Riverside Municipal Code Ch. 20.50 Definitions

For the purposes of this title, these terms are defined as follows:

Alteration means any change, modification, or demolition, through public or private action, to the character-defining or significant physical features of properties affected by this title. Such changes may be: changes to, or modifications of, structural or architectural details or visual characteristics; grading; surface paving; the addition of new structures; the cutting or removal of designated trees, landscapes or other natural features; the disturbance of archaeological sites or areas; or the placement or removal of any significant objects such as signs, plaques, light fixtures, street furniture, walls, fences, steps, plantings, or landscape accessories affecting the significant visual and/or historical qualities of the Cultural Resource.

Board means the Cultural Heritage Board.

Certificate of Appropriateness means a certificate, issued by the Board or Historic Preservation Officer or Qualified Designee that approves plans, specifications, or statements of work for any proposed alteration, removal, relocation or demolition of any cultural resource.

Certified Local Government (CLG) means a local government certified under federal law by the California State Office of Historic Preservation for the purpose of more direct participation in federal and State historic preservation programs.

Character defining features means the overall shape of the building, its materials, craftsmanship, decorative details, architectural features, and the various aspects of its site and environment.

Contributing feature means a site, improvement, or natural feature that within a Historic District, Neighborhood Conservation Area, or an individually significant property that provides appropriate historic context, historic architecture, historic association, or historic value, or is capable of yielding important information about the period including, but not limited to: streets, curbs, sidewalks, streetlights, street furniture, signs, landscaping, monuments, and works of art, gutters, setbacks, signage, parkway, alleys, walls, fencing, and gates.

Contributor means a building structure within a Historic District or Neighborhood Conservation Area that provides appropriate historic context, historic architecture, historic association or historic value, or is capable of yielding important information about the period.

Cultural landscape means a geographic area, including both cultural and natural resources and the wildlife or domestic animals therein, associated with a historic event, activity, or person or exhibiting other cultural or aesthetic values.

Cultural resource means improvements, natural features, sites, cultural landscapes, or other objects, which may reasonably be of scientific, aesthetic, educational, cultural, architectural, social, political, military, historical or archaeological significance. This includes designated cultural resources, eligible cultural resources, and contributing features to Historic Districts and Neighborhood Conservation Areas. A "Point of Cultural Interest" as recognized under Title 20 is expressly not under this definition. Cultural resource has the same meaning as historic resource pursuant to the California Government Code.

Cultural resources Overlay Zone means a Title 19 zoning category applied to a property identified as a Designated Cultural Resource.

Cultural resources survey means a project that surveys and identifies properties within the City according to the standards set forth in National Register Bulletin #24. Completed surveys shall have findings adopted by City Council, as a consent or discussion item.

Demolition of a cultural resource means the removal, over a 5-year period, of more than 25 percent of the wall(s) and roof forms on the primary elevation and/or facing a public street(s) or 50 percent of entire structure.

Demolition by neglect means the practice in which the owner of a cultural resource, or designee, allows the continued deterioration of a resource over a period of time as a result of lack of maintenance, failure to protect the resource from pests or vandals, and/or failure to take reasonable measures to prevent ingress of water or wind through the roof, walls, or apertures of the resource, leading to deterioration and/or structural failure that results in complete or partial demolition (50% or more), the loss of character-defining features, and/or that constitutes a threat to public health and safety.

Design guidelines means the document approved by the Board which illustrates appropriate and inappropriate methods of alteration and construction. The purpose of design guidelines is to promote appropriate design and decision-making and to preserve the integrity and character defining features of cultural resources. The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties shall serve as design guidelines where there exist no other established design guidelines.

Designated cultural resource means any cultural resource that has been designated a City landmark, structure or resource of merit, Historic District, or Neighborhood Conservation Area (prior to 2006); County Landmark, County Historic Preservation District, a California Point of Historical Interest or Historical Landmark; a National Heritage Landmark; or is listed in the National Register of Historic Places or the California Register of Historical Resources.

Eligible cultural resource means a cultural resource or Historic District which has been determined by the Historic Preservation Officer or Qualified Designee, Board, or City Council to meet the City's designation criteria pursuant to a survey prepared by a professional meeting the Secretary of the Interior's standards which either documents the resource, records the resource on the State Department of Parks and Recreation survey forms, or has been so designated by the California State Historic Preservation Officer.

Historic District means an area which contains:

A. A concentration, linkage, or continuity of cultural resources, where at least 50 percent of the structures or elements retain significant historic integrity, (a "geographic Historic District") or

B. A thematically-related grouping of cultural resources which contribute to each other and are unified aesthetically by plan or physical development, and which have been designated or determined eligible for designation as a Historic District by the Historic Preservation Officer or Qualified Designee, Board, or City Council or is listed in the National Register of Historic Places or the California Register of Historical Resources, or is a California Historical Landmark or a California Point of Historical Interest (a "thematic Historic District").

In addition to either A. or B. above, the area also:

1. Exemplifies or reflects special elements of the City's cultural, social, economic, political, aesthetic, engineering, architectural, or natural history;

2. Is identified with persons or events significant in local, State, or national history;

3. Embodies distinctive characteristics of a style, type, period, or method of construction, or is a valuable example of the use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship;

4. Represents the work of notable builders, designers, or architects;

5. Embodies a collection of elements of architectural design, detail, materials or craftsmanship that represent a significant structural or architectural achievement or innovation;

6. Reflects significant geographical patterns, including those associated with different eras of settlement and growth, particular transportation modes, or distinctive examples of park or community planning;

7. Conveys a sense of historic and architectural cohesiveness through its design, setting, materials, workmanship or association; or

8. Has yielded or may be likely to yield, information important in history or prehistory.

Historic Preservation Officer is the person selected by the Community Development Director for the City of Riverside and appointed by the City Manager to administer the cultural resources program, including professional support to the Board, management of both the Board's Certificate of Appropriateness process, and execution of the Administrative Certificate of Appropriateness process. The Historic Preservation Officer shall meet the requirements of the Department of the Interior, National Park Service as set forth in appendix A to Title 36, Part 61 (Professional Qualification Standards).

Improvement means any building, structure, fence, gate, wall, landscaping, planted tree, work of art, or other man-made physical feature of real property, or any part of such feature which is not a natural feature.

In-kind replacement means to match the old in material, design, color, and texture, when sufficient information is known about the original to be replaced. Refer to the Secretary of Interior Standards for Historic Properties for more specific information on in-kind replacement as applies to the appropriate level of treatment (i.e.: preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, or reconstruction). If sufficient information is not known about the original to be replaced, in-kind replacement is not possible.

Integrity means the ability of a cultural resource to convey its significance. To retain integrity a cultural resource must retain most of the aspects that closely relate to the resource's significance including location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.

Land Use Committee means the Land Use, Sustainability, and Resilience Committee.

Landmark means:

A. Any improvement or natural feature that is an exceptional example of a historical, archaeological, cultural, architectural, community, aesthetic or artistic heritage of the City, retains a high degree of integrity; and

B. Meets one or more of the following criteria:

1. Exemplifies or reflects special elements of the City's cultural, social, economic, political, aesthetic, engineering, architectural, or natural history;

2. Is identified with persons or events significant in local, state or national history;

3. Embodies distinctive characteristics of a style, type, period or method of construction, or is a valuable example of the use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship;

4. Represents the work of a notable builder, designer, or architect, or important creative individual;

5. Embodies elements that possess high artistic values or represents a significant structural or architectural achievement or innovation;

6. Reflects significant geographical patterns, including those associated with different eras of settlement and growth, particular transportation modes, or distinctive examples of park or community planning, or cultural landscape;

7. Is one of the last remaining examples in the City, region, State, or nation possessing distinguishing characteristics of an architectural or historical type or specimen; or

8. Has yielded or may be likely to yield, information important in history or prehistory.

An improvement or natural feature meeting one or more of the above criteria, yet not having the high degree of integrity to qualify as a landmark, may qualify as a structure or resource of merit (see subsection "Secretary of Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties," below).

An improvement or natural feature meeting one or more of the above criteria, yet not formally designated as a landmark by the City Council, may be an eligible landmark.

Moratorium means a suspension of an ongoing or planned development activity or permits.

Natural feature means any naturally-occurring tree, plant life, habitat, geographical or geological site or feature, but does not include Improvements.

Neighborhood conservation area means an area that:

A. Provides a contextual understanding of the broader patterns of Riverside's cultural, social, economic, political, aesthetic, engineering, architectural, or natural history;

B. Represents established and familiar visual features of a neighborhood, community, or of the City;

C. Reflects significant development or geographical patterns, including those associated with different eras of settlement and growth; or

D. Conveys a sense of historic or architectural cohesiveness through its design, setting, materials, workmanship or association.

Designation of Neighborhood Conservation Areas is no longer allowed. Those designated prior to May 2006 shall remain in effect and subject to this title, and may be modified or dedesignated.

Non-contributing feature of a Historic District, Neighborhood Conservation Area, or individually significant property means a site, improvement, or natural feature within a Historic District or Neighborhood Conservation Area that does not provide appropriate historic context, historic architecture, historic association or historic value, or is not capable of yielding important information about the period, because that element:

A. Was not present during the district's or area's period of historic significance; or

B. No longer possesses integrity due to alterations, disturbances, additions, or other changes; and

C. Does not independently meet the designation criteria as defined in this title.

Non-contributor to either a Historic District or a Neighborhood Conservation Area means a building structure within a Historic District or Neighborhood Conservation Area that does not provides appropriate historic context, historic architecture, historic association or historic value, or is not capable of yielding important information about the period, because that building structure:

A. Was not present during the district's or area's period of historic significance; or

B. No longer possesses integrity due to alterations, disturbances, additions, or other changes; and

C. Does not independently meet the designation criteria as defined in this title.

Person means any natural person, property owner, or occupant; association, company, corporation or other legal entity; local, city, county, or federal agency.

Point of cultural interest means

A. Criteria. Point of historical interest means a site, of local significance, meeting one or more of the following criteria:

1. Has anthropological, cultural, military, political, architectural, economic, scientific or technical, religious, experimental, or other value;

2. The original physical feature(s) no longer exist to an appreciable extent; and

3. Is found to not qualify as a recognized cultural resource or an eligible cultural resource.

B. Not cultural resources. Points of cultural interest are recognized, not designated, and do not qualify as a cultural resource by virtue of their recognition.

C. Intent. The purpose of points of cultural interest is to recognize otherwise-intangible historic facts about a place in the City. Points of cultural interest are strictly informational in nature.

D. Relationship with other laws. Points of cultural interest are specifically and expressly intended to not have any significance under the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") (Public Resources Code section 21000 et seq.) or the State CEQA Guidelines (14 Cal. Code Regs. Section 15000 et seq.), the National Environmental Protection Act, or any other environmental law, statute, or regulation.

Preservation means the identification, study, protection, restoration, rehabilitation, and/or acquisition of cultural resources.

Qualified designee means the person(s) designated by the Historic Preservation Officer who meets the requirements of the Department of the Interior, National Park Service as set forth in Appendix A to Title 36, Part 61 (Professional Qualification Standards).

Resource of Merit See "Structure (or Resource) of Merit," below.

Secretary of Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties means the guidelines prepared by the National Park Service for preserving, rehabilitating, restoring, and reconstructing historic buildings and the standards for historic preservation projects prepared by the National Park Service with the most current guidelines for applying the standards.

Structure (or Resource) of Merit means:

A. Any improvement or natural feature which contributes to the broader understanding of the historical, archaeological, cultural, architectural, community, aesthetic, or artistic heritage of the City while retaining sufficient integrity; and:

B. Meets one or more of the following criteria:

1. Has a unique location, embodies a singular physical characteristic, or contains a view or vista representing an established and familiar visual feature within a neighborhood, community or area.

2. Is an example of a type of building which was once common but is now rare in its neighborhood, community or area;

3. Is connected with a business or use which was once common but is now rare;

4. Has yielded or may be likely to yield, information important in history or prehistory; or

5. Represents an improvement or Cultural Resource that no longer exhibits the high degree of integrity sufficient for landmark designation, yet still retains necessary integrity under one or more of the landmark criteria to convey cultural resource significance as a structure or resource of merit.

(Ord. 7744, § 13, 2025; Ord. 7684, § 7, 2024; Ord. 7657, § 26(Exh. D), 2024; Ord. 7531 §16, 2020; Ord. 7248 §5, 2014; Ord. 7206 §24, 2013; Ord. 7108 §1, 2010)

The Historic Preservation Officer or Qualified Designee has the discretion to interpret the above terms, in addition to any other term in applying this title. In applying this title, the Historic Preservation Officer or Qualified Designee may, in its discretion, request from the Board a definition, interpretation, or an opinion regarding any defined term, or any other term.

(Ord. 7344 §§ 2, 3, 2016; Ord. 7206 §25, 2013; Ord. 7108 §1, 2010)