SAN DIEGO – On Feb. 24, the San Diego City Council voted 5-1 in favor of reforms to the city’s Heritage Preservation Program.
The council’s action approved Package A, the first of two policy-reform packages for its Preservation and Progress Program. Package A is the City’s first comprehensive update to its Heritage Preservation Program in more than 25 years.
Package B, the second and final phase of the program, is still in development.
The Heritage Preservation Program identifies and protects buildings and places that are historically, culturally, or architecturally significant. Through Preservation and Progress, the City is updating policies and regulations to better protect historic resources while aligning with its housing, equity, sustainability, and resilience goals.
However, the city’s successful update of Package A was disturbing to many Ocean Beach residents, some of whom fear it places the community’s historic resources at greater risk of redevelopment and higher density.
To get the city’s perspective on its package of historical reforms, Times of San Diego held a Q&A with San Diego public information officer Peter Kelly.
TOSD: Now that Package A has been approved, how will this program be rolled out? What’s the timetable for putting this new program into effect?
City: The changes to the Historic Preservation Fund that were included in Package A are in effect. The amendments to the General Plan and the Municipal Code both require review by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, serving as the Airport Land Use Commission, and the California Coastal Commission. Those aspects of Package A will be in effect outside of the Coastal Zone once approved by the Airport Authority and inside of the Coastal Zone once approved by the Coastal Commission.
TOSD: Some residents are arguing that the project needs more environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act. What is the city’s position on that?
City: The Planning Department reviewed Preservation and Progress Package A and conducted a consistency evaluation pursuant to CEQA guidelines. It was determined that the implementation of Package A would not result in new significant direct, indirect, or cumulative impacts over and above those disclosed in the previously certified environmental documents. Package B will also receive all required review and analysis in compliance with CEQA.
TOS: Some people are worried that these changes could lead to greater densification in the community. Is that an objective of this project, or a response to a consequence not likely to happen?
City: Preservation and Progress is not about increasing density — it’s about improving how the Heritage Preservation Program functions. By creating clearer rules, it can reduce unnecessary delays for projects, particularly on properties that are not historically significant, while maintaining protections for those that are.
Under the city’s current regulations, buildings can and are adaptively reused and expanded to accommodate new homes and other uses. In most instances, Heritage Preservation staff is able to work with the project applicant to design a project that is consistent with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and approve the project at a staff level with a building permit.
However, the City Planning Department must find additional ways to improve the regulations and guidance around adaptive reuse and new construction to provide a clearer pathway for those interested in adding homes or other adaptive reuses to properties with historical resources. Preservation and Progress Package B will explore ways to better incentivize the adaptive reuse of designated historical resources and their incorporation into new developments, as well as establish objective design requirements grounded in the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties that provide a clear pathway for those looking to adaptively reuse designated historical resources and construct new homes or other adaptive uses.
TOS: Package B in the city’s Preservation and Progress Program will be considered at a later date. Could you tell us what that will entail, and when that review/approval process is going to take place, and how long it is expected to last?
City: Package B, which is still being evaluated by city staff and prepared, may include the following items:
Updates to the city’s Mills Act Program to ensure equitable and fiscally responsible implementation; Amendments to the 45 Year Review process to transition away from reactive individual property reviews to proactive preservation that protects important resources and districts; Amendments to address automatic regulation and/or listing of National and State Register resources; Comprehensive update to the Historical Resources Guidelines of the Land Development Manual; establishment of a commemorative designation program to celebrate history of properties ineligible for historic designation; Creation of a Multiple Property Listing framework to more efficiently evaluate and designate properties with shared significance; Development of objective design standards for improvements or additions (including ADU homes) to historic resources and districts; Streamlining and incentivizing preservation and adaptive reuse of historical resources; strengthening and clarifying enforcement, penalties, and fines around demolition by neglect and unpermitted alteration of historic resources; and Better addressing sustainability and the use of substitute materials, utilizing updated federal preservation guidance.The proposed reforms will go to the Historical Resources Board, Planning Commission, and Land Use and Housing Committee for review before advancing to the City Council for approval, which is anticipated in early 2027. People interested in learning more about Preservation and Progress can visit sandiego.gov/preservationandprogress to provide input and sign up for updates as the initiative progresses.
TOSD: Why was this preservation project divided into two packages?
City: Preservation and Progress will be processed in two packages of amendments. Package A includes items that are not significantly complex and that do not involve amendments to the Historical Resources Regulations or Historical Resources Guidelines, as any amendments need to be addressed more comprehensively.
Additional amendments are continuing to be evaluated and will be included in Package B, which may include updates that are more complex in nature, such as amendments to the Historical Resources Regulations and/or Historical Resources Guidelines, or that may require more extensive environmental analysis. The changes proposed in Package A and evaluated for Package B are independent of each other and do not rely upon each other for adoption.
TOSD: What is the rationale behind this project and these changes? What is the goal of revamping the way things have been done previously with this City Preservation and Progress project?
City: Preservation and Progress is a comprehensive update to the City’s Heritage Preservation program, which identifies and protects buildings and places that are historically, culturally, or architecturally significant to San Diego. It has been over two decades since the City’s established Heritage Preservation Program was comprehensively updated. Over that period of time, best practices within the field of historic preservation have changed, including the importance of acknowledging harmful past practices in zoning and preservation, their lasting impacts, and how we can build a more inclusive and equitable heritage preservation program that serves everyone.
Other significant changes that affect the heritage preservation program include a local and statewide housing crisis and the adoption of many state and local laws aimed at addressing it.
Six goals guide the Preservation and Progress program updates:
Advance equity in preservation and prioritize protection of resources important to BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other historically marginalized communities. Evaluate the Mills Act program to ensure the program is equitable and incentivizes the protection and restoration of important places in a fiscally responsible manner. Identify and protect historical properties and districts that are important to the City’s history and culture, with a focus on historic districts. Reform permit processes to better encourage the adaptive reuse of historical buildings on their original sites. Adopt design standards for historical properties and districts to provide clear, objective requirements and by-right approval for additions and new development. Remove regulations that unnecessarily impact properties that lack historical or cultural importance.Hence then, the article about city discusses what heritage preservation program reforms mean was published today ( ) and is available on Times of San Diego ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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