A property that is historically-protected in Los Angeles offers both benefits and some restrictions

 

Contributing Structures, Historic Preservation Overlay Zones (HPOZ):

The City of Los Angeles has a program where some older neighborhoods are officially recognized as protected historic districts. Each property within a designated district is either contributing or non-contributing. Properties in HPOZs are considered restricted properties. You may not engage in any exterior work on the house, building or the parcel/lot itself without building permits and/or clearances that have been approved by the City of Los Angeles Planning Department and the local HPOZ Board. The City policy is to require review and environmental clearance for proposed exterior work in these districts, including landscaping and hardscape elements, exterior paint, repairs to or replacement of windows and doors, roof replacements, etc. Demolition or major alteration is not generally approved; changing to new non-wood/non-original windows or putting stucco over other original siding materials is also generally not approved. Broadly speaking, as long as you follow the Secretary of Interior Standards for Rehabilitation (see below) your project will meet the requirements of an HPOZ.

 

Specific Plans and “Overlay” Zones with Historic Preservation Components:

In addition to HPOZs, the City of Los Angeles also has Specific Plan areas which may include a list of designated Historic Resources. In addition, the City now has a handful of “Character Residential Overlay Zones” (CPIO) which have land use, design (for new construction) and historic preservation components. These new overlays have been nicknamed, “HPOZ Lite.” They also include regulations preventing demolition of historic resources.

 

City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments:

When a building has been declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM), it joins a select few homes and other properties (fewer than 1,000 throughout L.A.) that the City recognizes as unique landmarks. One example is the Victorian-style Joseph Lee Starr Dairy Farmhouse (pictured), built in 1887 and meticulously restored by David Raposa of City Living Realty in recent years. For HCMs like the Starr Dairy Farmhouse, there are a number of potential preservation benefits, including the elimination of certain retrofitting requirements normally required upon resale of a property. For example, original and/or vintage plumbing fixtures may not need to be replaced in a historic property. You also may be eligible to utilize the State of California building code for historic structures, rather than some local Los Angeles building ordinances, when you are rehabilitating your historic property. If you are considering adaptive reuse options, HCMs also may receive special considerations, including potential parking reductions in some cases.

 

HCMs are also considered restricted properties. You may not engage in any interior or exterior work on the house, building or the parcel/lot itself without building permits that have been approved by the City of Los Angeles Planning Department’s Historic Resources division.

 

Mills Act Historical Properties Contracts:

In the City of Los Angeles, both individual Historic-Cultural Monuments and Contributing Structures in designated HPOZs may be eligible to enter into a Mills Act Historical Property Contract, which can reduce County property taxes by 25 percent or more. In return, the property owner must have all proposed interior and exterior work reviewed by and approved by the City. The Mills Act requires a separate application process, and the payment of certain fees.

 

The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Rehabilitation:

The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, also known as The Standards, are part of the United States Department of the Interior – National Park Service – Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. The Standards are a nationally recognized tool for the preservation, maintenance and rehabilitation of our nation’s heritage. These Standards have become the accepted benchmark at all levels of government – national, state, and local – for evaluating the acceptability of proposed changes to historic properties. The City of Los Angeles utilizes the Standards in reviewing proposed alterations to City Historic-Cultural Monuments and in its Historic Preservation Overlay Zones (HPOZs).

 

The Standards are not meant to prevent change – instead, they represent a sophisticated and nuanced framework for managing change. Primary among the guidelines are: 1. A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to the defining characteristics of the building and its site and environment; and 2. The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided.

 

Additional Information:

The City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles City Planning Department have created informational brochures on historic properties. Visit www.preservation.lacity.org to learn more and to download these publications.

 

The Getty Conservation Institute has also prepared a handbook entitled “Incentives for the Preservation and Rehabilitation of Historic Homes in the City of Los Angeles.." Visit http://www.getty.edu/conservation/field_projects/lasurvey/lasurvey_publications.html to download the pdf brochure.

 

City Living Realty has been selling architectural treasures in Historic West Adams since 1981.

Visit www.CityLivingRealty.com for more information