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LOS ANGELES CONSERVANCY Pre ser vation Report Card | 2008

second largest in the state, with over 380 contracts. Los Angeles has des-
ignated over 930 Historic-Cultural Monuments (local landmarks) and
twenty-four HPOZs that encompass more than 14,000 properties. The
city’s cultural heritage ordinance, created in 1962, is currently undergo-
ing its first major revision that would enable the city to deny, not merely
delay, the demolition of a designated resource. Los Angeles has launched
its first-ever citywide historic resources survey, the largest such project
ever undertaken by a single municipality, spanning over 800,000 parcels.
This multi-phase, multi-year survey seeks to actively involve the com-
munity; aggressive outreach includes a dedicated website, a speakers
bureau, and an award-winning video.

Los Angeles earned an A- (versus a B+ in 2003) for its demonstrated com-
mitment to historic preservation in a variety of areas, particularly estab-
lishing an office with dedicated historic preservation staff. The city has
received a number of awards for its preservation efforts, including a 2008
Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Award and honors from the Amer-
ican Planning Association and the California Preservation Foundation.
The City of Los Angeles won a 2008 Los Angeles
Conservancy Preservation Award for its Historic West Covina: F to C
Homeowner Education Program, which includes this
brochure, printed in English, Spanish, and Korean,
explaining the city’s HPOZ program (Historic Preservation The City of West Covina has made significant strides in protecting its his-
Overlay Zones, the city’s term for historic districts).
Image courtesy Los Angeles Office of Historic Resources. toric resources. The city established a historic preservation ordinance in
2007 that allows for the designation of both landmarks and historic dis-
tricts, and enables the city to deny requests for inappropriate alteration or
demolition. West Covina has completed a citywide survey of its historic
resources and recently designated its first landmark.

West Covina earned a C (versus an F in 2003)
for implementing two important programs for
safeguarding historic resources in the commu-
nity. The citywide survey and the historic preser-
vation ordinance have enabled West Covina to
identify potential resources throughout the city
and to create a register of designated properties
that will receive substantial protections. How-
ever, the city does require owner consent for
both the designation of individual landmarks and
the inclusion of properties within historic dis-
tricts, limiting West Covina’s ability to protect its
architectural heritage.

Establishing a historic preservation ordinance and
completing a citywide survey of historic resources have
enabled West Covina to begin protecting its architectural
heritage. Pictured: Jobe House (1891), West Covina.
Photo courtesy City of West Covina Planning Department.

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