Pasadena, California | Historic Districts

Pasadena, California Historic Districts: Landmark Districts, Certificates of Appropriateness and Demolition Rules

In Pasadena, California, historic review is part of many housing projects: the City had numbered its landmark districts up to LD-30 by August 2026. Chapter 17.62 of the Zoning Code, the Historic Preservation chapter, decides what may be added, changed or torn down on a historic property and in a historic or landmark district. This page explains the kinds of designation, how a district is created, the review each project needs, the rule that ties demolition to a replacement permit, and how ADUs, SB 9 and SB 79 apply. The Pasadena overview has the short version.

Kinds of Historic Designation

A historic resource is a building, site, structure or object found to be significant. Section 17.62.040 sets criteria for several kinds, applied with the National Register's "seven aspect of integrity: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association":

• Greene & Greene structures. Everything designed by the firm of Greene & Greene, or by Charles Sumner Greene or Henry Mather Greene, is designated automatically.
• Historic monuments. Resources significant at a regional, State or Federal level, including every resource listed in the National Register at the State-wide or Federal level.
• Landmarks. Resources of local significance, including every cultural heritage landmark designated before the chapter was adopted in 2002.
• Landmark districts. Groups of buildings shown on the Zoning Map with the LD overlay and a number.
• Historic signs and landmark trees. Separate categories with their own criteria.

Pasadena also reviews resources that are "eligible for designation" but not yet designated, and contributing buildings in districts found eligible by a survey. A contributing resource is a building that adds to the history and character of a district; a noncontributing one lacks those features. The City's Historic Preservation page links to the California Historical Resources Inventory Database, which it describes as containing "information about every designated historic property and district in the city."

How a Landmark District Is Created

A landmark district is an LD overlay added to the base zone. Section 17.28.080 keeps the base district's uses and standards and says the LD provisions control where they conflict. Section 17.62.070 sets the steps:

• Eligibility review. A property owner in the area, or a neighborhood association whose boundaries cross it, applies. The Planning Director decides whether the district meets the criteria and holds an informational meeting for owners inside the boundary.
• Formal application. Once eligible, a neighborhood organization or owners file a formal application. Within 60 days of a complete application, the Director prepares a designation report with "a defined period of significance," the years when the district gained its historic character.
• Hearings. The Historic Preservation Commission recommends approval or denies the application. The Planning Commission may consider the zoning map change "only if the application is accompanied by a final petition with the signatures from at least 51 percent of the property owners," and must hear it within 12 months of a complete application.
• Failure. If owner support falls below 51 percent at the hearing or after 12 months, the application is withdrawn and may not be filed again for at least 12 months.
• Additions. An area added to an existing district needs at least 60 percent contributing properties and signatures from 51 percent of the owners of the legal lots in the added area.

The City Council approves designations. On August 24, 2026 it adopted Ordinance No. 7475, which reclassified land on Arboleda Drive from RS-6 and RM-16 to RS-6-LD-29 and RM-16-LD-29, and Ordinance No. 7476, which created the Mesita Road district, LD-30. Ordinance No. 7475 takes effect 30 days from its publication, and from then on new construction, exterior alterations, relocations and demolitions there need a Certificate of Appropriateness "prior to the issuance of any building permits." The City's first three landmark districts, Bungalow Heaven, Garfield Heights and Banbury Oaks, each have a conservation plan, and projects there follow the review thresholds in their plan.

The Certificate of Appropriateness

A Certificate of Appropriateness is the City's written approval that work on a historic property meets the preservation standards. Section 17.62.090 requires one before a major or minor project on a designated or eligible historic resource and before "new construction in a landmark or historic district." The requirement applies outside the Central District, except in CD-RM districts; inside the Central District the Design Commission reviews historic work through design review.

Source: Pasadena Municipal Code, Sec. 17.62.090.E, Supplement 79.

Section 17.62.030 decides whether a project is major or minor. Major projects for a housing developer include "Construction of a new primary structure in a designated or eligible landmark or historic district," any added floor area on a primary elevation, an addition taller than the existing building that can be seen from the street, an accessory building in front of the main building, demolition of a noncontributing building in a designated district, and a new house or addition of more than 500 square feet on a noncontributing property that would be more than 35 percent larger than the median house within 500 feet. Minor projects include additions on secondary elevations, like-for-like windows and doors, new fences and walls in a district, and work on garages built during the period of significance.

Review is limited to what the public sees. In districts, it covers work in "public view from public and private streets; views from alleys are excluded." Outside the Central District, Section 17.62.090.B.6 exempts paint colors, routine maintenance, most landscaping, all interior work, screens and awnings, driveways and walkways, rear yard walls and fences, reroofing in the same material, exterior lights and window grilles. To approve alterations or new construction, the reviewer must find the project "complies with the Secretary's Standards," the federal Secretary of the Interior's Standards for historic buildings, and any City guidelines based on them.

Demolition

Section 17.62.030 counts three things as demolition of a historic resource: complete removal, "Removal of more than 50 percent of the perimeter walls," and substantial removal of a structural wall on a street-facing or primary elevation that may harm the building's significance. To approve demolition of a designated or eligible resource, the Historic Preservation Commission must find no significant adverse effect under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the state environmental review law, plus one of three findings: severe structural damage that cannot be repaired, confirmed by two qualified professionals the City manages and the applicant pays for; no practical way to reuse or restore the building, confirmed the same way; or "A compelling public interest justifies demolition."

In an eligible landmark district, Category 3 review adds a delay. For 365 days after the eligibility decision, the Commission may delay demolition of a contributing main building while the City and the owner look for alternatives. If the district designation takes effect during the delay, "the demolition shall be automatically denied." If neither a designation nor an approved alternative happens by the end of the delay, "the demolition shall be automatically considered approved."

One demolition rule applies citywide, historic or not. Section 17.62.100 says no permit to demolish a primary structure "may be issued unless a Building Permit has been issued for construction of a replacement project or structure." The Planning Director may grant relief if the building is not a historic resource, the demolition does not remove homes on residential land, and it leaves no gap in a group of notable buildings, or if relief serves "an overriding public benefit."

ADUs, SB 9 and SB 79 in Historic Areas

• ADUs. Section 17.50.275 says a non-exemption ADU on an individually designated property or in a landmark or historic district "shall not be visible from the public right-of-way, unless this requirement prevents the creation of the unit." A detached ADU visible from the street in those districts is limited to 16 feet. No ADU parking is required in a historic district. The ADUs and SB 9 page has the details.
• SB 9. Section 17.22.050.G prohibits Two-Unit Developments on historic sites, in National Register or State inventory districts, on individual landmarks and in LD districts. As amended by SB 1426 effective June 30, 2026, Government Code 65852.21(a)(5) excludes "A contributing structure within a historic district" and individually listed or landmark parcels. Because the statute sets the limits, a noncontributing lot in a district may still qualify; ask the Planning Division how it applies the code today.
• SB 79. The SB 79 delay ordinance before the Council in June 2026 excludes, in all six transit-oriented zones around Metro A Line stations, "Sites with historic resources designated as of January 1, 2025, in a local register," and in the Memorial Park, Del Mar and Lake Station zones, sites on the state register, until January 1, 2028.

Incentives and Fees

Section 17.62.130 offers incentives to owners of individually designated monuments and landmarks, properties individually listed in the National Register, and contributing properties in landmark or National Register districts. They include lower building permit fees and construction tax for work that meets the Secretary's Standards, such as in-kind repair of architectural features, seismic reinforcement and relocation within the City; a Director's waiver of the two covered parking spaces when adding living space, if an existing one-car garage contributes to the property; and use of the California State Historical Building Code on request. The fee schedule lists a fee for executing a historic property contract, which it calls a Mills Act contract.

Source: City of Pasadena, FY 2027 General Fee Schedule, fees 596 to 604, adopted column dated June 8, 2026. The Mills Act, variance and designation rows refer to a Planning Division Administrative Procedure on possible waivers.

The Planning Department's FY 2027 Current Planning Fees also give a lower fee column "For single-family residential use and designated historic resources," for example $3,244 instead of $6,488 for a tentative map. The permits and fees page lists the planning and impact fees.

Who Decides

Table 6-6 splits the work. The Planning Director decides minor projects on designated resources, major projects (except demolition) on eligible resources, relief from the replacement permit rule, and whether a property contributes to a district. The Historic Preservation Commission decides major projects on designated resources outside the Central District and demolition of eligible resources, and recommends designations to the Council. The Design Commission reviews historic work in the Central District. A decision of the Director, the Commission or the Design Commission takes effect on the 11th day after the decision unless it is appealed or called for review first, under Section 17.64.020.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Pasadena overview, the SB 9 page and the SB 79 page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)