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LOS ANGELES CONSERVANCY Preservation Report Card | 2014

ELEMENTS OF A STRONG PRESERVATION PROGRAM

Historic Preservation Ordinance

A local historic preservation ordinance is one of the most important tools
a community can use to protect historic resources. The effectiveness of a
preservation ordinance depends on its scope and language, and ordi-
nances vary greatly among jurisdictions. Their basic provisions enable a
community to designate significant local sites as historic, list them on a
local listing of historic resources, and provide a level of
protection through a design review process.

These designated sites are referred to by a variety of
names, such as “historic landmark” or “historic-cultural
monument,” depending on the jurisdiction. A preserva-
tion ordinance outlines the criteria the community has es-
tablished for designating such landmarks.

These criteria are often based on those used by both the
National Register of Historic Places and the California
Register of Historical Places, which in turn are based on
generally accepted preservation standards. Each commu-
nity can tailor its designation criteria to reflect the specific
significance of the community’s unique local resources.

Strong local historic preservation ordinances require that requests for
building permits for designated structures be reviewed by city staff or a
special local commission to ensure that proposed alterations conform to
preservation standards. They also give the city the power to deny permits
for inappropriate alterations or demolitions. In order to protect a signifi-
cant structure from demolition or severe alteration by its owner, a strong
preservation ordinance does not require owner consent for a historic re-
source to be designated.

Ordinances that require owner consent, or that allow the owner to have a
Top: The lack of a preservation ordinance in
Palos Verdes Estates led to the 2012 demolition of designation removed, are far less effective in using landmark designation
the highly intact Moore House (Lloyd Wright, 1959). as a method for protecting threatened resources. Weaker preservation or-
Photo by Adrian Scott Fine/L.A. Conservancy.
dinances do not prevent demolition of a designated resource, but merely
Bottom: The Moore House after demolition. delay demolition for a set number of days. The weakest ordinances con-
Photo by Flora Chou/L.A. Conservancy.
tain no language regarding the protection of the designated resource: such
designated sites enjoy only honorary status and no protections at all.

A few communities have a “scorched-earth” provision in their ordinances.
This provision prohibits new construction on a site for a set period of time
after an illegal demolition has occurred.

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