Carlsbad Historic Preservation Commission adopts 2025–26 work plan, adds liaison to Historical Society; plaque and Mills Act recommendations headed to City Hall

The Carlsbad Historic Preservation Commission on March 25, 2025, adopted its 2025–26 work plan and agreed to add a liaison to the Carlsbad Historical Society to improve coordination on preservation projects. Staff told the commission that recommendations on a uniform plaque program and proposed historic-benefits and incentives tied to the Mills Act are anticipated to be forwarded to the City Council on May 20 for consideration.

Staff presented a summary of the commission's recent accomplishments and proposed activities for the next fiscal year. Mike Strong, historic preservation staff, said the commission's recent work included forming a subcommittee to update the commission website, sponsoring the third-grade art contest, developing plaque-program criteria, and drafting recommendations for additional historic benefits and incentives as a companion to the Mills Act. "If the commission agrees with what's provided in it, staff's recommendation would be to adopt the resolution," Strong said.

The adopted work plan lists prioritized items for 2025–26: complete the Historic Preservation Commission website update; implement a uniform plaque program (including using QR codes and technology to link plaques to online materials); continue the third-grade art contest and related educational outreach; assist staff with maintaining and revising the historic preservation ordinance; support updates to the city's cultural resource guidelines; and study items referred by City Council. The work plan also identifies several "on deck" items that could be elevated into active work: analyzing steps to obtain Certified Local Government (CLG) status, fostering a partnership with the Carlsbad Historical Society and providing oversight for the Magee House preservation effort, hosting a community history event, and creating an oral history collection with the Cole Library's Carlsbad History collection.

Commissioners discussed methods to increase coordination with the Carlsbad Historical Society. Commissioner Jacobs said she was interested in stronger coordination and potential joint activities; Commissioner Diaz recommended that staff treat outreach to the Historical Society as an "umbrella direction" to be applied across the commission's activities: "I probably would recommend that this just be an umbrella direction to staff to coordinate with them almost on all items or activities that the Historic Preservation Commission undertakes," Diaz said. Commissioners amended the work plan to add an explicit opportunity for a liaison to participate with the historical society; that amendment was accepted and incorporated into the adopted work plan.

Staff also reviewed funding considerations for the plaque program. Strong said the City would need seed money if the City Council adopts the plaque program as recommended; historically the Library Services Department had a small fund (about $1,500 per year) to support plaques, but that allocation ended in the 2022 budget cycle. Strong said future plaque installations could be funded in different ways, including requiring applicants for a local register entry to cover their enrollment and installation costs unless the commission or council recommended otherwise.

The commission approved the work plan as amended; the minutes clerk recorded the vote as unanimous. The commission's packet and staff presentation say the plaque program criteria and the commission's Mills Act-related recommendations are tentatively scheduled for City Council consideration on May 20, 2025.

Votes at a glance: - Approval of meeting minutes: motion passed 4–0 with 1 abstention (recorded by the minutes clerk). No mover/second names were specified in the transcript for that vote. - Adoption of the 2025–26 work plan (as amended to add a liaison to the Carlsbad Historical Society): motion passed unanimously. The transcript records the amendment by Commissioner Diaz and a subsequent unanimous vote; no individual roll-call names for the final tally were provided in the transcript.