1. “Accessory structure” means a structure which is subordinate or incidental and directly related to a permitted use or structure on the same parcel. Accessory structures that include habitable space, as defined by the California Building Code, shall be no larger than four hundred fifty square feet. Accessory structures are located on the same parcel and are related to the primary structure but are subordinate or incidental, but may include structures that have achieved historic significance in their own right, as determined by the director, committee or council. (See “Primary structure.”)

2. “Adjacent” means located on property which abuts the subject property on at least one point of the property line, on the same property, or located on property directly across right-of-way from subject property and able to be viewed concurrently.

3. “Adverse effects” means effects, impacts or actions that are detrimental or potentially detrimental to a historic resource’s condition or architectural or historical integrity.

4. “Alteration” means change, repair, replacement, remodel, modification, or new construction to: (1) the exterior of a historic resource or adjacent building, (2) the structural elements which support the exterior walls, roof, or exterior elements of the historic resource or adjacent building, (3) other construction on a lot, or (4) character defining features of the interior of a historic resource if the structure’s significance is wholly or partially based on interior features and the resource is publicly accessible. “Alteration” does not include ordinary landscape maintenance, unless the landscaping is identified as significant at the time a property is listed. “Alteration” also does not include ordinary property maintenance or repair that is exempt from a building permit, or is consistent with the Secretary of the Interior Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties.

5. “Archaeological site” means those areas where archaeological resources are present and may be larger or smaller than the project site. An archaeological site may include prehistoric Native American archaeological sites; historic archaeological sites; sites or natural landscapes associated with important human events; and Native American sacred places and cultural landscapes.

6. “ARC” means the architectural review commission as appointed by the city council.

7. “California Register” means the California Register of Historical Resources defined in California PRC 5024.1 and in CCR Title 14, Chapter 11.5, Section 4850, et seq., as it may be amended.

8. “CHC” means the cultural heritage committee as appointed by the city council.

9. “Character defining features” means, as outlined in the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Register Bulletin 15 and Preservation Brief 17: “How to Identify Character Defining Features,” the architectural character and general composition of a resource, including, but not limited to, type and texture of building material; type, design, and character of all windows, doors, stairs, porches, railings, molding and other appurtenant elements; and fenestration, ornamental detailing, elements of craftsmanship, and finishes, etc.

10. “City” means the city of San Luis Obispo.

11. “Community design guidelines” means the most recent version of the city’s community design guidelines as adopted and amended from time to time.

12. “Contributing list resource or property” means a designation that may be applied to buildings or other resources at least fifty years old that maintain their original or attained historic and architectural character, and contribute either by themselves or in conjunction with other structures to the unique or historic character of a neighborhood, district, or to the city as a whole. They need not be located in a historic district. In some cases, buildings or other resources that are less than fifty years old, but are nonetheless significant based on architecture, craftsmanship or other criteria as described herein may be designated as a contributing list resource.

13. “Council” means the council of the city of San Luis Obispo.

14. “Cultural resource” means any prehistoric or historic district, site, landscape, building, structure, or object included in, or potentially eligible for local, state or national historic designation, including artifacts, records, and material remains related to such a property or resource.

15. “Demolition,” for the purpose of this chapter, refers to any act or failure to act that destroys, removes, or relocates, in whole or part, a historical resource such that its historic or architectural character and significance are materially altered.

16. “Deterioration” means the significant worsening of a structure’s condition or architectural or historic integrity, due to lack of maintenance, organisms, neglect, weathering and other natural forces.

17. “Director” means the director of the community development department, or another person authorized by the director to act on his or her behalf.

18. “Feasible” means capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account cultural, economic, environmental, historic, legal, social and technological factors. “Structural feasibility” means that a building or other structure can be repaired or rehabilitated so as to be safe and usable without significant loss of historic fabric. Factors to be considered when making this determination include the existence of technology that will allow the design of the work and the ability to repair, supplement or replace load-bearing members and the thermal and moisture protection systems required for continued use of the structure; and the physical capacity of the structure to withstand the repair and/or rehabilitation process without the danger of further damage.

19. “Historic Building Code” means the most recent version of the California Historical Building Code, Title 25, Part 8, as defined in Sections 18950 to 18961 of Division 12, Part 2.7 of Health and Safety Code (H&SC), a part of California state law.

20. “Historic context” are those patterns, themes or trends in history by which a specific occurrence, property, or site is understood and its meaning and significance is made clear.

21. “Historic district/historical preservation district” means areas or neighborhoods with a collection or concentration of listed or potentially contributing historic properties or archaeologically significant sites, where historic properties help define the area or neighborhood’s unique architectural, cultural, and historic character or sense of place. Historic districts are delineated on the official zoning map as historic (H) overlay zone under Chapter 17.54.

22. “Historic Preservation Program Guidelines” means the most recent version of the Historic Preservation Program Guidelines, as adopted and amended from time to time.

23. “Historic preservation report” means a document which describes preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, or reconstruction measures for a historic resource, based on the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties, and which includes standards and guidelines for recommended treatments for preserving the resource.

24. “Historic property” means a property, including land and buildings, which possesses aesthetic, architectural, cultural, historic or scientific significance, and which is included in, or potentially eligible for local, state or national historic designation.

25. “Historic resource” means any building, site, improvement, area or object of aesthetic, architectural, cultural, historic or scientific significance, and which is included in, or potentially eligible for local, state or national historic designation.

26. “Historic status” means historic designation of a listed resource or property as approved by council.

27. “Improvement” means any building, structure, fence, gate, landscaping, hardscaping, wall, work of art, or other object constituting a physical feature of real property or any part of such feature.

28. “Inappropriate alteration” means alterations to historic resources which are inconsistent with these provisions and/or the Historic Preservation Program Guidelines.

29. “Integrity, architectural or historical” means the ability of a property, structure, site, building, improvement or natural feature to convey its identity and authenticity, including but not limited to its original location, period(s) of construction, setting, scale, design, materials, detailing, workmanship, uses and association.

30. “Inventory of historic resources” means the list of historically designated resources and properties consisting of master list and contributing properties list of historic resources, and any properties, objects, sites, gardens, sacred places and resources subsequently added to the inventory as determined to meet criteria outlined herein and approved by the city council.

31. “Listed resource” means properties and resources included in the inventory of historic resources.

32. “Massing” means the spatial relationships, arrangement and organization of a building’s physical bulk or volume.

33. “Master list resource” is a designation which may be applied to the most unique and important historic properties and resources in terms of age, architectural or historical significance, rarity, or association with important persons or events in the city’s past meeting criteria outlined herein.

34. “Minor alteration” means any structural or exterior change to a historic resource which the director determines to be consistent with the Historic Preservation Program Guidelines, Secretary of the Interior Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties and other applicable standards.

35. “Modern contributing resources” is a designation which may be applied to properties and resources which are less than fifty years old, but which exemplify or include significant works of architecture or craftsmanship or are associated with a person or event significant to the city’s history.

36. “National Register of Historic Places” means the official inventory of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects significant in American history, architecture, engineering, archaeology and culture which is maintained by the Secretary of the Interior under the authority of the Historic Sites Act of 1935 and the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

37. “Neglect” means the lack of maintenance, repair or protection of a listed property, resource, site or structure, which results in significant deterioration, as determined by the director or city council based on visual and physical evidence.

38. “Noncontributing resource” means designation which may be applied to properties and resources in historic districts which are typically less than fifty years old and do not support the prevailing historic character of the district or other listing criteria as outlined herein.

39. “Preservation” means the act or process of applying measures necessary to sustain a historic site, building or other structure’s historically significant existing form, integrity, and materials through stabilization, repair and maintenance.

40. “Property owner” means the person or entity (public or private) holding fee title interest or legal custody and control of a property.

41. “Primary structure” means the most important building or other structural feature on a parcel in terms of size, scale, architectural or historical significance, as determined by the committee.

42. “Qualified professional” means an individual meeting the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards (36 CFR Part 61, Appendix A) in history, architectural history, historic architecture and other designated categories, or an individual determined by the CHC to have the qualifications generally equivalent to the above standards based on demonstrated experience.

43. “Reconstruction” means the act or process of recreating the features, form and detailing of a non-surviving building or portion of building, structure, object, landscape, or site for the purpose of replicating its appearance at a specific period of time and in its historic location.

44. “Rehabilitation” means the act or process of making possible a compatible use for a property through repair, alterations, and additions while preserving those portions or features which convey its architectural, cultural, or historic values.

45. “Relocation” means removal of a resource from its original site and its reestablishment in essentially the same form, appearance and architectural detailing at another location.

46. “Responsible party” means any person, business, corporation or entity, and the parent or legal guardian of any person under the age of eighteen years, who has committed, permitted, directed or controlled any act constituting a violation of this chapter.

47. “Restoration” means the act or process of accurately depicting the form, features, and character of a property as it appeared at a particular period of time by means of the removal of features from other periods in its history and reconstruction of missing features from the restoration period.

48. “Scale” means the proportions of architectural design that relate to human size or other relative size measure.

49. “Secretary of the Interior’s Standards” means the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties as published by the U.S. Department of the Interior and as amended from time to time.

50. “Setting” means the physical area, environment or neighborhood in which a resource is located.

51. “Sensitive site” means a site determined by the community development director, planning commission, architectural review commission or council, upon recommendation of the cultural heritage committee, to have special characteristics, constraints or community value such as: historic significance, historic context, creek-side location or visual prominence, requiring more detailed development review than would otherwise be required for other similarly zoned lots.

52. “Site,” as used in this chapter, means the location of a significant event, a prehistoric or historic occupation or activity, or a building or structure, whether standing, ruined, or vanished, where the location itself possesses historic, cultural, or archeological value regardless of the value of any existing structure.

53. “Siting” means the placement of structures and improvements on a property or site.

54. “Stabilization” means the act or process of applying measures designed to reestablish a weather-resistant enclosure and the structural stability of an unsafe or deteriorated property while maintaining the essential form as it exists at present.

55. “Statement of historic significance” means an explanation of why a resource is important within its historic context. It explains how the resource meets the eligibility criteria and integrity thresholds as established by local, state or federal government.

56. “Structure,” as used in this chapter, includes anything assembled or constructed on the ground, or attached to anything with a foundation on the ground, including walls, fences, buildings, signs, bridges, monuments, and similar features.

57. “Survey” means a systematic process for identifying and evaluating a community’s historic resources using established criteria. “Survey” may also refer to the documentation resulting from a survey project.

58. “Threatened resource” means properties or resources at risk of loss of architectural, cultural or historic value due to physical alteration, relocation or demolition.

59. “Zoning code” means Title 17 of the city’s municipal code, as amended from time to time. (Ord. 1557 § 3 (part), 2010)