Pasadena Approves 7 Fewer Mills-Act-Qualified, Historically Significant Structures in 2021 Than Year Before

Compared to 20 new properties in 2020, the City of Pasadena approved just 13 new properties for the Historic Property Contract program in 2021. The local program is supported by the state of California’s Mills Act and offers property owners tax reductions to preserve historically significant structures. 

The Mills Act provides a financial incentive to encourage designation, rehabilitation and protection of historic buildings. 

“The benefit to the owner may be a reduction in property taxes, while the benefit to the City is the preservation of a significant historic resource and investment in rehabilitation of housing,” according to a staff report that the Department of Planning and Community Development will present Tuesday to the City’s Historic Preservation Committee.

A total of 359 properties, with 593 unique parcels (including condominium units), are currently enrolled in Pasadena’s Mills Act program.

Process of Approval 

Under the City’s procedures, property owners may apply for acceptance into the Historic Property Contract program which the Pasadena City Council adopted in October 2002.

With the application, the owner includes a list of rehabilitation, maintenance and/or restoration projects that the Planning and Community Development Department reviews; after approval by staff, the owners would be contractually obligated to complete these projects. In return, the County Assessor’s Office calculates an alternative property valuation that most often results in a reduction in property taxes.

Once approved, the property owner agrees to permit periodic examination of the interior and exterior of the premises by the County Assessor, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the State Board of Equalization, and the City as may be necessary to verify the owner’s compliance with the contract agreement.

Loss of Property Tax Revenue under Mills Act Program

In order to ensure that uncollected revenue as a result of Historic Property Contracts shall not exceed a total of $75,000.00 annually, or $25,000.00 for any one individual property, Historic Property Contracts are limited to a maximum of 20 single-family residential properties each year and six multi-family residential, commercial, or industrial properties each year.

Historic Property Contracts are for a minimum term of 10 years under state law, with automatic renewal yearly on the anniversary of the contract date. 

The Planning Department report said the total loss in tax revenue to the City for the 20 new properties covered by the Mills Act in 2020 was $31,221.67, quoting data from the County Assessor. This is substantially lower than the annual maximum of $75,000 established by the City Council. 

The highest loss of tax revenue from a single property was $16,766.89, also substantially lower than the annual maximum of $25,000 established by the City Council.

For 2021, the tax adjustment for the 13 new properties that were accepted into the program have not yet been provided by the County Assessor’s Office to date. 

Staff is working with the County to obtain the data, but does not anticipate that the loss in tax revenue to the City from the outstanding properties would exceed the limits established by the City Council.

The 20 Mills Act contracts in 2020 were for the following properties: 

1) 1145 Arden Road 

2) 1 E. Colorado Blvd., 

3) 55 E. Colorado Blvd., 

4) 1313 N. El Molino Avenue, 

5) 989 S. El Molino Avenue, 

6) 1060 Elizabeth Street, 

7) 293 N. Garfield Avenue, 

8) 1084 N. Garfield Avenue, 

9) 1207 N. Holliston Avenue, 

10) 1124 N. Hudson Avenue, 

11) 1133 N. Hudson Avenue, 

12) 745 La Loma Road, 

13) 1165 N. Los Robles Avenue, 

14) 781 Mar Vista Avenue, 

15) 372 S. Marengo Avenue (7 residential condominiums), 

16) 234 Marguerita Lane, 

17) 737 N. Michigan Avenue, 

18) 794 N. Michigan Avenue, 

19) 1650 E. Mountain Street, and 

20) 1140 N. Wilson Avenue.

For 2021, the 13 new Mills Act contracts approved covered these properties: 

1) 1660 Casa Grande Street, 

2) 810 N. Catalina Avenue, 

3) 841 N. Chester Avenue, 

4) 258 Douglas Street, 

5) 1225 N. Holliston Avenue, 

6) 440 La Loma Road, 

7) 1076 Mar Vista Avenue, 

8) 815 N. Mentor Avenue, 

9) 1625 Mountain Avenue, 

10) 621 Prescott Avenue, 

11) 1496 Rose Villa Street, 

12) 651 St. John Avenue, and 

13) 1000 San Pasqual Street (Villa San Pasqual 1; 19 residential condominiums).

Planning Department staff will be at the Historic Preservation Commission meeting Tuesday to further explain these updates on the program implementation in Pasadena.

The meeting begins at 4:30 p.m. and can be accessed via video conference at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88927258313 or by calling (669) 900 6833 and using the webinar ID 889 2725 8313.