Marysville City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 18
94 HISTORIC PRESERVATION
§ 18.94.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the public through:
(a)
The protection, enhancement, perpetuation and use of structures, sites and areas that are reminders of past eras, events and persons important to local, state or national history, or which provide significant examples of architectural styles of the past or are landmarks in the history or architecture or which are unique and irreplaceable assets to the city and its neighborhoods and which provide for this and future generations examples of the physical surroundings in which past generations lived;
(b)
The development and maintenance of appropriate settings and environment for such structures;
(c)
The enhancement of property values, the stabilization of neighborhoods and areas of the city, the increase of economic and financial benefits to the city and its inhabitants, and the promotion of tourist trade and interest;
(d)
The enrichment of human life in its educational and cultural dimensions by serving aesthetic as well as material needs and fostering knowledge of the living heritage of the past;
(e)
Encourage investment in historic properties and districts to enhance property values, stimulate economic activity, and provide for the stabilization of commercial and neighborhood areas, increase economic and financial benefits to the city and its inhabitants, and the promotion of tourist trade and interest;
(f)
Proved solutions for the preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, relocation, and adaptive reuse of qualified historical buildings to promote sustainability, to provide access for persons with disabilities, provide reasonable safety for the building occupants, and to provide a cost-effective approach to facilitate the preservation and continued use of qualified historical buildings.
(Ord. 1216 (part), 1996; Ord. 1463, 10/7/2025)
§ 18.94.020 Definitions.
Unless otherwise required by the context, the following words and phrases shall have the meaning ascribed to them by this section:
(a)
"Addition"
means a non-historical extension or increase in floor area or height of a building, structure, or property.
(b)
"Alteration"
means any exterior change or modification of a Designated historic building, a Contributing building in a historic district, or a Qualified Historical Building or Property including exterior changes to, or modifications of, the building, architectural details, or visual characteristics such as surface texture, grading, surface paving, new buildings or structures, removal of trees and other natural features, disturbance of archaeological sites or areas and placement or removal of any exterior objects such as signs, plaques, light fixtures, street furniture, walls, fences, steps, planting and landscape accessories affecting the visual qualities of the property visible from a public right-of-way.
(c)
"Architectural review board"
means a three-member subcommittee of the planning and historic preservation commission established pursuant to Chapter 18.87.
(d)
"California Historical Building Code"
means the regulations provided for the preservation, restoration, rehabilitation, relocation or reconstruction of buildings or properties designated as qualified historical buildings or properties. The code is intended to provide solutions for the preservation of qualified historical buildings or properties, to promote sustainability, to provide access for persons with disabilities, to provide a cost-effective approach to preservation, and to provide for the reasonable safety of the occupants or users and requires enforcing agencies to accept solutions that are reasonably equivalent to the regular building code when dealing with qualified historical buildings or properties.
(e)
"California Register of Historical Resources"
is an authoritative guide in California to be used by state and local agencies, private groups, and citizens to identify the state's historical resources and to indicate what properties are to be protected, to the extent prudent and feasible, from substantial adverse change.
(f)
"Character-defining features"
means the aspects of a building, structure, or site that physically conveys its historical significance including, but not limited to, size, scale, massing, materials, craftsmanship, decorative details, interior spaces and features, as well as the various aspects of its site and environment.
(g)
"Contributing building"
means a building within a historic district that retains scale, mass, and other architectural and design characteristics to the degree that it contributes to the sense of time and place of the district.
(h)
"Commission"
means the planning and historic preservation commission.
(i)
"Council"
means the city council of the city of Marysville.
(j)
"Demolition"
means the destruction, razing or elimination of a historic building or structure.
(k)
"Designated historic building"
means any building or structure that has been recognized by the City for its historical significance.
(l)
"Exterior architectural feature"
means the architectural elements embodying style, design, general arrangement, and components of all of the outer surfaces of an improvement, the kind and texture of the building materials, and the type and style of all windows, doors, porches, awnings, and other fixtures appurtenant to such improvement.
(m)
"Historic district"
means any area which has been recognized by the City for its historical and/or cultural significance.
(n)
"Historic structure"
means a building or other structure, such as a bridge, mine, highway, or locomotive that meets the Secretary of the Interior's significance criteria and is designated on the official register.
(o)
"Historical resource"
includes, but is not limited to, any object, building, structure, site, area, place, record, or manuscript which is historically or archaeologically significant, or is significant in architecture, engineering, science, economics, agriculture, education, social, political, military, or culture to the City of Marysville.
(p)
"Improvement"
means any building, structure, place, parking facility, fence, gate, wall, work of art, or other object constituting a physical betterment of real property or any part of such betterment.
(q)
"National Register of Historic Places"
means the official federal list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects significant in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, and culture as authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. Section 470 et seq.).
(r)
"National Register Historic Commercial District, Marysville"
means parts of 14 blocks bounded by First, Sixth, C and E streets with contributing buildings that represent the period of 1854 to 1948.
(s)
"Noncontributing building"
means a building within a historic district that does not contribute to the sense of time and place of the immediate area and the district. Noncontributing buildings may include buildings constructed after the period of significance of the historic district or buildings in which the historic characteristics have been irreparably modified.
(t)
"Owner"
means the person or persons whose name(s) and address(es) appear on the last equalized assessment roll.
(u)
"Period of significance"
means the period of time when a qualified historical building or property was associated with important events, activities or persons, or attained the characteristics for its listing or registration.
(v)
"Potential historical resource"
means a building, structure, object, or site older than 50 years that has not yet been evaluated for historical significance.
(w)
"Preservation"
means applying measures necessary to sustain the existing integrity of historic property through protection, stabilization, ongoing maintenance and repairs of historic materials and features rather than extensive replacement and new construction.
(x)
"Qualified Historical Building or Property"
as defined in Health and Safety Code Section 18955 means any building, site, object, place, location, district or collection of structures, and their associated sites, deemed of importance to the history, architecture or culture of an area by an appropriate local, state or federal governmental jurisdiction. This shall include historical buildings or properties on, or determined eligible for, national, state, or local historical registers or inventories, such as the National Register of Historic Places, California Register of Historical Resources, State Historical Landmarks, State Points of Historical Interest, and city or county registers, inventories or surveys of historical or architecturally significant sites, places or landmarks.
(y)
"Reconstruction"
means the act or process of depicting, by means of new construction, the form, features and detailing of a non-surviving site, landscape, building, property, or object for the purpose of replicating its appearance at a specific period of time.
(z)
"Register"
means the City's list of all Designated historic buildings, structures, objects, landmarks, sites, historic districts and Contributing buildings, and Qualified Historical Building or Property that are historically significant.
(aa)
"Rehabilitation"
means the process of making possible a compatible use for a historic property through repair, alterations, and additions while preserving features that physically convey its historical, cultural, or architectural values.
(bb)
"Relocation"
means the act or process of moving any qualified historical building or property, or a portion of a qualified historical building or property to a new site or a different location on the same site.
(cc)
"Restoration"
means the process of returning a building or structure to a particular period of time by means of removal of features from other periods and/or reconstructing missing features to accurately depict the form, features, and character of a property as it appeared in the past.
(dd)
Secretary of the Interior Standards.
The federal standards providing guidance for preservation, restoration, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of historic buildings and structures.
(Ord. 1216 (part), 1996; Ord. 1299 § 44, 2005; Ord. 1463, 10/7/2025)
§ 18.94.030 Powers and duties.
The planning commission, the commission's three member subcommittee (the architectural review board), or the city planner, when acting on behalf of the commission (as outlined within the City of Marysville Design Review Manual), shall have the following powers and duties:
(a)
Make recommendations to the council concerning designation of historic structures and historic districts and the removal of structures or districts from the official register.
(b)
Establish and maintain a list of historic structures and landmarks, fifty years old or older, and take appropriate measures for recognition.
(c)
Subject to the provisions of this chapter and the City of Marysville Design Review Manual, review and approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove applications for construction, alteration, demolition, and/or remedial work on historic structures or non-historic structures lying within the historic overlay zoning district.
(d)
Take steps to encourage or bring about the preservation and/or restoration of historic structures, or landmarks of the type described in subsection (b) of this section.
(e)
Within the historic preservation overlay zone district, review and approve, approve with modifications, or deny, including any exterior building work on a historic structure or a structure or sign in the historic overlay zone district. Examples of the work referred to are painting and repainting of exterior surfaces, roofing, fencing, landscaping, glazing and installation of lighting fixtures. In advising, the commission shall be guided by the purpose and standards specified in this chapter. The city planner is authorized to approve minor exterior modifications, exterior painting colors and commercial signage.
(f)
Make recommendations to the council concerning the acquisition of development rights, and the imposition of other restrictions and the negotiation of historic property contracts under the provisions of Government Code Section 50280 et seq. and guidelines promulgated by the council.
(g)
Increase public awareness of the value of historic preservation by developing and participating in public information programs.
(h)
Make recommendations to the council concerning the utilization of grants from federal and state agencies, private groups and individuals to promote the preservation of historically significant structures.
(i)
Recommend to the council that the city purchase a historic structure where private preservation is impractical.
(j)
The council may authorize one or more members of the city staff to assist the commission in carrying out its duties pursuant to this chapter.
(Ord. 1216 (part), 1996; Ord. 1299 § 45, 2005)
§ 18.94.040 Standards for designation.
Buildings 50 years old or older within the city of Marysville, or those that have achieved significance within the last 50 years, that meet the Secretary of the Interior's significance criteria for an historic object, resource, building or structure or contributor to an historic district are hereby designated historical structures resources.
Further, other buildings or structures may be eligible for designation as historical resources only if they are visually accessible to the public, and satisfy one or more of the following criteria:
(a)
The property is the first, last, only, or most distinctive historic property of its type in the city;
(b)
The property is associated with an individual or group having a profound influence on the history of the state of California, the city of Marysville, or the county of Yuba;
(c)
The property is a prototype of, or an outstanding example of, a period, style, architectural movement, or construction, or is one of the more notable works, or the best surviving work in the state, city or county of a pioneer architect, designer or master architect or builder.
(Ord. 1216 (part), 1996; Ord. 1299 § 46, 2005; Ord. 1463, 10/7/2025)
§ 18.94.050 Inventory.
The city shall prepare or have prepared an inventory of structures, sites and areas within the city which qualify as historic structures or historic districts.
(Ord. 1216 (part), 1996)
§ 18.94.060 Proposed construction, alteration, demolition or removal.
(a)
An application for a building permit and/or design review approval is submitted to the city services department with respect to construction, alteration, or demolition of a historic structure or structures within the historic preservation overlay zone district; such application shall be processed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the City of Marysville Design Review Manual. In the event of any inconsistency or conflict between the provisions of the municipal code dealing with issuance of building permits, the provisions set forth in this chapter shall prevail.
(b)
The City of Marysville Design Review Manual shall be approved and amended by resolution, from time to time, by the city council upon a recommendation from the planning commission.
(Ord. 1216 (part), 1996; Ord. 1299 § 47, 2005)
§ 18.94.070 Standards for review.
In evaluating applications submitted, the commission, the architectural review board subcommittee, and the city planner shall consider the architectural style, design, arrangement, texture, materials and color, and the requirements and recommendations outlined within the City of Marysville Design Review Manual. Applications may be approved, approved with conditions, or denied.
(Ord. 1216 (part), 1996; Ord. 1299 § 48, 2005)
§ 18.94.080 Applicability.
The provisions of this chapter shall be inapplicable to the construction, alteration, demolition, or relocation of any buildings or structures where a building permit for such work was issued prior to the designation of such building, structure or historic district as a historical resource. None of the provisions of this chapter shall prevent any measures of construction, alteration, or demolition necessary to correct the unsafe or dangerous conditions of any historical resource where such condition has been declared unsafe or dangerous by any appropriate city public official or body, and where the proposed measures have been declared necessary by such official or body to correct the condition; provided, however, that only such work as is necessary to correct the unsafe or dangerous condition. In the event any structure or other feature is damaged by fire, earthquake, or other natural disaster, to such an extent that in the opinion of the aforesaid officials or body it cannot be reasonably repaired and restored, it may be removed in conformity with applicable permit procedures and applicable laws.
(Ord. 1216 (part), 1996; Ord. 1463, 10/7/2025)
§ 18.94.090 Maintenance of historic structures and districts.
The owner, lessee, and any other person in actual charge or possession of a historic structure, or of a structure in the historic district, shall be encouraged to keep in good repair all of the exterior portions of such structure and all interior portions thereof where maintenance is necessary to prevent deterioration and decay of any exterior portion.
(Ord. 1216 (part), 1996)
§ 18.94.100 Historic preservation revolving fund.
(a)
The council may, by resolution, establish a historic preservation revolving fund. The resolution creating such a fund shall contain provisions for its administration and control.
(b)
Said revolving fund may be used for the preservation and improvement of historic structures and districts.
(c)
The revolving fund may utilize grants from federal and state agencies and private groups or individuals received pursuant to council action, as well as appropriations from the city budget, to promote the preservation of historically significant structures in the city of Marysville.
(Ord. 1216 (part), 1996)
§ 18.94.110 Administration and enforcement.
Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, it shall be the duty of the city planner to administer and enforce this chapter.
(Ord. 1216 (part), 1996; Ord. 1299 § 49, 2005)
§ 18.94.120 Penalty.
Any person who violates this chapter shall be guilty of an infraction, punishable by:
(a)
A fine, not exceeding $500, for the first violation;
(b)
A fine, not exceeding $1,000, for a second violation;
(c)
A fine, not exceeding $1,500, for each additional violation of this chapter within one year.
(Ord. 1216 (part), 1996; Ord. 1463, 10/7/2025)
§ 18.94.130 Showing of hardship.
If the applicant presents evidence clearly demonstrating to the satisfaction of the approving authority that failure to approve the application for building permit and/or design review approval will cause an extreme hardship because of conditions peculiar to the particular structure or other feature involved, the approving authority may approve or conditionally approve such application even though it does not meet the stipulated standards of review. The applicant shall bear the burden of providing evidence of hardship. The city planner or commission is authorized to request that the applicant furnish additional information, documentation, and/or expert testimony, the cost of which shall be paid by the applicant, to be considered. In determining whether hardship exists, the approving authority shall consider evidence that demonstrates that denial of the application will deprive the applicant of all reasonable economic value of the property; or utilization of the property for lawful purposes is prohibited or impractical.
(Ord. 1463, 10/7/2025)
