The City Council of Cathedral City approved a resolution establishing application fees for historic designation at the regular meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023.
The resolution is part of the Historic Preservation Ordinance, Chapter 8.62 of the Cathedral City Municipal Code, which was approved by the City Council on November 30, 2022. The Ordinance establishes three application processes; 1) to obtain a historic designation, 2) certificate of appropriateness, and 3) removal or downgrading of historic designation.
The resolution approved by City Council establishes the application fees as follows:
- Obtain historic designation = $100
- Certificate of appropriateness = $1,691.50
- Removal of downgrading of historic designation = $2,619.00
In addition, the City Council requested that a hardship waiver provision be established for the certificate of appropriateness application, which is included in the approved resolution.
Planning Department staff, who will administer the application and review process and serve as the liaison to the Historic Preservation Committee and the City Council, conducted an analysis of the costs associated with processing each application. The analysis was presented to the Historic Preservation Committee on January 17, 2023, and to the City Council during a study session on January 25, 2023.
The policy of the City Council is that in normal circumstances fees should be charged to recover the costs incurred by the City in providing services to applicants. However, there are exceptions when it’s determined to be a substantial benefit to the community.
“The Planning Department is excited about Council’s approval of the application process and would like to thank the Historic Preservation Committee,” said Robert Rodriguez, Director of Development Services. “We believe the reduced fee and granting of the hardship waiver will encourage applicants to seek the historic designation and help us transmit our understanding of the past to future generations.”
To learn more, please visit https://www.cathedralcity.gov/government/commissions-committees/historic-preservation-committee.
