Historic preservation committee adopts 2025 work plan; budgeted $100,000 to update context report and prepare survey

The Cathedral City Historic Preservation Committee on May 20 approved a 2025 work plan and discussed next steps including a planned update to the city’s 2017 historic context report and a proposed historic-resource survey that staff said has $100,000 budgeted in the city’s upcoming fiscal-year proposal.

Committee members said the work plan — a working document staff distributed as both an Excel table and a Word list — will guide priorities this year, including outreach, application updates and an oral-history project. Committee members and staff also discussed using the August 2025 centennial of the city’s first recorded plat map as an opportunity for public programming and recognition.

Staff told the committee that the Kaplan Chen historic context report, prepared in 2017, will be the basis for next steps and that the City Council’s proposed 2025–26 budget includes a $100,000 line item intended to fund an update to that report and to prepare a formal survey of potential historic resources. Staff said no request for proposals has yet been issued and the final scope and cost of a survey remain to be determined.

Vice Chair Hunter Copper and other committee members emphasized the work plan’s practical aims: to identify clusters of historic resources, keep public outreach visible on the city’s channels, and finish revisions to the committee’s application for landmark or resource recognition. The committee also added an oral-history item, requested by absent member Rivera, to capture stories of long-term residents.

Committee members debated the committee’s scope. One member read language from the municipal code (Section 2.30.106) describing the committee’s duties to “review projects for compliance with applicable provisions of the code related to the preservation of historic resources and shall make recommendations to the city council and planning commission as appropriate.” Some members urged a narrow focus on reviewing individual applications; others argued the code allows broader activities such as public education, surveys and code updates. Staff said code amendments would be required to create new formal designations such as historic neighborhoods.

The committee discussed the centennial: staff suggested working with the Mary Pickford Theatre on an indoor film series tied to Cathedral City history and noted that film historian Alan Rohde has identified films with local connections. Committee members asked staff to develop options; staff said it can prepare a proclamation or recommendation to council and bring event details to a future meeting.

Procedural actions at the meeting included approval of the Feb. 18, 2025 minutes and the March 13 special meeting minutes. The committee then approved the 2025 work plan. The record shows motions to approve the minutes were made by Committee Member Evans and seconded by Committee Member Knox; the work plan motion was seconded by Committee Member Knox and recorded as passed. The committee asked staff to return with a final application revision and to flesh out any council recommendation or event details at a future meeting.

The committee did not adopt any code amendments or formally authorize an event at the May 20 meeting; staff said it would bring any recommendation to the City Council or return to the committee for further direction as needed.

Looking ahead, staff and committee members identified these next steps: finalize the historic-recognition application, scope and issue an RFP or seek bids for the survey if needed, and prepare materials for a city council proclamation or event proposal tied to the August 1925 plat map centennial.