Does your California city have this important preservation incentive?

In California, the Mills Act is legislation that lets owners of historically designated buildings reduce their property taxes in exchange for restoring and maintaining those buildings. Each city must adopt the Mills Act. Owners sign a ten-year, endlessly renewable legal contract with their city (or, in some places, their county) stating what the responsibilities are.

The Mills Act is named for Senator James R. Mills, who sponsored the legislation over 20 years ago. Before he became a well-respected politician, Senator Mills was a noted historian, author, and preservationist. [Now retired in Coronado, it is my honor to know this amazing man.]

In San Diego County, the Mills Act is available in the cities of San Diego, La Mesa, Escondido, Coronado, Chula Vista and National City. Plus now the Mills Act is available for unincorporated lands under County of San Diego jurisdiction. Historic San Diego Marketing and Consulting is working with owners of historic homes in several other cities within San Diego County to lobby their elected officials for the Mills Act. If you want help bringing the Mills Act to your city, please call us at 619-233-8833 or send us an e-mail. Below are some basic Q&As that will introduce you to the Mills Act.

Yes and no. Historic designation is a means of helping preserve your building for the future, so preserving your building must be one of your goals. In theory, we should all be stewards of our property and should seek to be true to the building's original architectural style. By seeking historic designation, you are acknowledging your role and responsibility in keeping this structure safe as a contributing member to your city’s historic fabric.

If your building is granted historic status, then this means you would not replace wood windows with aluminum ones, not cover original wood with stucco or vinyl siding, and not put an addition on the building that is visible from the sidewalk in front of your home. In fact, if any of these unsympathetic "improvements" were done to your building, and your building does qualify as historic, you could use your tax savings under the Mills Act to undo the damage done by previous owners. By getting your building historically designated, you are helping preserve your area’s architectural legacy. You are adding your name to the ranks of those who care about where we live.

The Mills Act is a 10-year, "endlessly renewable," legally binding contract with the city. After your building is historically designated, you would fill out a Mills Act application and submit it to your city with a minor fee. When your Mills Act application is approved, you will be sent a contract to sign and have notarized. By signing this document, you are agreeing, in principle, that in return for the tax savings you are going to preserve your building.

Your Mills Act contract, if you are in good standing and not in violation of the ordinance, is endless renewable: it will always have 10 more years on it, unless for some reason you wished to cancel the contract. (You won't want to cancel. See related question below.)