Historic Preservation
Program Overview & Contact Information:
The City of Fresno’s Historic Preservation Ordinance was approved by the City Council in 1979 and revised in 1999. The City was also the first in California designated as a Preserve America Community by (former) First Lady Laura Bush.
The intent of the Ordinance is “to preserve, promote and improve the historic resources and districts of the City of Fresno for educational, cultural, economic and general welfare of the public….” The Ordinance also recognizes that historic preservation helps “to establish, stabilize and improve property values and to foster economic development.” (Section 12-1600, Historic Preservation Ordinance).
For recent program updates please see "In the News" section this web page (below).
For additional information about Fresno's Historic Preservation Program contact:
Karana Hattersley-Drayton
Historic Preservation Project Manager
City of Fresno (559) 621-8520
karana.hattersley-drayton@fresno.gov
Historic Preservation Commission
The City’s Historic Preservation Commission is comprised of seven individuals appointed by the Mayor, who have training and expertise in preservation, architecture, architectural history, engineering and related fields.
The Commission normally meets the 4th Monday of the month at Fresno City Hall (2600 Fresno St., on Fresno & P Streets in downtown Fresno), Conference Room A at 5:30 pm. The Commission reviews all nominations to the Local Register of Historic Resources and comments on projects and plans that may affect the City’s historic and cultural heritage.
Commission hearings are open to the public and participation is highly encouraged. To review agendas for upcoming meetings or the 2009 hearing schedule, click on the icons below:
March 22, 2010 agenda and Commission packet
December 14, 2009 agenda and Commission packet
November 23, 2009 agenda and Commission packet
September 28, 2009 agenda
September 28, 2009 Commission packet (includes reports)
August 24, 2009 agenda
July 27, 2009 agenda
July 27, 2009 Misita Farm Report
July 27, 2009 Historic Resource Nomination Report
June 22, 2009 meeting minutes
June 22, 2009 agenda
Environmental Review and Assessment
Both the City’s Historic Preservation Project Manager and the Historic Preservation Commission are required to review and comment on a variety of environmental documents and project entitlements. This review is guided by a series of intersecting laws, ordinances and agreements, including Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), The City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance, the Historic Resources element of the Fresno 2025 General Plan, and various other specific agreements.
City of Fresno’s Local Register of Historic Resources
The City maintains a Local Register of Historic Resources, which includes buildings, structures, objects, sites and districts that have sufficient integrity and are significant in Fresno’s history. As of January 2009 there are 263 individual listings on the Register including the Fresno Buddhist Temple (#024), the Fresno Memorial Auditorium (#052) and the Rowell Building (#170). Twenty-eight buildings on the Local Register are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These “crown jewels” of the community include local landmarks such as the Old Fresno Water Tower (HP#001), the Thomas R. Meux Home (HP#002) and the Tower Theatre (HP#190). Ten properties are also listed as Heritage Properties. In addition to individual listings Fresno has two designated historic districts, the Porter Tract (near Fresno City College) and the Chandler Airfield/Fresno Municipal Airport. At least twelve other districts have been recommended through surveys or community specific plans.
A separate web site lists the entire Register at www.historicfresno.org.
Benefits of Designation as a Historic Resource
What are the benefits of listing a property on the Local Register of Historic Resources? Besides designation being an honor, a building owner may use the more flexible California Historical Building Code when making repairs or alterations. In addition, a historic property can qualify for exemptions under the City’s zoning ordinance (i.e., property development standards). Commercial property owners may apply for a 10 percent or 20 percent federal tax credit for income producing properties that were put into service prior to 1936. A designated historic property is protected under both the local ordinance as well as the California Environmental Quality Act. In addition, historic designation normally raises the property’s value, helps to stabilize a neighborhood and is an important aspect of heritage and cultural tourism. For additional information please call (559) 621-8520.
Fresno as a Certified Local Government
Fresno is a Certified Local Government (CLG) through an agreement with the State Office of Historic Preservation. This agreement allows the City to review and approve most federally funded projects which may impact Fresno’s historic resources. The Historic Preservation Project Manager serves as the City's CLG Coordinator.
2009 CLG Annual Report
2008 CLG Annual Report
In the News:
Vernacular Architecture Forum National Conference, May 2008.
The Planning and Development Department, with support from the Fresno Historical Society and sundry regional and state organizations, hosted the annual conference of the Vernacular Architecture Forum in May 2008. This national professional organization is interested in regional landscapes and architecture, and by extension, local and regional heritage. Over 200 participants from 32 states and 2 foreign countries attended. The Department’s “Architecture, Ethnicity and Historic Landscapes of California’s San Joaquin Valley” was prepared in conjunction with the conference and included 28 essays by 22 local and regional scholars. The publication recently received a California Preservation Award. Additional copies are available from the Department at $35, which includes postage. Please call (559) 621-8520 if interested.
Historic Surveys
Building by building “intensive” historic surveys are a critical part of preservation and land use planning. A survey will include three major components: a historic context for the area with important themes and property types; the survey findings and recommendations; and individual State of California survey forms for each building or resource in the survey footprint. Over the past four years the Planning and Development Department has funded several major neighborhood surveys and historic contexts.
The “Bungalow Court” Survey was prepared by City staff and consultants Dana Supernowicz and Jon Brady in September 2004 with partial funding from the Office of Historic Preservation. A reconnaissance survey was first conducted using City and Caltrans staff and community volunteers. Thirteen of the oldest and/or most architecturally significant of the 128 “courts” reported were then documented by the consultants on state survey forms.
Bungalow Court Project (September 2004)
A historic survey for the six-block "Wilson Island" area of the Tower District has been completed and a copy of the report may be downloaded. The "Island" is bounded by E. Carmen Avenue on the north, N. Echo on the west, the north side of E. Floradora on the south, and the back side of the commercial properties on the east. The Wilson Island includes 80 properties and represents some of the finest examples of Period Revival and Prairie architecture in Fresno. It is proposed for designation as a historic district on Fresno's Local Register of Historic Resources.
Wilson Island Historic Property Survey Report (Sept. 2009)
Wilson Island report to the Historic Preservation Commission (Sept. 28, 2009)
Chinatown Historic Resource Survey was completed in 2006 by Architectural Resources Group, San Francisco, and included survey forms for buildings within the 6-block heart of Fresno’s historic Chinatown.
Fresno Chinatown Project Extended Phase I Study (2008, J and R Environmental Services) included three components: a catalogue of pre-World War II Japanese ceramics, a report on the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) investigation of the Chinatown “tunnels”, and findings from the first-ever sub-surface archaeological project in the City.
Germantown, Fresno Historic Context was prepared by Architectural Resources Group in 2006. The report documents the history of the Volga Germans who first settled in Fresno in 1887.
Germantown Historical Context (April 2006)
City of Fresno Arts-Culture District was conducted in two phases by Urbana Preservation and Planning in 2006 and 2007. The first phase included preparation of survey forms for all properties within the 16 blocks of the City’s arts district. The second phase documented the additional properties in the Upper Triangle of this neighborhood up to E. Divisadero Avenue.
Pinedale Historic Resource Survey was completed in 2007 by Lauren MacDonald, PRA, Inc. and is a thematic survey of this community founded in 1923 for workers at the Sugar Pine Lumber Company.
Pinedale Historic Resource Survey (October 2007)
Mid-Century Modernism Historic Context was prepared in 2008 by Lauren MacDonald, PRA, Inc. The overview includes information and interviews with leading architects and designers who worked in Fresno from 1940-1970.
Mid-Century Modernism Historic Context (September 2008)
North Park Historic Survey was completed In January 2009 for the western half of this neighborhood which lies between E. Divisadero and State Route 180, Blackstone and Roosevelt. The consultants, Galvin Preservation Associates, recommended nomination of a National Register District along Van Ness Avenue, and two smaller Local Register districts as well.
North Park Survey (November 2008)
South Stadium Project Area Phase I Area documented the pre-1960 properties in the 6-block area bounded by Inyo on the north, H Street on the west, Ventura Street on the south and Van Ness Avenue on the east. The survey was prepared for Forest City Residential West Inc. by Page and Turnbull,
San Francisco.
South Stadium Historic Properties Survey Report (Aug. 2008)
Historic Preservation is (Very) Green
The Planning and Development Department’s Fresno Green Building Program is among the first in the United States to include specific credits for historic preservation. In addition to points for energy and water efficiency and recycled building content, a developer can earn a credit for providing a wayside exhibit for a canal, for the inclusion of a historic landscape feature, for conducting a historic survey or for the retention and/or adaptive reuse of an existing building. To quote one Seattle developer, “the most basic act of sustainability is to recycle a good old building that’s already in place.” The Historic Preservation Project Manager chairs the Planning Department’s Fresno Green Team and was a principle author of the City-wide Green Strategy.
Public Art Committee
The City’s Historic Preservation Project Manager also chairs the Department’s Public Art Committee. A developer can receive a 20 percent minor deviation in property development standards for including public art. Art, history, preservation of older buildings---all of these contribute to the City Beautiful and to an enhanced community life!
Other Preservation Groups in Fresno
The Fresno City and County Historical Society was founded in 1919 (www.valleyhistory.org). Other organizations dedicated to planning, history and preservation are listed in a web site maintained by Kevin Enns-Rempel and John Edward Powell: “A Guide to Historic Architecture in Fresno, California” (www.historicfresno.org).
For general information about historic preservation, funding and the State Historic Building Code, visit the California State Office of Historic Preservation website at:
www.ohp.parks.ca.gov.