Santa Cruz Municipal Code Part 2 Historic District Designation

The purpose of this procedure is to provide for the designation of an historic district.

(Ord. 85-05 § 1 (part), 1985).

1. Designation of an historic district may be initiated by the city council, the planning commission, the historic preservation commission, or an application of persons, or their authorized agents, who own sixty percent of the recorded lots to be included in the proposed district.

2. The application to designate an historic district shall be referred to the historic preservation commission for review and report to the planning commission as to conformance with the purposes and criteria of the city’s historic preservation provisions (Section 24.12.400) and this Historic Preservation Plan. The historic preservation commission shall hold a public hearing.

3. After receiving a recommendation from the historic preservation commission, the planning commission shall hold a public hearing.

4. The planning commission shall transmit the application and its recommendations, along with the recommendation of this historic preservation commission, to the city council.

5. The city council shall hold a public hearing on any proposed designation so transmitted.

(Ord. 85-05 § 1 (part), 1985).

Before designating an historic district, the historic preservation commission, the planning commission, and the city council shall find that the following criteria have been met:

1. The proposed historic district is a geographically definable area possessing a significant concentration or continuity of sites, buildings, structures, or objects unified by past events, or aesthetically by plan or physical development.

2. The collective value of the historic district taken together may be greater than the value of each individual structure.

3. The proposed designation is in conformance with the purpose of the city’s historic preservation provisions, set forth in Section 24.12.400 of this title and the city’s Historic Preservation Plan and the General Plan.

(Ord. 85-05 § 1 (part), 1985).