Resolution 18-2006 as local historic resources under the current chapter, and subsection (F) requires the commission to keep a public register of every designated resource and district.