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Calabasas · Building on your lot

Historic homes in Calabasas

Calabasas's own rules on historic homes, with the code text for every value.

Each rule below links to the section of the Calabasas Municipal Code it was read from, with the code text one click away (checked October 2026). General information, not legal advice.

What Calabasas's code says

Calabasas code What Calabasas's code adds
Changing a historic home
  • A certificate of appropriateness is required.
    Applies: Exterior work on a noncontributing structure in an historic district.
    § 17.36.090 · code text
    Any work, including alterations, additions, restorations, rehabilitations, remodeling, or demolition to the exterior of any noncontributing structure in an historic district.
  • A certificate of appropriateness is required.
    Applies: Infill development within an historic district.
    § 17.36.090 · code text
    Infill development within an historic district.
  • A certificate of appropriateness is required.
    Applies: Work on any historic landscape.
    § 17.36.090 · code text
    Any work, including alterations, additions, restorations, rehabilitations, remodeling, or demolition to any historic landscape.
Demolishing an older or historic home
  • A certificate of appropriateness is required.
    Applies: Any demolition, in whole or in part, of an historical resource.
    § 17.36.120 · code text
    A certificate of appropriateness is required for any demolition, in whole or in part, of an historical resource.
  • The property is evaluated for significance with any demolition application.
    Applies: Potential historical resources not yet designated as landmarks or contributing resources.
    § 17.36.120 · code text
    Properties determined to be potential historical resources, but not yet designated as landmarks or contributing resources to an historic district, shall be evaluated for significance in conjunction with any application for demolition.
Work that needs no review
  • The certificate of appropriateness may be waived.
    Applies: Additions under 500 square feet to a historical resource, not visible from a public right-of-way and consistent with design guidelines.
    § 17.36.090 · code text
    Additions under five hundred (500) square feet;
  • The certificate of appropriateness may be waived.
    Applies: Accessory structures on a historical resource, not visible from a public right-of-way and consistent with design guidelines.
    § 17.36.090 · code text
    Accessory structures.
Mills Act tax incentive
  • Eligible for Mills Act contracts.
    Applies: Designated landmarks, contributing structures in designated districts, and properties on the National Register or California Register.
    § 17.36.150 · code text
    All designated historic landmarks, contributing structures in designated historic districts, and properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places or the California Register of Historical Resources, are eligible for Mills Act contracts

Who this affects

HomeownersContractorsDesigners

Frequently asked questions

What rules apply to a historic home in Calabasas?

Calabasas's code: A certificate of appropriateness is required. (Exterior work on a noncontributing structure in an historic district.) (§ 17.36.090); A certificate of appropriateness is required. (Infill development within an historic district.) (§ 17.36.090).

General information, not legal advice.

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Ask GoCodebook how Calabasas's historic homes rules apply to your situation and get an answer that cites the section.

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