Historic District Plans

RECENT PUBLIC DOCUMENTS & DRAFTS

Historic District Plans and Design standards

Historic District Plans have been prepared for 29 of the 32 existing Historic Districts listed on the Sacramento Register. This document is specified within the 2035 General Plan, the Central City Specific Plan implementation measures, and City Code Section 17.604.300. The City retained the services of the historic preservation planning and architecture firm Page & Turnbull to prepare the document. Currently, outdated documentation of the district’s historic context, predominant architectural styles, and character-defining features make it difficult for the city to manage these unique historic places. The Historic District Plans include a comprehensive field survey component that will serve as the basis for updating the Sacramento Register and Design Guidelines to help guide future development within these parts of the city.

HISTORIC DISTRICT PLANS SACRAMENTO REGISTER UPDATE

Check the proposed status of your property HERE or click the image below:

UPCOMING EVENTS AND DEADLINES

November 20, 2019: Preservation Commission in New City Hall Council Chambers at 5:30 PM

December 3, 2019: Law and Legislation Committee Meeting in New City Hall at 2:00 PM

December 10, 2019: City Council in New City Hall at 2:00 PM (Please note the City Council hearing was originally scheduled for December 3, 2019 at 5:00 PM, but this item will be continued to December 10, so the Historic District Plans can be heard by the Law and Legislation Committee again)



The Historic District Plans Overview

The Historic District Plans will be comprised of one comprehensive document with individual chapters for each of the Historic Districts. Historic District Plans will include:

Historic District Plan and Design Standards:

Purpose, Goals, and Summary

Framework and Regulatory Background

City-wide Historic Context

Common Property Types, Architectural Styles and Character-Defining Features

Common Preservation Design Standard

Appendices, Maps, List of Properties

Individual District Plans:

Brief District Historic Context, Significance, Period of Significance

Historic District Physical Description and Boundaries

Contributing and Non-Contributing Resources (List and Map)

Preservation and Infill Design Standards

Consulting Team

The City has selected Page & Turnbull, a historic preservation planning consulting firm to assist the city in developing the Historic District Plans document. Page & Turnbull has had a presence in Sacramento since 1976 and has extensive experience developing similar historic district plans, also known as “historic district design guidelines.” Page & Turnbull will begin by developing historic contexts and a statement of significance for each of the historic districts. The historic context of each district will be used to help identify what features and characteristics help characterize the district. Next, where necessary, Page & Turnbull will walk each district and identify the contributing and non-contributing resources, a process known as “historic district survey.” Following the historic district survey effort, Page & Turnbull will develop historic district development standards for each district.

How the Historic District Plans and Design standards will Benefit the City

Review of modifications to historic buildings and development projects within the city’s historic districts is currently regulated utilizing the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties (The Standards), which include 10 broad historic preservation principles. However, The Standards are a series of concepts about maintaining, repairing, and replacing historic materials, as well as designing new additions or making alterations, which are used nationwide to help protect cultural resources. However, the Standards are not specific to the needs of Sacramento’s historic neighborhoods and are essentially silent regarding infill development. The Historic District Plans, and specifically the accompanying Design Standards, will address infill development within historic districts to address elements such as scale, massing, and materials which are appropriate to each district. The subjective nature of the Standards can lead to frustrating delays for property owners. Development and implementation of the Historic District Plans as required by City Code, will bring greater clarity for staff and project proponents about what kind of development is compatible within each historic district.

Public Outreach and Adoption

Beginning in June 2018, staff began a series of stakeholder meetings to introduce the Historic District Plans concept to key stakeholders. Initial feedback will be incorporated into an early draft of the Historic District Plans. A public workshop will be held in November 2018 to present the refined concept to stakeholders and comments will be incorporated into an administrative draft document, which will be presented at a Preservation Commission Meeting in January 2019. From these meetings, a Draft Historic District Plans document will be finalized, and a second public workshop will be held in late February to seek feedback on the draft. The final draft of the Historic District Plans and Development Standards is expected to be complete by late April 2019. Adoption of the Historic District Plans will extend into late-2019.

Project Contact:

Sean de Courcy, Associate Preservation Planner, Community Development Department

sdecourcy@cityofsacramento.org

Final Adoption

The Historic District Plans document will require review and recommendation by the Historic Preservation Commission and Planning and Design Commission. Ultimately, the City Council must adopt the Historic District Plans before the document can be utilized by staff to help guide projects within historic districts. The historic resources survey and any historic district boundary changes will require separate ordinances to update the resource category in the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources. The public hearing process is anticipated to last until late-2019.

Design Guidelines in other Jurisdictions

The following Design Guidelines provide examples of guidelines drafted for other jurisdictions to address a specific historic district. The Sacramento Historic District Plans will include ‘Preservation Development Standards,’ and be structured in a different manner to address multiple historic districts.

Downtown San Jose Historic District Design Guidelines (2001)

Downtown Napa Historic Resources Design Guidelines (2012)

Professorville Historic District Design Guidelines (2016)

Downtown Sonoma Historic Preservation Design Guidelines (2017)

Palo Alto Eichler Neighborhood Design Guidelines (2018)

Video

Historic District Plan Overview: September 12, 2018