7.10.030 Historic Landmark Designation.
The Council may designate an improvement, natural feature, or site as an historic landmark and any area within the City as an historic district in compliance with this Section, based on the Council’s evaluation of the age of the subject structures, distinguishing characteristics, distinct geographical area, familiar visual feature, significant achievement, and/or other distinctive feature.
A. Procedure. The designation of an historic landmark or district on Petaluma’s Historic Register, or the removal of an historic landmark or district from the register, shall comply with the procedure established by the Zoning Ordinance for amendments (Article 27), including public notice and a hearing in compliance with State law, a recommendation by the Historic and Cultural Preservation Committee, and a final decision by the Council.
B. Permit issuance during nomination process. No permit for any improvement or structure within a proposed historic district or relative to a nominated historic landmark shall be issued while the nomination process is pending.
C. Placement on the Historic Register. The nominated district, site, or structure shall be placed on the Historic Register after being officially accepted by the Council, and the designation shall be recorded for each affected parcel in the office of the Sonoma County Recorder.
D. Removal from the Historic Register. A designated local resource may only be removed from the Local Register in the following cases:
1. When a Certificate of Appropriateness has been approved for demolition; or
2. After five years of being designated, the property owner may submit a “de- nomination statement,” outlining reasons for removal from the register. The de-nomination request shall be processed in compliance with the procedure for nomination listed above. The de-nomination statement must provide written proof and documentation that the findings used to designate the structure were largely in error, or that new information has been discovered, material to the decision to designate a the resource, which was not discovered through the exercise of due diligence at the time of the original designation.
If delisting a designated resource is proposed, the lead agency shall conduct environmental review in compliance with the State Guidelines for the implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as they relate to historic resources.