La Mesa Municipal Code Ch. 25.01 General Provisions, Administration, Enforcement

This title shall be known as the "Historic Preservation Ordinance" and may be cited as such.

A. Policy. It is hereby declared as a matter of public policy of the City of La Mesa that the identification, preservation and enhancement of cultural resources within the City is in the interest of the economic prosperity, cultural enrichment and general welfare of the people.

B. Purpose. The purpose of this Chapter is to implement the goals set forth in the Historic Preservation Element of the City of La Mesa General Plan.

This chapter shall apply to all cultural resources, publicly and privately owned, within the corporate limits of the City of La Mesa.

The administration of this chapter shall be the responsibility of the Director of Planning.

A. Alteration means any exterior change or modification in appearance.

B. Archaeological Site describes an area where remains of man or his activities prior to the keeping of history are still evident.

C. Certificate of Appropriateness means a certificate issued by the Historic Preservation Commission approving such plans, specifications, designs, statements of work, and any other information which is reasonably required by the Commission to make a decision on any proposed alteration, restoration, construction, removal, relocation, or demolition, in whole or in part, of or to a landmark or to an improvement within a historic district.

D. Commission means the Historic Preservation Commission established by this Chapter.

E. Contributing Structure means a structure within a designated historic district which has a special character, special historic or aesthetic interest or value, and is incorporated into the district for that reason.

F. Cultural Resource means improvements, buildings, structures, signs, features, sites, places, areas or other objects of scientific, aesthetic, educational, cultural, architectural, or historical significance to the citizens of the City.

G. Exterior Architectural Feature means the architectural style, design, general arrangement, components and natural features and all the outer surfaces of the improvement, including, but not limited to, the kind and texture of the building material, the type and style of all windows, doors, lights, signs, walls, fences, and other fixtures appurtenant to such improvement, and the natural form and appearance of but not by way of limitation, any grade, rock, body of water, stream, tree, plant, shrub, road, path, walkway, plaza, fountain, sculpture or other form of natural or artificial landscaping.

H. Historic District means any area containing a number of improvements which have a special character or special historical, cultural, architectural, archaeological, community or aesthetic value, or which represent one or more architectural periods or styles typical to the history of the City, that has been designated a historic district pursuant to this Ordinance.

I. Improvement means any building, structure, place, site, work of art, landscape feature, plant-life, life-form, scenic condition, parking facility, fence, gate, wall, or other object constituting a physical betterment of real property, or any part of such betterment.

J. Inventory means the La Mesa Historic Resources Inventory, prepared by SANDAG and Dr. Raymond Brandes and adopted on May 10, 1983, as an appendix to the Historic Preservation Element of the General Plan.

K. Landmark means any site or improvement, manmade or natural, which has special historical, cultural, architectural, archaeological, community, or aesthetic character, interest, or value as part of the development, heritage or history of the City, the State of California, or the nation and that has been designated pursuant to this Ordinance.

L. Ordinary Maintenance means any cleaning, painting, and restoration which does not result in the alteration of any exterior architectural feature of an improvement.

M. Owner means the person appearing as the owner of such property, improvement, natural feature or site on the last equalized assessment roll of the County of San Diego.

N. Paleontological Site describes an area where fossilized or otherwise preserved remains of plants or animals which generally predate man's emergence on the earth are still evident.

O. Person means any individual, association, partnership, firm, corporation, public agency, or political subdivision.

P. Potential Landmark Registry means a list of properties from the Inventory of Historic Resources which are determined to be of most significance in achieving the goals of the Historic Preservation Element in terms of representing properties which have the highest potential for meeting the criteria for designation as an historic landmark as noted in Section 25.03.010.

Q. Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation means the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitations and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings (Revised 1983) by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service.

R. Site means any parcel or portion of real property which has special character or special historical, cultural, archaeological, architectural, community, or aesthetic value.

(Ord. 2582 § 1; June 25, 1991)

A. Creation, Members, Vote. A Historic Preservation Commission (hereinafter referred to as the "Commission") in the City of La Mesa is hereby created and established to consist of seven (7) members and one ex-officio representative of the Planning Commission. Each member shall be entitled to vote on matters before the Commission. All members of the Commission must have knowledge of and a demonstrated interest in historic preservation and local history. Members of the Commission shall have the following qualifications:

1. Two (2) members who are registered voters and are licensed architects, landscape architects, city planners, urban designers, architectural historians, or persons practicing structural or interior design.

2. Two (2) members who are current resident electors of the City.

3. Three (3) members who are registered Voters and are selected from a list of persons submitted by the La Mesa Historical Society. (Amended by Ord. 2401, § 7; November 12, 1985).

B. Appointment. Each member of the Historic Preservation Commission shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the City Council. The Chairman of the Planning Commission shall appoint a member of the Planning Commission to serve as the ex-officio representative to the Historic Preservation Commission.

C. Terms of Office. The term of office for each member shall be four years, which term shall commence on July 1 and terminate on June 30, four years thereafter. Members' terms shall be maintained so that no more than three terms shall expire in any given year; therefore, initially two members shall be appointed for a two-year term, two members shall be appointed for three-year terms, and three members shall be appointed for four-year terms. The term of the ex-officio Planning Commissioner shall be concurrent with his term on the Planning Commission.

D. Filling vacancies. Each vacancy on the Historic Preservation Commission shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the term vacated in the manner set forth in Section 25.01.060-B.

E. Expiration of Term. In the event the reappointment in the manner set forth in Section 25.01.060-B is not made upon the expiration of a term of office, a member shall continue in office until reappointment or until his successor is appointed and qualified.

F. Statements of Economic Interests. Each appointee shall comply with the provisions of the Conflict of Interest Code of the City of La Mesa.

G. Powers and Duties. The Commission shall have the power and duty to:

1. Conduct a continuing survey of all cultural resources in the City which the Commission, on the basis of information available or presented to it, has reason to believe may be eligible for designation as a historic landmark or historic district or for recognition as a structure of merit.

2. Review the La Mesa Historic Resources Inventory according to the criteria set forth in the Historic Preservation Element of the General Plan.

3. Recommend to the City Council amendments to the La Mesa Historic Resources Inventory.

4. Recommend to the City Council that certain areas, places, buildings, structures, natural features, works of art or other improvements having significant historical, cultural, architectural, archaeological, community or aesthetic value as part of the heritage of the City be designated as a historic landmark or historic district.

5. Maintain a local register of designated landmarks and historic districts within the City.

6. Approve or disapprove, in whole or in part, applications for a Certificate of Appropriateness pertaining to alteration, modification, or removal of any exterior architecture feature of a designated landmark or improvement within a historic district.

7. Adopt guidelines to be used by the Commission in reviewing applications for Certificates of Appropriateness.

8. Review and comment upon applications for demolition permits pertaining to designated cultural resources and applications for demolition and alteration permits for cultural resources included in the La Mesa Historic Resources Inventory.

9. Explore means for protection, retention and use of any designated or potential landmark including, but not limited to, appropriate legislation and financing.

10. Recommend and encourage the protection, enhancement, appreciation and use of structures of historical, cultural, architectural, community or aesthetic value which have not been designated as landmarks but are deserving of recognition as structures of merit so as to emphasize their importance in the lifestyle of La Mesa.

11. Encourage public understanding of an involvement in the unique architectural and environmental heritage of the City through educational and interpretative programs. Such may include, but shall not be limited to, lectures, tours, walks, reports, publications, films, open houses, special events.

12. Encourage private efforts to acquire property and raise money on behalf of historic preservation; however, the Commission is specifically denied the power to acquire property or invest therein for or on behalf of itself or the City.

13. Render advice and guidance on any structure at the request of the property owner as time permits (i.e., painting, color, materials, landscaping, fencing, lighting). This advice shall not be construed to impose any controls, but shall be offered in a spirit of friendly help.

14. Investigate and report to the City Council on the use of various federal, state, local or private funding sources and mechanisms available to promote historic resource preservation in the City.

15. Cooperate with local, county, state and federal governments in the pursuit of the objectives of historic preservation.

16. Implement other historic preservation plans and programs including, but not limited to, those listed as Complementary Programs in the General Plan Element.

17. Prepare or cause to be prepared nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, as time permits.

18. Consult with professionals and experts in fields such as archaeology, paleontology, history, preservation, architecture, design and engineering whenever such consultation is desired or necessary.

H. Organization Rules and Procedures. The Historic Preservation Commission shall establish such rules, regulations, and procedures not inconsistent with this Chapter for the transaction of business and shall keep a public record of its resolutions, transactions, findings and determinations.

I. Limitation of Office. No member shall be elected to serve as chairperson of the Historic Preservation Commission for more than two consecutive years.

J. Absence from Meetings. If any member of the Historic Preservation Commission absents himself from three consecutive regular meetings of the Commission without permission secured before the third meeting or absence granted by the vote of not less than four members of the Commission, his office shall become vacant, and shall be filled as any other vacancy as provided for herein.

K. Decorum at Meetings. Members of the Commission and persons in attendance at meetings of the Commission shall conduct themselves in an orderly manner and in compliance with the Commission's rules or, in the absence of such rules, with the rulings of the presiding officer respecting applause, noise making and conduct. Any person found by the presiding officer to be in violation of any of the foregoing or to be disrupting the orderly progress of the meeting, shall be ordered by the presiding officer to remove himself, and to remain barred, from the meeting at which such violation occurs.

L. Compensation. All members shall be paid an allowance as compensation for expenses related to their attendance at authorized meetings within the city of La Mesa as the council may from time to time fix by resolution.

(Ord. 2016-2850 § 3, December 13, 2016)

A. Enforcement. The Planning Director or his designee shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this Title.

Whenever any alteration of any exterior architectural feature is being done contrary to the provisions of this title, the Planning Director or his designee may order the alteration stopped by notice in writing served on any person or persons engaged in the doing or causing such alteration, and any such person or persons shall forthwith stop such alteration until authorized by the Planning Director or his designee to proceed with the alteration.

It shall be unlawful for any person to carry out any alteration of any building or structure in violation of a notice stopping such alteration.

Any violation of the provisions of this Title shall constitute public nuisance.

B. Penalties. Any person violating any provision of this Title shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in an amount not exceeding Five Hundred ($500) Dollars or be imprisoned for a period not exceeding six (6) months or be so fined and imprisoned. Each day such violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as such hereunder.