Mountain View approves historic preservation ordinance updates

The Mountain View City Council has unanimously approved updates to its historic preservation ordinance, establishing new rules for how properties are nominated, listed, and removed from the city’s historic register.

A key change in the updated policy is that property owners will no longer be able to unilaterally “opt off” the local register. Instead, owners seeking removal must appear before the city’s zoning administrator and subsequently the City Council.

The amendments are set to take effect in November. Because the new rules change the removal process, the city will not finalize the updated historic register until the new ordinance provisions are in place. A vote to formally adopt the updated register is tentatively scheduled for December.

The ordinance updates follow opposition from some community members regarding the inclusion of certain properties on the register. While the council did not finalize the full register, they did direct staff to remove specific properties from the list based on a citywide survey.