San Mateo’s flawed preservation ordinance

The flaws are systemic. First, the ordinance ignores 1989 historic survey data, leaving 200+ identified resources out of the city’s Historic Resources Inventory; only downtown and two listed properties are in the Inventory. No additional surveys are proposed. Second, it does not include “Procedures for Development” for resources not included in the deficient inventory, meaning the city won’t even evaluate a building’s history before issuing a demolition permit. Third, while it identifies a Historic Resources Commission; it does not specify how it is formed: qualifications, powers or terms.

Equity is the biggest casualty. The process for listing properties in San Mateo is so onerous, only the property owners and neighborhoods with the most resources will ever see protection.

Furthermore, the Zoning Administrator (with no specified qualifications) is given broad authority to approve alterations behind closed doors, bypassing the Historic Resources Commission’s (yet to be defined) expertise.

Council must fix these gaps. We need a robust inventory, mandatory evaluation during development, protection for eligible resources, transparent procedures for evaluation of effects to historic properties, and a fair 51% threshold for potential historic districts. Without these changes, this ordinance isn’t a tool for preservation — it’s a road map for erasure.

Contact laurieh@smheritage.org and please express your opinion at city meetings on April 14 and May 4.

Laurie Hietter

San Mateo

The letter writer wrote this on behalf of the San Mateo Heritage Alliance.