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Citywide Historic Resource Survey

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Historic Context Statements and Surveys are planning tools for understanding, identifying, evaluating and protecting the City’s historical resources. Context Statements provide the foundation for successful survey work. They provide an analytical framework for identifying and evaluating resources by explaining the broad patterns of historical development of a community that are represented by the physical development and character of the built environment.

Historic Surveys are intended to identify potentially significant properties, provide information needed to make informed planning decisions, prioritize preservation goals and objectives, and increase the public’s understanding of and appreciation for the built environment. Conducting a Survey involves archival research, development of a historic context, field survey and recording of information.

The goal of the City of Coronado’s Historic Context Statement and Survey project is to develop these tools for use in the City’s Historic Preservation Program. Currently, the Coronado Municipal Code requires any structure in the City that is 75 or older to be reviewed for historic significance as a Historic Resource prior to demolition of any original features that are visible from the street right of way. This essentially results in any structure that is 75 or older being considered “potentially historic” and results in confusion regarding what type of development is allowed. Upon adoption of the completed Historic Context Statement and Survey, the number of “potentially historic” properties in the City would be narrowed down to only those properties identified in the Survey, providing clarity to the public and more certainty regarding whether a property may qualify as a Historic Resource.

The City has contracted with Dudek, an environmental planning firm based in Encinitas, to complete the Historic Context Statement and Survey project. Throughout that project, this webpage will be used to provide updates on status and opportunities for engagement.


The public is encouraged to attend the upcoming meetings to learn more. There will be a presentation and opportunity for the public to provide comments on the Draft Context Statement and Citywide Historic Resource Survey:

  • September 20, 2023 at 3 pm, City Hall Council Chambers - Regular meeting of the Historic Resource Commission

  • October 11, 2023 at 5:30 pm, Coronado Library Winn Room, 640 Orange Avenue
  • November 21, 2023 at 4 pm, City Hall Council Chambers - Regular meeting of the City Council
    • Staff will provide an update to City Council on the public comment period and will request direction on next steps.

You can also provide comment via email to tolsen@coronado.ca.us or sign the Guestbook tool on the Project Coronado page.

The draft document is available for review on the City's website www.coronado.ca.us/preservation and on the Project Coronado page under Project Documents, as well as in print at City Hall and the Coronado Library.

Historic Context Statements and Surveys are planning tools for understanding, identifying, evaluating and protecting the City’s historical resources. Context Statements provide the foundation for successful survey work. They provide an analytical framework for identifying and evaluating resources by explaining the broad patterns of historical development of a community that are represented by the physical development and character of the built environment.

Historic Surveys are intended to identify potentially significant properties, provide information needed to make informed planning decisions, prioritize preservation goals and objectives, and increase the public’s understanding of and appreciation for the built environment. Conducting a Survey involves archival research, development of a historic context, field survey and recording of information.

The goal of the City of Coronado’s Historic Context Statement and Survey project is to develop these tools for use in the City’s Historic Preservation Program. Currently, the Coronado Municipal Code requires any structure in the City that is 75 or older to be reviewed for historic significance as a Historic Resource prior to demolition of any original features that are visible from the street right of way. This essentially results in any structure that is 75 or older being considered “potentially historic” and results in confusion regarding what type of development is allowed. Upon adoption of the completed Historic Context Statement and Survey, the number of “potentially historic” properties in the City would be narrowed down to only those properties identified in the Survey, providing clarity to the public and more certainty regarding whether a property may qualify as a Historic Resource.

The City has contracted with Dudek, an environmental planning firm based in Encinitas, to complete the Historic Context Statement and Survey project. Throughout that project, this webpage will be used to provide updates on status and opportunities for engagement.


The public is encouraged to attend the upcoming meetings to learn more. There will be a presentation and opportunity for the public to provide comments on the Draft Context Statement and Citywide Historic Resource Survey:

  • September 20, 2023 at 3 pm, City Hall Council Chambers - Regular meeting of the Historic Resource Commission

  • October 11, 2023 at 5:30 pm, Coronado Library Winn Room, 640 Orange Avenue
  • November 21, 2023 at 4 pm, City Hall Council Chambers - Regular meeting of the City Council
    • Staff will provide an update to City Council on the public comment period and will request direction on next steps.

You can also provide comment via email to tolsen@coronado.ca.us or sign the Guestbook tool on the Project Coronado page.

The draft document is available for review on the City's website www.coronado.ca.us/preservation and on the Project Coronado page under Project Documents, as well as in print at City Hall and the Coronado Library.

Context and Survey Comments

The Draft Historic Context Statement and Citywide Survey Tier Matrix is available in the Project Documents section of this page, and in viewable in print at City Hall and at the Coronado Public Library. If you have comments on the Draft Historic Context Statement and Citywide Survey, you can provide them here, or you can email Tricia Olsen at tolsen@coronado.ca.us 

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Following careful analysis of the survey and the many omissions and inaccuracies that have been found by local homeowners, it is clear that the Historic Resource Survey, as it stands, has significant limitations that compromise its ability to serve as a fair and reliable tool for evaluating homes' historical significance. The survey exclusively examines the architectural aspects of a property, neglecting the broader historical context and significance of these homes and should not be adopted to exclude homes from the current Historic Resource process. There is a more accurate solution for assessing historic properties while respecting the rights and needs of homeowners already in place at the City. Removing homes from this process based on this survey would be flawed due to the inaccuracies of the survey.

Additionally, the findings in the Historic Context Statement regarding City Historic Districts that “No areas within the City were found to have the visual cohesion to be considered as a local historic district” (pg 127) is misleading and downplays the potential for historic districts in Coronado. Significant research and analysis of potential historic districts in Coronado is lacking within the document and this sentence should not be taken to mean that Coronado could not form a historic district in the future.

Coronado Historical Association 6 months ago
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I am a Coronado homeowner who attended the 11 October information session in the Winn Room at the Library and I would like to register my input that it makes no sense to pay for this tiered assessment of Coronado homes and not eliminate, at a minimum, tier 3 (heavily altered) houses from historic designation processes. My house was built in 1925 but it is a small and ordinary structure behind an 8-foot fence on 3rd Street. I was surprised to learn that if I were to decide to upgrade my home with an ADU, I may have to pay over $1,000 and go through a lengthy neighbor notification process even through my home is clearly not historic. The city needs housing, not administrative churn. I'd like to say that the city should focus on the tier 1/2 homes that are more clearly history, but hearing from a citizen who is facing designation against his will, I don't agree with that either. That said, the survey has been paid for and completed so the city should take advantage to reduce the number of homes going through this expensive and staff member intensive process. To do anything else would indicate that the city is in thrall, for some reason I don't understand, to hobbyists who just want to freeze us in amber in order to enjoy a decaying and old-fashioned city infrastructure. Please do what the survey was intended to do: Cut red tape, honor homeowner desires to improve their property, and stop stealing worth from people who don't fetishize old buildings.
Sincerely,
Glenn Hopson
nado.hopsong@gmail.com
1215 3rd Street

GlennHopson 6 months ago
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I am writing to urge you to adopt the Historic Context Statement & Survey as a tool and not remove any homes from the review process to determine historic significance.

I believe the removal of any homes from the historical resource commission review process is a mistake, is out of the norm with other historic resource boards in California, and will be detrimental to the program and our town.

It would be impossible for Dudek to be familiar with all historical information available for Coronado properties.

Jeanne Schnese 8 months ago
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Page last updated: 17 Nov 2023, 09:59 AM