Frequently Asked Questions: City-wide Historic Survey

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Cities conduct “Historic Resource Inventories” (or surveys) in order to officially record structures and sites that have historic significance (based upon the Local Criteria*).  Systematically identifying, researching, and documenting properties that reflect important themes in the city's growth and development, such as architecture, city planning, social history, ethnic heritage, politics, industry, transportation, and commerce. 

Surveys are official documents (inventories) on file with the city of Ventura, and the State of California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP).

A Ventura Historic Landmark means any real property such as building, structure, or archaeological excavation, or object that is unique or significant because of its location, design, setting, materials, workmanship or aesthetic feeling, and is associated with the Local Criteria* for listing.

Note: A District Contributor* to a Historic District* does not need to be as significant as a Landmark.

The following Criteria are established to determine if a site is historic:

Events that have made a meaningful contribution. OR

Lives of significant persons. OR

Exemplifying a particular period. OR

Embodying distinctive characteristics of a type, period or construction. OR

The work of masters: builders, designers, artists, or architects. OR

Yielding information important to history or prehistory.

Note: Can also be more than one criteria.

A building or site or resource that appears to be associated with the Local Criteria for Designation* as a Landmark*.

(It usually needs to be over 50 years old, unless it is exceptional). 

It would need to have the Character Defining Features to exhibit its historic integrity; in other words, it should look like a historic resource and not be so altered, over time, that it no longer represents its historic period, theme and context.

Your property cannot be designated a Ventura Landmark without owner consent. 

Designation (Registration*) of a historic property usually means some formal application and acceptance following established criteria. Buildings, trees, and, prehistoric artifacts can all be designated as Landmarks, or Designated as District Contributors. Identification* is not Designation.

Designation can be confused with Registration,* which is similar.

Registration (Designation*) of a historic property or district usually means a formal application and acceptance following established criteria to a historic register. Places can be Registered on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or California Register of Historic Resources (CRHR). To confuse things further resources are often said to be "listed" in the NRHP or CRHR. Identification* is not Registration.

Registration can be confused with Designation,* which is similar.

About 1% of Ventura's properties (buildings mostly) have been identified as Potentially Historic* by viewing them from the street and then doing follow-up research to determine the year built, Character Defining Features*, and sometimes the architect or significant individuals who lived or worked there. 

See Unidentified*

If the identification is factually incorrect, if the building was rebuilt, or a person never lived there, then the survey listing can be removed by appealing the determination using the relevant facts. Inquire with the planning department.

If you wish your property was never identified, know this:

If you went to the permit counter in 2018  to add a new bathroom to your old house, unknowingly your 50-year-old house would have triggered an (owner-paid-for) historic report to determine if your particular property was historic. The City planners would have waited for the results, and you would have paid the historic consultant thousands of dollars.

If you don't plan to do additions or alterations to your property, nothing has changed through Identification*.

In a Historic District*, buildings which are associated with the historic period of significance (POS) of the district, contribute to the integrity of the District and are not too altered, are considered District Contributors (DC). 

Buildings that are not associated with the district or have been too altered are called Non-Contributors (NC)

A Historic District is defined by the Ventura Preservation ordinance as: Representing a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction.

(Confusing, we know)

That means that a group of adjacent buildings (like a tract) that may not be significant enough to be potential individual Landmarks* but may still be historic as a group.

(Landmarks can also be District Contributors*)

Historic Integrity: The authenticity of a property’s historic identity, evidenced by the survival of physical attributes that existed during the property’s historic or prehistoric period of significance.

These attributes are called Character Defining Features.

There are seven aspects of Integrity

• Materials
• Design
• Feeling
• Location
• Association
• Workmanship
• Setting

Not all aspects are required to the same degree, depending on the Criteria. 

Listing applies to many things, and can be confusing in the context of preservation. 

For Instance:

• Every property in the City is listed in City zoning plans and maps.
• The Survey* established a list of buildings that are potentially historically significant.
• Landmarks* are listed on the Landmarks list.
• Sites can be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Homeowners don't know what "Listed on the Survey" means.
• Sometimes Incentives require properties to be listed as 'Registered' historic Landmarks.

The biggest incentive for historic homeowners is the increased value in historic houses versus similar non historic properties. Studies have shown that values for real estate in designated historic districts are higher than similar non designated areas.

The Mills Act is an optional property tax abatement incentive for historic properties that often results in a reduction in property tax bills of approximately  50% on residential Landmarks. The Mills Act requires that property owners maintain and preserve their property and submit a list of future upgrades and maintenance projects to be eligible for the tax break.

Protection from some adjacent incompatible development (like demolitions to build McMansions in small historic neighborhoods) is another added layer of protection that is afforded to Designated* historic resources. New state housing laws  recognize formally Designated* historic resources and require that new projects are compatible with Designated Landmarks and Districts.

California Historic Building Code (CHBC), provides alternative building regulations. It recognizes that the materials and design of historic buildings are worth preserving. The CHBC allows historic buildings to avoid following some costly new building codes for things like energy, window, ADA access,  repairs, alterations, and additions necessary for the preservation, rehabilitation, related construction, change of use, or continued use of a qualified historical building or structure. Any qualified historical building or structure may use the CHBC, upon request of the applicant for a permit. 

Work under the CHBC is required to comply with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards.

There are no regular or required reviews for Potential Landmarks or Potential District Contributors. There aren't even regular or required inspections or reviews for Designated Landmarks or Historic Districts. Interior home remodels never require historic review. There's no review of maintenance to historic buildings. 

Exterior alterations of Designated Landmarks* like additions, require HPC review, however some basic permits like re-roofing are over-the counter and are exempt from HPC review.

All demolition permits to a Potential or Designated historic resource require reviews to comply with state environmental laws. 

Physical attributes (often visual) that existed during the property’s period of significance (POS).

Victorian houses have Victorian CDFs like pitched roofs, tall ceilings, wavy glass, redwood siding, detached garages, and ornate woodwork. Spanish revival style houses have different CDFs, some, like detached garages, may be the same, and others, like the roof, siding and workmanship may be different.

These attributes include, but are not limited to, the overall shape and form of the building, its roof, openings, projections, trim, materials, craftsmanship, decorative details, as well as the various aspects of its site and

environment.

Development in already developed neighborhoods and commercial districts. 

Sometimes infill happens on an empty lot, sometimes by adaptively reusing an existing building, and sometimes through demolition of an old building to build new.

An organizing structure for interpreting history that groups information about historic properties that share a common theme, common geographical area, and a common time period. The development of historic contexts is a foundation for decisions about the planning, identification, evaluation, registration, and treatment of historic properties, based upon comparative historic significance. Those patterns or trends in history by which a specific event, property, or site is understood and its meaning within history or prehistory is illuminated.

Properties are not reassessed because of historic preservation. Your property taxes will not increase differently whether you are on the Survey List, the Landmarks List or the National Register.

Your tax burden may decrease if you enter into a Mills Act Contract, get a SB451 tax credit or use a 20% preservation tax credit.

These definitions were written and copied by Stephen Schafer to be understood by regular folks. Precise legal language was avoided, opinions were inserted, and local examples were added. Refer to the actual Historic Preservation Ordinance or confer with Ventura City staff for exact requirements. 

The City of Ventura/HRG FAQ and website linked below, is a more formal explanation.