Mills Act Policy and Ordinance - Laserfiche WebLink

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SYNOPSIS SUBJECT : RESOLUTION OF INTENTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION to adopt Historic Preservation agreements , also known as Mills Act contracts . ACTION : The Planning Commission voted 5 - 0 to recommend to the City - Council the adoption of Historic Preservation Agreements/Mills Act Contracts which may be recommended by the Planning Commission . CONTENTS : Staff Report , Planning Commission meeting of June 5 , 1990 . . Excerpt of minutes , Planning Commission meeting of June 5 , 1990 . . List of officially designated historic landmarks and contributing structures to historic districts . . Excerpt of Minutes , Historic Resources Advisory Committee meetings of December 12 , 1989 and April 16 , 1989 For approximately one year , the Historic Resources Advisory Committee of Redwood City has been researching various preservation incentives by which historic properties could be maintained and improved . Since the legislation was already in place , and because each property owner would be responsible for the preservation of their designated historic property in exchange for a relatively minor loss of tax revenue by City and County , Mills Act agreements stood out with the best potential . The Mills Act enables an owner of a qualified historic building to enter into a contract with a City to preserve , maintain , and if necessary , rehabilitate or restore their historic building . The contract runs for a ten ( 10 ) year period and is automatically renewed for an additional year unless cancelled . It requires that the County Assessor re - evaluate the property using a capitalization of income method rather than a market value . The result is often a reduction in property taxes for post - Proposition 13 qualified historic properties . Local landmark designation or location of a building within a historic district is sufficient to qualify a property . The Mills Act has been used only a few times in the State . A major reason is that the original version of the law required annual public access through the property , but this requirement was deleted in 1986 . New interest has been generated in the Mills Act recently , and the City of Redwood City may be the first city in San Mateo County to use this method of historic preservation . On June 5 , 1990 , the Planning Commission unanimously approved a motion to recommend to the City Council the adoption of Historic Preservation agreements known as Mills Act contracts . No - one spoke in opposition at this meeting . As a matter of policy , it is presently requested that the City Council adopt a resolution regarding its intent to consider historic preservation agreements based on the recommendations of the Planning Commission .