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LOS ANGELES CONSERVANCY Pre ser vatio n Report Card | 2008

built outside the district’s established “period of significance,” as well as
those that have been greatly altered.

The strongest historic district ordinances enable a city’s historic preser-
vation commission to deny inappropriate alteration or demolition of his-
toric structures within district boundaries. They also allow for design
review of new construction within the district, to help ensure that new de-
velopment is compatible with the neighborhood’s unique historic character.

The City of Long Beach has designated seventeen historic districts, which
receive local design review by the City’s Cultural Heritage Commission.

MILLS ACT HISTORIC PROPERTY CONTRACTS PROGRAM

The Mills Act is the single most important economic incentive program in
California for the restoration and preservation of qualified historic build-
ings by private property owners. It is a state law that allows local juris-
dictions to enter into contracts with private property owners to guarantee
the preservation of designated historic sites or structures. Property own-
ers who participate in the Mills Act Property Tax Abatement Program
have made a contractual agreement with their respective city to adhere
to a schedule of maintenance repairs and upkeep on their historic prop-
erty for the duration of the contract,
which spans ten years and self-renews
at the close of each year. In exchange
for this agreement, the property owner
is entitled to an alternate evaluation of
the property for tax purposes, which
usually results in a reduced property
tax bill.

Despite its clear and considerable
value, the Mills Act has been imple-
mented by only nineteen Los Angeles
County municipalities to date:

Calabasas, Claremont, Covina, Glen-
Top: Fox Theatre (1949), Inglewood dale, Glendora, Huntington Park, La Verne, Long Beach, Los Angeles,
(Dean Cheng)
Monrovia, Pasadena, Pomona, Redondo Beach, San Dimas, Santa
Bottom: Kramer House (1966), Los Angeles Monica, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, West Hollywood, Whittier
Historic-Cultural Monument No. 933, Granada Hills,
Los Angeles (Aaron Kahlenberg)
Since the Mills Act is typically the only economic incentive tool available
to local jurisdictions, the existence of a program at the local level is a
good indicator of a particular city’s commitment to historic preservation.

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