Historic Preservation in California (2026)

Buildings designated as contributing structures in a Los Angeles Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) require a…

Properties within LA County's Historic District overlays must comply with special development standards, and in the…

Property owners in Santa Monica's Third Street Neighborhood Historic District must obtain a Landmarks Commission…

Alameda's Historical Advisory Board must issue a certificate of approval before any building, structure, site or…

Alameda County lists historically significant properties as landmarks, structures of merit, or historic-district…

Alhambra doesn't use the term cultural monument, but Zoning Code Chapter 23.23 lets the City Council designate a…

Bakersfield designates historic buildings, sites and districts as "cultural resources" under Municipal Code Chapter…

Baldwin Park protects historic buildings through a Historic Overlay Zone and individual Historic Designations. Once a…

Berkeley's Landmarks Preservation Commission, not a "cultural monument" label, is the local mechanism for protecting…

Costa Mesa designates local landmarks and historic districts on its Register of Historic Places, and once listed, a…

Davis designates historic landmarks, merit resources and historic districts through the Historical Resources Management…

Dublin, California requires Historic Overlay Zoning District Site Development Review before any new construction…

Elk Grove designates historic buildings, sites, and cultural landscapes as local landmarks through the Elk Grove…

Any exterior renovation, remodel, or addition to a building on Folsom's cultural resources inventory, or on an existing…

Fremont designates local landmarks through the Fremont Register of Historic Resources under FMC 18.175.090, maintained…

Fresno designates buildings, structures, objects, sites, and districts as Historic Resources or Local Historic…

Glendale's version of a cultural monument list is the Glendale Register of Historic Resources, created under Municipal…

Hanford's City Council can designate any building, site, or district within city limits as a historic resource under…

Hayward designates local landmarks as "Historical Resources" placed on the City's local register, the closest…

Hercules protects buildings of unique historical character by overlaying an H Historic Overlay District on top of…

Kings County flags designated historic sites and county landmarks with a Cultural Resources Overlay Zone, requiring any…

In unincorporated Lake County, a property designated a Historic Preservation District (HPD) or Historic Preservation…

Long Beach designates cultural resources as Landmarks or Landmark Districts through its Cultural Heritage Commission…

In unincorporated LA County, altering the exterior or character-defining features of a designated Landmark or historic…

The unincorporated Town of Mendocino sits inside a county-designated Historical Preservation District where a…

No one may alter, construct on, relocate, or demolish a city-designated historic resource in Merced without a…

Modesto designates Landmark Preservation Sites by City Council resolution after Commission review, then requires…

Monterey's H-1 Landmark Overlay Zoning is the city's cultural-monument designation for its most historically…

In unincorporated Monterey County, a building cannot be listed as a historic or cultural resource, or "landmark,"…

Moorpark designates buildings, sites, trees, or structures as local landmarks by planning commission resolution against…

Mountain View designates historic resources under City Code Sec. 36.54.65, placing buildings, structures, sites or…

Murrieta designates buildings, sites and archaeological resources as cultural resources through a city council vote…

Oakland's City Council designates landmarks by ordinance under Planning Code Section 17.136.070 for facilities with…

The Oceanside Historical Preservation Advisory Commission, established under City Code Sec. 14A.5, reviews properties…

Altering or demolishing a designated Historical Resource in Ontario, California without a Certificate of…

Orange designates historic areas, not individual landmarks, through Chapter 17.17: one district, Old Towne, is…

Oxnard's version of a cultural monument program runs through Code of Ordinances Section 16-470: the city council, or a…

In the City of Pacifica, the Council may designate buildings, structures, sites or natural features as historic…

Palm Springs has no separate "cultural monument" ordinance; its equivalent is City Council designation of a Class 1 or…

Pasadena's top historic-preservation tier is the historic monument. Properties already on the National Register at the…

Petaluma designates individual buildings, sites, or entire districts as landmarks and historic districts by City…

Demolishing a historic building anywhere in Pleasanton without prior city approval triggers a fine up to the building's…

Pomona designates historic landmarks, districts, and points of historical interest by City Council resolution after…

Rancho Cucamonga's city council designates historic landmarks under Development Code Chapter 17.18, and once a property…

Redlands designates landmarks, historic properties and historic or scenic districts under City Code Chapter 2.62. Once…

Redondo Beach designates historic landmarks under Municipal Code Chapter 10-4, the preservation ordinance. A resource…

Redwood City Code Chapter 40 lets the City Council designate a building, site or district a historic landmark if it…

Riverside protects historic properties by designating them Landmarks or Structures/Resources of Merit under RMC Title…

Riverside County lets owners or the county petition the board of supervisors to create historic preservation districts…

Roseville protects buildings with special historic, cultural, or aesthetic value under Municipal Code Chapter 19.61. A…

Sacramento designates landmarks, historic districts and contributing resources on the Sacramento Register of Historic…

San Bernardino bars demolition of any building or structure 50 years or older without a valid demolition permit under…

Changes to any property on San Clemente's list of designated historic resources and landmarks need a Cultural Heritage…

Designating a San Diego property as a historical resource (the city's cultural-monument equivalent) runs through the…

San Francisco designates historic landmarks by Board of Supervisors ordinance under Planning Code Article 10…

San Luis Obispo County protects archeological and historic sites through the Historic Site (H) combining designation in…

In unincorporated San Mateo County, a Historic Preservation Permit is required before altering, demolishing or…

San Rafael designates buildings, sites, and historic districts as landmarks under Municipal Code Chapter 2.18…

San Ramon protects historically and architecturally significant properties through the Landmark (-L) overlay zone under…

Chapter 18A lets the county's eleven-member Historic Landmarks Advisory Commission designate places, buildings and…

Santa Clara protects buildings, sites and districts through its Historic Resource Inventory (HRI) rather than a…

Historic and architecturally significant properties in unincorporated Santa Clara County can be designated county…

Santa Clarita designates historic resources, its version of a cultural monument, through an owner-initiated Planning…

Santa Cruz County designates historic resources by Board of Supervisors resolution under SCCC § 16.42.050, ranking each…

Santa Rosa designates individual landmarks and preservation districts under City Code Section 20-58.050. The Design…

Simi Valley's City Council alone designates Cultural Heritage Sites under SVMC Section 2-3.508, acting on…

The City of Sonoma does not use the term cultural monument; instead, SMC 19.42.020 lets the historic preservation…

Unincorporated Sonoma County designates individual historic structures and historic districts under the HD Combining…

Sunnyvale designates historic properties as "local landmarks" or "local landmark districts" through its heritage…

Once a structure, site, or natural formation in Thousand Oaks is designated a landmark or point of historic interest…

Union City requires administrative or Planning Commission approval before altering, adding to, or reconfiguring a…

Vacaville's Historic Preservation (HP) Overlay District, Chapter 14.09.130, lets the City designate individual…

Vallejo's architectural heritage and landmarks commission can designate a property, structure, or site as a City…

Ventura's City Council alone can designate a building, site or object as a historic landmark or point of interest under…

Vista maintains a Register of Designated Historic Resources under Municipal Code Chapter 15.12. Only the legal property…

Yolo County designates historic landmarks and historic districts under Sec. 8-11.102 using six alternative criteria…

Within the Butte Creek Canyon (-BCC) overlay zone, Butte County Code of Ordinances Section 24-34.1(D)(5) requires the…

Camarillo designates historic buildings as citywide landmarks under Municipal Code Chapter 16.42. The planning…

Carlsbad designates historic resources and landmarks under Carlsbad Municipal Code Chapter 22.06. A property must be at…

Chico protects historic sites through a Landmark designation, not a "cultural monument" label, requiring City Council…

Chula Vista has no separate "cultural monument" category; instead its Historic Preservation Ordinance (Title 21)…

Corona lists cultural monuments, statuary, murals and memorials as "landmarks" on the Corona Register under Code of…

El Cajon designates historic resources under Chapter 17.55 of its municipal code. A property owner applies to the…

Escondido maintains a local register of historical places and a local historical landmark designation under Article 40…

Fairfield defines a historical or cultural monument under Chapter 26 and requires any building, structure, or site on…

Fresno County protects designated historic resources through an opt-in HP Overlay District under Zoning Ordinance…

Fullerton designates historically or culturally significant buildings, structures and natural features as "historical…

Garden Grove designates historic sites through its Historical-Cultural Overlay (-HC) zone under Municipal Code Section…

Los Angeles designates Historic-Cultural Monuments through a Cultural Heritage Commission recommendation and City…

Placer County lets property owners nominate buildings, sites or districts to its Official Register of Cultural and…

Rialto designates local landmarks and historic districts under Municipal Code Section 2.20.060. The historic…

Salinas designates historic resources only when the property owner asks: a seven-member Historic Resources Board…

San Bernardino County protects known and likely archaeological and historic sites through the Cultural Resources…

San Leandro designates historic buildings, sites and districts as City Landmarks or Merit Resources under Municipal…

Santa Ana protects historic buildings by placing them on the city register of historical properties. The Historic…

Santa Maria designates historical landmarks through its Recreation and Parks Commission under Government Code Section…

Santa Monica designates Landmarks through the Landmarks Commission when a structure meets at least one of six criteria…

South Gate's city council can designate buildings, sites, or objects as culturally significant landmarks after a public…

Stockton's Cultural Heritage Board can name a building a 'structure of merit,' the City's version of a local cultural…

If grading in unincorporated Tehama County uncovers archaeological or cultural remains, work must stop immediately in…

Property owners can apply for a Turlock historic site contract protecting buildings or sites with special historical…

Upland designates local landmarks through its Historic Preservation chapter, Chapter 17.26, which lets any person or…

In unincorporated Ventura County, the Cultural Heritage Board designates Landmarks, Sites of Merit, Points of Interest…

Whittier designates historic landmarks under Municipal Code Section 18.84.050 when the city council finds a resource…

Yuba City preserves historic buildings through the Historic Combining District under Article 37, applied by rezoning a…

Antioch does not run a separate historic-landmark or cultural-monument commission; instead its zoning code carves out…

Hawthorne protects officially designated landmarks and monuments in the public right-of-way through Chapter 9.60, which…

Marin County Code § 19.23.020 defines and registers "architecturally significant" structures and features, a locally…

Redding runs historic preservation through the "Local Register of Qualified and Candidate Historic Properties" set up…

San Diego County maintains a Local Register of Historical Resources under Administrative Code § 396.7, listing…

Victorville protects locally significant sites through a Historic (H) combining district rather than a separate…

The Sacramento Commission of History and Science can designate sites and landmarks of historic and scientific…

Los Angeles implements the Mills Act through Historical Property Contracts, allowing owners of designated…

Santa Monica allows designated Landmarks, Structures of Merit, and contributing buildings in Historic Districts to…