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Commission receives Mills Act progress report, asks staff for simpler annual summaries and photos
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Summary
The Cultural Heritage Commission received and filed a progress report on a subset of Mills Act contracts (group 2) and asked staff to supply concise one‑page summaries with photos, itemized remaining work and clearer timelines for extensions and compliance.
On Jan. 15 the South Pasadena Cultural Heritage Commission received a Mills Act progress report for a subset of contracts and directed staff to return with clearer, more visual progress summaries.
Michael Donovan, associate planner, told commissioners the report focused on “group 2” — properties still within the initial 10‑year work plan term but with outstanding work items. Donovan said 15 contracts are in group 2 overall but only 11 were presented that night; several properties have upcoming deadlines in late 2026 or 2027 and some owners have indicated they will request extensions of their work plans.
Commissioners repeatedly asked staff to provide a concise, standardized packet for each contract (one page with photos, a short list of incomplete work items and the remaining timeline) rather than the lengthy staff reports currently available in the agenda packet. “If you give me a summarized version of each contract with a photo and what the products are supposed to be and what they’ve done and how much time they have left, me as an architect can tell you if he’s supposed to do roofing in two months,” Chair Lopez said.
Property owners who spoke urged flexibility in documentation and described the practical challenges of historic rehabilitation. Dino Peroni, a homeowner, said he performed much of his work himself and lacks receipts; he asked that photographs of the completed work be accepted when receipts are unavailable. Owner Brian Bright (325 Oak Lawn) described multi‑year, high‑cost repairs (some projects originally estimated at much lower cost) and said Mills Act savings often do not offset real preservation expenses. Representatives of the owners of 929 Buena Vista described a 20,000‑square‑foot house with substantial remaining tasks and said they are assembling receipts and engineering documentation.
Staff clarified that the Mills Act contract itself contains an automatic annual extension clause but that extensions discussed tonight would apply to the property’s work plan timeline (not cancellation of the underlying contract). Donovan said staff will require owners requesting extensions to submit a written narrative and an updated timeline explaining the reasons for the request.
On a motion to receive and file the staff report, the commission voted to accept the update and asked staff to return with templates that include photos, itemized remaining tasks, cost estimates where available, and suggested reporting frequency (commissioners suggested annual rather than tri‑annual reporting).
