A. 
Introduction
In communities across the United States, people are becoming aware of the value in preserving their cultural and historic heritage. This interest in our past can be attributed in part as a response to the modern-day, mass-produced housing and look-alike shopping centers and supermarkets. Historic preservation efforts can also be seen as an extension of environmentalism: the realization that precious resources - both natural and man-made - are limited and need conserving.
A community's historic buildings are the tangible links with its past and reflect its unique character. Through these links the community's sense of identity is strengthened. Familiar landmarks establish a sense of permanence and anchor the community as a place in time. Historic preservation activities can also foster civic pride and community spirit.
B. 
Background
The Encinitas General Plan contains policy statements that call for the identification of the City's historic and architectural resources, and proposes that implementation programs be designed to preserve them. Resource Management Element Policy 7.3 states that "the City will pursue development of an historic resources program to assist in the identification of those buildings, structures, and places within the City that have historic significance."
The Land Use Element of the General Plan defines a cultural overlay zone to apply wherever significant historic resources are identified. The citywide zoning code requires projects affecting known historic resources to study potential negative impacts and provide mitigation to the extent feasible.
Through these policies, the City recognizes the importance of protecting the community's link with the past. The vision statement for the Downtown Encinitas Specific Plan states that the purpose of the specific plan "is to guide evolutionary development and historic preservation of the Downtown area by providing comprehensive guidelines, standards, and implementation programs based on a community vision which fosters a spirit of community interaction and pride;" and to "...protect and enhance existing visual, cultural, historical, and natural resources."
To this end, the issues addressed in the specific plan include the identification of historic resources and development of alternatives for preservation. The "Architectural and Historic Resources Inventory" (refer to Appendix C), conducted in conjunction with the development of this specific plan, identifies individual resources of varying degrees of significance. This study is not a conclusive determinant of the significance of individual sites, which are still subject to the City-wide cultural resources overlay (Municipal Code Section 30.34.050). Rather, it indicates the range of potential resources, the most important ones being Derby House, La Paloma Theater, and the Boat Houses.
The purpose of this Historic Preservation chapter is to generate interest in and awareness of the Downtown Encinitas area's varied historic resources, and to focus appropriate attention on how to protect them. The specific plan proposes voluntary preservation activities and programs for the Downtown area's historic resources.
There were two dramatically significant periods in the development of the Downtown Encinitas area. The first occurred in the mid-to-late 1880's - an optimistic boom period of real estate speculation and development that transformed not only Encinitas, but all of Southern California. The second period occurred between the mid-1920's and the late 1940's. This boom was set in motion by the formation of the San Dieguito Irrigation District in 1923-24, and made possible for the first time both substantial expansion of agricultural production and the urbanization of Encinitas. Prior to that time, the limited water sources found through wells and/or made available by Cottonwood Creek had restricted the community's development.
Development Pattern During the Early Settlement Period (1880's)
The architecture of Encinitas during the mid-to-late 1880's is typical of the small town rural design found throughout the United States. The village's first commercial structures were concentrated around the railroad depot at First and F Streets, as were the homes of the merchants, postmaster, and the railroad station agent. The depot, reflecting the stature of the railroad company, was the most ornate and stylish building in town. In 1883, the town was platted in the gridiron street pattern in evidence today.
Early residential development was simple in design and derived from the Cape Cod/Classic Cottage house style: frame/overlap board construction, side-gabled floor plan, and close-cropped eaves. This housing type is part of a long vernacular American building tradition that dates back to the early English settlement of the United States during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Although no surviving Classic Cottages were identified in the inventory, the American Colonial Revival cottages built during the 1920's, 30's, and 40's are descended from this form.
There were also buildings of what is commonly thought of as "Victorian" design. The most significant surviving example is the Derby House (649 Vulcan Street, 1883). The original Encinitas Hotel (Ca. 1883), which stood near the northeast corner of First and E Streets, was a Second Empire Style building whose principal architectural elements - mansard roof, window trim and cornice moldings - reflected the higher style Victorian design precepts fashionable in the East during the 1860's and early 1870's.
The commercial buildings of the early settlement period are also of simple frame construction with "false front" facades (including stepped parapet) intended to give the building a more imposing character. Classical notions of symmetry, and some Classically-derived architectural details are employed. Downtown Encinitas' first commercial block was built around 1887 by early Encinitas real estate promoters E.B. Scott and G.W. Marsh.
As was typical for many small rural frontier communities, Encinitas public buildings during this period were limited to a schoolhouse and church - both with "gable-front" orientations and similar architectural treatments derived from early nineteenth century Classical Revival precedent. Very few examples of architecture from this frontier period appear to survive. Those which do survive—such as the Encinitas Schoolhouse and the Derby House—reflect the design sensibilities of the era.
Development Pattern Between the 1880's and 1920's Booms
By the end of the 1880's, Encinitas' first boom ended and the community went into a period of relatively little change. The population increased by no more than 30 people during the entire period between 1890 and 1920.
Despite the sluggish local economy, the ascendancy of automobile travel and its impact on the urbanization of Encinitas, along with the diversification of the local economy, is reflected in a new generation of building types. The State of California paved and widened Old Highway 101 in 1913, and public works contracts found in The Southwest Builder & Contractor in 1919 indicate that new modern concrete bridges were installed for the highway system at Cardiff and over Agua Hedionda Creek. The coming of electricity to Encinitas in 1915 also provided the foundation for urbanization during the late 1910's and 1920's.
The homes built during this period are simple Craftsman and Transitional Victorian buildings of frame construction, sheathed with overlap board, wood shingle, or ship-lap siding, with overhanging gable or low-pitched hip roofs and exposed rafter tails. The Transitional Victorian buildings have more of a vertical orientation in proportions, roof pitch, and window heights, while the Craftsman homes (loosely 1903-1930) are more horizontal in line and proportions.
Development Pattern From the Mid-1920's through the Early-1930's
Encinitas grew rapidly during the 1920's and early 1930's, tapering off dramatically with the worst phase of the Great Depression (mid-1930's). With the inclusion of Leucadia in 1923 and Encinitas in 1924 as part of the San Dieguito Irrigation District, and relocation of the District offices to Encinitas in 1925, the availability of water for agricultural uses and for urbanization seemed assured. It is estimated that roughly a third of the extant building stock in Downtown Encinitas was constructed between 1924 and 1932.
To the north in Leucadia, much of the land was subdivided between 1924 and 1927 by F.H. Tolle and Los Angeles industrialist/developer William G. Kerkhoff (1856-1929) of the South Coast Land Company. Aware of the new profitability of Encinitas/Leucadia real estate, other major firms of regional importance, such as the Los Angeles-based Frank Meline Company became involved in marketing Leucadia's agricultural lands. Hollywood developers, such as Edward A. Biby and G.G. Powell (Encinitas Land Company), Aubrey Austin of Santa Monica, and A. Cory of Oceanside, focused on construction of new commercial buildings in Downtown Encinitas, including the La Paloma Theater and the "second" Encinitas Hotel.
This "boom" also brought other new builders to Encinitas. Miles M. Kellogg & Sons, apparent builders of many of the residential and commercial buildings in the downtown area, came to Encinitas in the early 1920's. According to the Encinitas Coast Dispatch, C.H. Bigelow relocated to Encinitas from Long Beach, California, in August 1925, and established offices in the newly constructed Encinitas Hotel Building. Bigelow is mentioned numerous times in the real estate notes sections of the local paper between 1925 and 1930 as at work on residential buildings in Encinitas and in the new South Coast Park subdivisions in Leucadia.
The sunny development market in the Encinitas-Leucadia area also attracted the attention of a major Los Angeles-based mail order house construction company called Pacific Ready-Cut Homes (a.k.a. "Redi-Cut"), a firm which provided a catalogue of pre-designed, pre-specified buildings for which all pre-cut lumber, sash, and hardware would be shipped out from the Los Angeles headquarters to the purchaser. The purchaser would then hire a local contractor recommended by Pacific Ready-Cut to assemble the building. A large display ad in the 1928 Encinitas Coast Dispatch, suggests a serious effort on the part of the company to market its homes locally. The ad shows a handsome and very fashionable Spanish eclectic style home. The name Everett B. Parke, Oceanside, appears in the ad as "the exclusive authorized builder." It is concluded from this information that any Pacific Ready-Cut buildings constructed in Downtown Encinitas were built by Parke.
Acknowledging Downtown Encinitas' ascendancy as an important business center and as a tourist destination along Highway 101, T.J. Lewis sponsored a plan in early 1928 that led to the installation of the Encinitas Sign. Once extending across First Street adjacent to the Encinitas Hotel, the neon sign consisted of a metal shell approximately 20 feet in length "...with 15 inch letters lighted in vivid blue and red at night..." (Encinitas Coast Dispatch).
Residential development in Encinitas during the 1920's and 1930's consisted of two basic architectural styles and two minor ones: most of the buildings were either Spanish eclectic in design, or simple unornamented bungalows derived from the Classic Cottage house type. The Spanish eclectic homes often featured smooth plaster walls and flat roofs with stepped or scalloped parapets (the parapets sometimes had mission tile coping), with mission tile hoods over the windows or entrance.
Construction of a handful of examples in Encinitas of the English Eclectic style occurred during the late 1920's, reflecting growing popularity of Tudor Revival in the United States. Another, even rarer style found throughout California during the mid-1920's was the Egyptian Revival, a short-lived architectural fad which is generally ascribed to the discovery and opening of King Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922-23 (a good example of which is found nearby to the east of the Specific Plan area).
Development Pattern During 1940's and Early 1950's
During the Post War period of the 1940's and early 1950's, infill development of commercial buildings continued along First Street, Second Street, and some of the adjoining side streets, essentially giving the downtown area its current overall character. A number of homes were built on Third and Fourth Streets, and between the Encinitas Highlands and the Santa Fe Railroad right-of-way during this period.
The commercial buildings are simple versions of the Moderne design idiom popular in the mid- 1930's: large plate glass windows with low bulkheads beneath, a crisp rectilinear appearance with no ornamental detail, tall upper fascias with straight-line parapets.
The residential buildings of this period take their design inspiration primarily from three sources: The American Colonial Revival, the Moderne design idiom, and the "Ranch House" type popularized by architect Cliff May starting in the late 1930's.
Vacant Lots in Downtown Encinitas
The 1929 Sanborn Company Fire Insurance Maps of Downtown Encinitas clearly show that roughly 50% of the lots were still vacant by the late 1920's, leaving much land available for development during the late 1930's, Post-War era, and well into the 1980's. The continuing availability of vacant land helps explain the heterogeneous character of downtown Encinitas' built environment. Thus, over the decades, whenever conditions arose favorable to new development "spurts", there was vacant land available to build upon.
Because the downtown area developed over time through three boom periods, the historic survey resulted in no recommendation for the establishment of an historic district (as defined by the Department of the Interior). However, it is this eclecticism, within the context of small-scale beach community development, that is identified in this specific plan as a character to be preserved. Thus, the historic preservation strategies of this plan should be applied to the broad variety of identified resources, without preference for any one historical period.
Cottonwood Creek and the Development of Encinitas
Any historical account of the evolution of Encinitas would not be complete without noting the key role Cottonwood Creek played in the early development of the town. The mouth of this creek opens to Moonlight Beach at the north end of the specific plan area. Bordered on the north by B Street, on the east by First St, on the south by the bluffs of Moonlight Beach, and on the west by Third Street and the Pacific Ocean, Cottonwood Creek was the primary source of water and wood fuel in Encinitas. The location of the creek was responsible for the California Southern Railroad choosing to establish this area as a water stop for its trains in 1881. This railroad access and the availability of water and wood led to the formal establishment of the Town of Encinitas in 1883—the first town along the rail line between National City and Oceanside.
The availability of water in the San Dieguito area was the principal force driving real estate and agricultural development of the land. While vital to the early existence of Encinitas, Cottonwood Creek's limited water supply restricted population and the development of the area until the completion of Hodges Dam in 1918 and the formation of the San Dieguito Irrigation District four years later.
In recognition of its significance to the development of the Encinitas area, Cottonwood Creek was recently designated by California as a State Point of Historical Interest. It is also recognized in the Historic Resources Inventory that the Creek is eligible for local landmark designation. Preservation/restoration of the creek area is addressed in Section 3.1 of this plan under the Moonlight Beach Park Subdistrict.
A. 
Introduction
Any successful preservation program must include not only the identification of historic resources, but development of measures to protect them. Potential historic resources have been researched in the "Architectural and Historic Resources Inventory of the Downtown Encinitas Specific Plan Area" (Appendix C). This section of the Specific Plan outlines basic strategies that can be made available to assist in preserving the community's historic resources.
There are two broad approaches to historic preservation: regulatory, and incentive-based. Since most potential historic resources are under private ownership, and because there are real economic implications of preservation, a strictly regulatory approach is difficult to achieve. Furthermore, the Downtown Encinitas community has made clear that it desires a preservation program that is incentive-based and voluntary. With this in mind the following strategies for a preservation program were developed.
B. 
Regulatory Mechanisms
There are existing City and State regulations that provide a level of protection for identified historic resources. These regulations provide both restrictions for preservation, and a relaxing or restructuring of regulations (such as development and parking standards) and flexibility of allowable uses to achieve preservation.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
Virtually all development projects are subject to the environmental review process established by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Projects that would destroy or substantially alter a known historic resource could be deemed to pose a significant effect on the environment. Under CEQA, significant effects must be minimized to the extent feasible. Mitigation measures will vary depending on the project, but can range from photo-documentation or a narrative report recording the resource, to preservation by a variety of means: maintaining the basic structure while accommodating architecturally compatible additions, or granting a "facade easement" for the exterior appearance of the structure. Sometimes as a last resort, relocation of a historic structure is considered.
The City's General Plan establishes a Cultural Resources overlay that applies to historic resources. This overlay is implemented generally by the Municipal Code, which requires projects involving historical sites or structures to perform a site resource survey and impact analysis to determine a site's or structure's significance and the need for impact mitigation (Municipal Code Section 30.34.050 (A)(1)(b)). This Municipal Code requirement continues to apply in the specific plan area. The "Architectural and Historic Resources Inventory" is not to be used to determine when a site definitely has or does not have a significant architectural or historic resource; a site-specific resource survey per the Municipal Code shall be required.
Specific Plan Provisions Affecting Historic Resources
There are features of the Downtown Encinitas Specific Plan that, properly applied, will positively influence the continued viability of the area's historic resources and should help achieve preservation. The design recommendations and development standards were created to preserve and maintain the existing desirable character of the Downtown area. An important part of that character derives from the area's historic resources.
Design Recommendations—The Design Recommendations of this Specific Plan were developed to maintain and preserve the existing unique, beachy, small-town character of the Downtown area. Emphasis is placed on ensuring that new development is compatible in terms of bulk and scale to existing development. Choice of materials, colors, textures, etc., are also discussed.
The Design Recommendations provide some discussion of rehabilitation of historic structures. Rehabilitation of existing resources should be done in a manner that preserves the original character and integrity of the structure. Remodeling should be done so that non-historic materials or features are removed in favor of restoring original features and intended uses of properties. Removal or alteration of historic material should be avoided, while deteriorated architectural features should be repaired rather than replaced, whenever possible (See Section 4.5.9).
Development Standards—In addition to the Design Recommendations, the specific plan guides development through development standards. Citywide zoning and development regulations sometimes run counter to preservation of historic properties. Contemporary regulations generally require larger lot sizes and setbacks than were traditional for older urban areas. Because existing lot sizes in the Downtown area are small and narrow, previous City-wide standards made infill development difficult. New development under City-wide regulations would be encouraged to depart from the traditional mainstreet, small-town character of Old Encinitas. Typically, newer development is found on large consolidated lots necessary to comply with setback, parking, and landscaping requirements. The inability to develop or re-develop on infill areas in a manner consistent with older structures would not only discourage new development, but would also erode some of the small-town character found to be so desirable by the community.
The development standards in the Specific Plan provide for minimal lot sizes, setback and landscaping requirements. Designed to be more reflective of the existing development pattern, the development standards (primarily for First Street and Second Street corridors) provide for a more flexible building envelope that will enhance the viability of the area's historic structures. This may provide more incentive for rehabilitation and preservation, rather than encourage demolition of the Downtown's older structures.
The development standards for the commercial areas permit a mix of commercial and residential uses. The mixed-use zoning is well suited for the commercial developments along First and Second Streets. Many of the older structures (such as the Broun Building and Encinitas Hotel) were originally constructed for commercial and residential uses.
Parking Standards—Generally, the City-wide off-street parking requirements make development of the small lots in the Downtown area difficult. The parking standards provided in Section 3.3 of the Specific Plan are designed to encourage the vitality of the commercial district through the application of a variety of strategies including credit for on-street parking, revised parking ratios, and relaxed requirements for building additions and remodels.
Lesser parking requirements increase net usable lot area, thus discouraging the need for lot consolidations and large retail commercial developments. By restructuring off-street parking requirements, it will be easier for new businesses to occupy existing historic structures.
Flexibility in Land Uses and Adaptive Reuse—To encourage investment in the preservation of historic resources within the Downtown Encinitas Specific Plan, varying uses shall be permitted on lots with designated historic structures to encourage retention of historic resources. The Specific Plan shall permit a variety of uses in designated historic buildings while aiding in the preservation of their facades or characteristic profiles. With the same aim, the Specific Plan shall encourage and permit adaptive reuse of designated buildings.
State Historic Building Code—Certain projects affecting historic structures may utilize the State Historic Building Code. Adopted by the City of Encinitas, provisions of the code allow flexible building standards for eligible structures. Eligible structures include those listed on a national, state, or local register; or listed in an official inventory of historical or architecturally significant resources. This has two advantages: utilization of the code allows rehabilitations that respect and conform to older building methods, thus preserving the original architectural integrity; it also allows for continued use or adaptive re-use of old buildings that otherwise would not be allowed because of strict code requirements.
Projects eligible under this strategy include those affecting properties listed in the Historic Resources Inventory, and shall be implemented on a case-by-case basis. No other implementation action by the City is required.
C. 
Incentive Strategies
In addition to regulatory measures, another approach to preservation is based on financial and technical incentives. There are a variety of programs, grants, low-interest loans, tax credits, and deductions available to owners of historic properties. The City should investigate the feasibility of all available programs, and develop other viable incentive programs for purposes of maintaining and rehabilitating historic properties. This section outlines existing incentives that are available through various state and federal agencies. Many of the incentives take the form of tax credits or deductions.
Some of the existing programs outlined below require that properties be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, or be included on a State or local listing to qualify for incentives. It is not required that the City approve or initiate an application for National Register recognition. The process for placing an eligible property on the National Register may be initiated by any individual or organizational entity. However, the City will support the efforts of such groups or individuals in having historic resources placed on the National Register.
The City should investigate the feasibility of a local registry program, in coordination with local historic preservation organizations. Such a program will be voluntary: any property that is placed on a local register must be done with the owner's consent.
Table 4 summarizes the preservation strategies outlined in this plan, and how they may be applied to various significance categories of historic resources.
Table 4
PRESERVATION STRATEGIES MATRIX
Applicable Program/Activity
National Landmark Eligible
Local Landmark Eligible
Structures of Merit
Of Contextual Value
CEQA Review
Municipal Code Section 30.34.050
1
1
1
 
Design Guidelines
1
1
1
1
Development Standards
1
1
1
1
Parking Standards
1
1
1
1
Flexibility in Land Uses and Adaptive Reuse (Ord. 2009-15)
13
13
13
13
State Historic Building Code
1
1
1
 
Federal Tax Credits
11
12
12
13
Federal Tax Deduction for Charitable Easement
11
 
 
 
Mills Act Property Tax Adjustment
13
13
 
 
CDBG Eligible Funding
1
1
1
 
Facade Grant Program
1
1
1
1
Seismic Retro-fit Rebate Program
14
14
14
 
Fee Waivers
1
1
1
 
1
Must be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
2
A 10% tax credit is available to commercial structures built before 1936.
3
Must be listed on a national, state, or local historic register.
4
For structures with identified un-reinforced masonry (URM) construction only
●
Tax Credits
 
Perhaps the most common preservation incentive takes the form of income tax credits. The Federal Tax Reform Act of 1986 provides a tax credit equal to 20% of rehabilitation costs for commercial structures and rental residential buildings. To be eligible, the structure must be listed on the National Register of Historic Places or located within a certified historic district. For structures not on the National Register but which were placed in service before 1936, a 10% tax credit is available. Rehabilitation work must conform to the guidelines established by the Secretary of the Interior for historic structures. Certification requests of rehabilitation work are made through the State Office of Historic Preservation; certifications are issued by the National Park Service.
 
The credit (either 20% or 10%) is available to the taxpayer for five years from date of completion of rehabilitation work. Rehabilitated property may be depreciated over 27.5 years.
 
An investment tax credit is also available for substantial rehabilitation of low income housing properties. To be eligible for the credit, rehabilitations must meet certain tests relating to cost per unit, number of units occupied by households with income below area median income, and a 15-year compliance period. The credit amounts to 9% of rehab costs for ten years.
 
For structures listed on the National Register, no action by the City is required for implementation of this strategy. However, the City and community may promote the availability of this program in coordination with local historic preservation groups.
●
Tax Deductions
 
Certified historic structures that grant a facade easement as a charitable contribution may deduct the calculated loss in property value from their federal income tax liability. Owners of qualified structures listed on the National Register may deed building facades to nonprofit or government entities in exchange for the deduction. The property owner must maintain the facade and preserve its historic value.
●
Mills Act
 
The Mills Act Tax Adjustment (California Government Code 50280 et seq.) allows cities to enter into contracts with owners of qualified historic properties to provide for their restoration and maintenance in exchange for a property tax reduction. In order to qualify, as with other incentive programs, the property must be a registered National or local landmark and rehabilitation work must conform to the standards established by the State Office of Historic Preservation. Periodic inspections of the property by the County Assessor, Department of Parks and Recreation, and the State Board of Equalization may be necessary to ensure continued compliance with the contract.
 
Mills Act contracts generally are effective for a period of 10 years, with a provision for automatic annual renewals after the initial time period. Depending on the specific circumstances of a property (commercial vs. residential use, mortgage interest rates, etc.), Mills Act tax reductions can be considerable.
 
Implementation of this strategy will be done on a case-by-case basis, at the initiation of a property owner. The community may promote the availability of this program in coordination with local preservation groups.
●
Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)
 
Certain rehabilitation projects can qualify for low-interest loans or grants through the CDBG program. Qualifying projects must meet a "national objective" such as providing affordable housing opportunities or improving targeted areas of "blight", as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The City currently applies its CDBG allocation primarily to serving low-income households. To qualify for historic rehabilitation funds, in addition to meeting a national objective, properties must be either listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic places; be designated as a state or local landmark by appropriate law or ordinance; or be listed in a state or local inventory of historic places. In allocating CDBG funds, the City will consider granting preference to projects affecting historically significant structures that also provide affordable housing opportunities. Furthermore, it is hereby established as City policy that any CDBG project affecting an historic site or structure must not result in any significant negative impacts to the historic resource.
 
Implementation of this strategy will require that the City establish criteria for evaluating and prioritizing CDBG allocations to projects involving historic rehabilitation.
●
Façade Grant Program
 
In the past, the Downtown Encinitas Mainstreet Association (DEMA) has administered a grant program to assist Downtown merchants in rehabilitating their store-fronts. The City should consider supporting this, or a similar program for encouraging historic preservation and rehabilitation. Rehabilitation work shall comply substantially with accepted standards (State Office of Historic Preservation) and should be consistent with the Design Recommendations of this Specific Plan. Such a grant program may potentially be funded through the City's General Fund or through CDBG allocations.
 
Implementation of this strategy will require funding support from the City, and administration by a qualified organization such as DEMA.
●
Seismic Retro-fit
 
In the Downtown area, several of the inventoried historic buildings have also been identified in a separate inventory to be of un-reinforced masonry (URM) construction. Subject to the provisions of a citywide URM ordinance, the City should consider offering or establishing a rebate program to provide for reimbursement of seismic retro-fitting costs. The rebate program would apply to owners of documented historic structures who agree to rehabilitate and maintain the property for historic preservation purposes.
 
Application of this strategy will require a commitment of funds from the City. Potential funding sources include the city's General Fund, CDBG (subject to HUD requirements), or bond financing. In determining the feasibility of a seismic-retrofit rebate program, the City should investigate all potential funding sources.
●
Fee Waivers
 
In order to encourage historic rehabilitations, the City should consider reductions or waivers of processing fees for building permits or design review. Fees may be paid from specially earmarked funds from the General Fund or other eligible sources. Implementation of this strategy requires that the City review which processing fees and which types of projects may be eligible for waivers and/or reductions.
D. 
Additional Measures
●
Historic Preservation Ordinance and Commission
 
In the future, the City may find it desirable to establish additional historic preservation measures such as an ordinance and/or commission in order to further coordinate and implement City-wide preservation strategies. A commission can have several advantages. It can seek various funding sources and develop additional preservation programs, as well as implement those programs outlined in this Plan. With members meeting certain qualifications, it can enable Encinitas to become part of the Certified Local Government (CLG) program. CLG status would enable the City to qualify for certain other grant funds from the federal government earmarked specifically for the CLG program. These funds can be used to finance a number of preservation programs. Participation in the Certified Local Government program gives preservationists access to technical support from the Office of Historic Preservation and other sources. (Ord. 2009-15)
 
A commission would also have the expertise to review projects that affect historic properties. It could review historic resources to determine their historic significance; review National Register applications; make recommendations to the State Office of Historic Preservation; and play a key role in local landmark designation, should the City wish to consider such designation.
 
Establishment of a Historic Preservation Commission is not required by this specific plan, but would be consistent with the policies and programs of this plan.
●
Education Programs
 
An historic preservation program may include activities to make the community aware of, and appreciate its historic resources. This function is being performed, in part, by private groups such as the Encinitas Historical Society, the San Dieguito Heritage Museum, the Cottonwood Creek Conservancy, and DEMA. To further awareness of our historic resources, the City supports the efforts of such groups. As mentioned previously, such local organizations are instrumental in promoting and carrying out certain preservation strategies.
(Ord. 2009-15)