Chapter 4 — HISTORIC RESOURCES PRESERVATION

This chapter shall be known as the "preservation ordinance." (§ 2, Ord. 2554 c.s., eff. August 31, 1989)

The purpose of this chapter is to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare by providing for the identification, protection, enhancement, perpetuation, and use of historic resources such as building, structures, sites, places and districts within the City that reflect special elements of the City's architectural, artistic, cultural, historical, political, and social heritage for the following reasons:

• (a) To safeguard the City's heritage by encouraging the protection of landmarks representing significant elements of its history;

• (b) To foster civic and neighborhood pride and a sense of identity based on an appreciation of the City's past and the recognition and use of historic resources;

• (c) To enhance the visual character of the City by preserving diverse architectural styles reflecting phases of the City's history and by encouraging complementary contemporary design and construction;

• (d) To strengthen the economy of the City by protecting and enhancing the City's attractions to residents, tourists, and visitors;

• (e) To stabilize and improve property values within the City by recognizing historic landmarks and by protecting areas of historic buildings from encroachment by incompatible designs;

• (f) To promote the enjoyment and use of historic resources appropriate for the education and recreation of the people of the City;

• (g) To integrate the preservation of historic resources and the extraction of relevant data from such resources into public and private land management and development processes;

• (h) To conserve valuable material and energy resources by ongoing use and maintenance of the existing built environment; and

• (i) To take whatever steps are reasonable and necessary to safeguard the property rights of owners whose property is declared to be a landmark or is located in an historic district.

• (§ 2, Ord. 2554 c.s., eff. August 31, 1989)

This chapter shall apply to all historic resources, publicly and privately owned, within the corporate limits of the City of Redondo Beach. (§ 2, Ord. 2554 c.s., eff. August 31, 1989)

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City of Redondo Beach, CA

PLANNING AND ZONING

§ 10-4.104

§ 10-4.104

For the purpose of this chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases are defined as follows:

"Alteration" means any exterior change or modification of any landmark or of any improvement located on a property within an historic district including, but not limited to, exterior changes to or modifications of an improvement, or a structure or any of its architectural details or visual characteristics, including paint color and surface texture, grading, surface paving, and new structures.

"Alteration, minor" means an alteration that has been determined to have limited potential to affect the defining character and architectural style of the subject structure or resource. In no case shall minor alterations include actions involving new construction or full or partial demolition of a resource, or actions requiring approval on the basis of a finding of economic hardship.

"Certificate of appropriateness" means a certificate approving such plans, specifications, design, or statements of work, for any proposed alteration, restoration, demolition, removal, or relocation, in whole or in part, of or to improvements relative to landmarks or any property within a historic district.

"Commission" means the Public Amenities Commission established by Chapter 9, Title 2 of this Code.

"Contributing building" means a building within an historic district that has a special character, special historic or aesthetic interest or value, and is incorporated into the district for that reason.

"Demolition" means any acts that destroy in whole or in part, a building, structure, or improvement.

"Exterior architectural feature" means the architectural style, design, general arrangement, components, natural features and all the outer surfaces of an 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.

"Historic district" may be a geographic district or a thematic district. A "geographic district" means any geographic area, such as one or more blocks or block faces containing a multiple number of historically significant resources within the area. A "thematic district" means a compilation of historic resources that are not geographically linked, but rather are linked by similar characteristics that can be clearly articulated. In either kind of district the resources collectively have a special character or special historic, cultural, architectural, archeological, community or aesthetic value, or represent one or more architectural periods or styles typical to the history of the City. The resources may or may not have individual merit, but rather are significant because of qualification in a district.

"Historic resource" means any improvement, building, structure, landscape, sign, feature, site, place or area of scientific, aesthetic, educational, cultural, architectural, or historic significance to the citizens of the City.

"Improvement" means any building, structure, place, wall, fence, gate, sign, landscaping, or other object constituting a physical alteration of real property, or any part of such alteration.

"Landmark" means any improvement that has historical, cultural, aesthetic or architectural character or value, or which represents one or more architectural periods or styles typical to the history of the City and that has been designated as a landmark pursuant to this chapter.

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City of Redondo Beach, CA § 10-4.104

REDONDO BEACH

§ 10-4.104

"Minor Alterations Subcommittee" means a subcommittee of the Commission whose function is to review certificates of appropriateness involving minor alterations and to advise the Commission on matters of an architectural and design nature. The Minor Alterations Subcommittee shall consist of the following three members appointed by the chairperson of the Commission: the staff liaison to the Commission, and two members of the Commission, one of which shall be a professional from the field of architecture, if such a professional sits on the Commission.

"Noncontributing building" means a building within an historic district that does not possess the qualifications or characteristics of a contribution building due to such factors as age or alteration, but which has been included within the district because of its impact on the geographic integrity and overall character of the district.

"Ordinary maintenance" means any cleaning, painting, or similar work that does not result in the alteration of an improvement.

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

"Potential historic resource" means any improvement, building, structure, landscape, sign, feature, site, place or area that is: (1) listed in the City's Historic Resources Inventory with a National Register rating of 1-5 or a local survey rating of A or B; and/or (2) listed in the National Register of Historic Places or California Register; and/or (3) that has been evaluated pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act and determined by the Community Development Director to meet the criteria listed in (1) and/or (2) above.

"Relocation" means the displacement of any improvement within the same site.

"Removal" means the displacement of any improvement from the site.

"Restoration" means the act or process of accurately recovering the form and details of a property and its setting as it appeared at a particular period of time by means of the removal of later work or by the replacement of missing earlier work.

(§ 2, Ord. 2554 c.s., eff. August 31, 1989, as amended by § 1(60), Ord. 2844 c.s., eff. November 4, 1999, §§ 2, 3, Ord. 2933 c.s., eff. June 3, 2004, § 1, Ord. 3107 c.s., eff. February 8, 2013, and Ord. 3305-25 c.s., eff. November 13, 2025)

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City of Redondo Beach, CA