San Mateo council approves consultant contract to update preservation ordinance, requires owner consent before surveys or designations

SAN MATEO, Calif. — On Jan. 21, 2025, the San Mateo City Council voted 3-2 to appropriate approximately $328,000 and award a professional services agreement to Rincon Consulting to update the city's historic preservation ordinance and produce a citywide historic context statement, with council direction that the city not survey or designate properties without owner consent.

The vote implements actions in the recently adopted General Plan 2040's community design and historic resources element and follows months of public debate. The scope approved directs Rincon to complete archival research, public outreach, an ordinance audit and recommended code revisions, and an implementation plan; staff said the combined work would take roughly 12 to 14 months if done concurrently.

Staff told council the ordinance in the zoning code (Chapter 27.66) dates to the 1990s and lacks definitions and processes now typical under state and federal best practices. Rincon presenters Margo Nayer, a cultural resources principal, and Julianne Murphy, the project manager, said the consultant team will review the existing ordinance and surveys, prepare a historic context statement (a thematic history report rather than…