On November 7, 2023, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 23-0010, amending Chapter 10.86 (Historic Preservation) of the Manhattan Beach Municipal Code (MBMC) to establish provisions for the preservation of Historic Resources. This ordinance superseded previous urgency ordinances adopted by the City Council while permanent provisions were developed. Of note, the ordinance specifies that owners' consent is required in order to designate any property as a historic landmark.

In additional to the municipal code regulations, the City Council has also established a Mills Act program via adoption of Resolution No. 18-0034 on March 20, 2018. A Mills Act program provides property tax reductions to property owners who agree to invest in the preservation and rehabilitation of qualifying historic properties through a Preservation Agreement. The Preservation Agreement is a ten-year agreement between the City and the property owner, with the Los Angeles County Assessor's Office responsible for calculating the property tax reduction.

Pursuant to MBMC Section 10.86.040, the Planning Commission serves as the City's Historic Preservation Commission, and reviews and recommends Historic Landmark designations and other historic preservation applications to the City Council for final action.

The Historic Preservation Program materials, applications, and procedures are available below:

City of Manhattan Beach Historic Landmark Application (PDF)

City of Manhattan Beach Certificate of Appropriateness (PDF)

City of Manhattan Beach Mills Act Contract Application (PDF)

Mills Act Program Resolution No. 18-0034 (PDF)

Please refer to the Planning and Zoning Fee Schedule for related fees.

Public Engagement

Historic Context Statement Community Meeting

On March 20, 2019, the City of Manhattan Beach hosted a public workshop to begin the development of a Historic Context Statement that will provide a framework for evaluating potential historic resources for significance and integrity to the City.

The community was invited to review the presentation and provide input online to help create the City's first Historic Context Statement and to let the City know what was important to them when forming the Historic Context Statement. Images and videos were welcomed along with ideas.

Building on the public workshop, a community interactive forum was held on July 23, 2019, to provide additional community input into the context statement.

Community Interactive Forum Flyer (PDF)

Historical Context Statement Preparation 

In September 2018, the City entered into a contract with Sapphos Environmental, Inc., to prepare the historic context statement, which is anticipated to be presented for community input and City Council consideration in 2024.