By Save Our Heritage Organization / May 23, 2025
In 2023, the City of San Diego launched a sweeping effort called the Preservation and Progress initiative, promoted as a way to “streamline processes for new homes and other uses while protecting places of historic, architectural and cultural importance and encouraging their adaptive reuse.” But behind this language lies a set of proposals that would weaken some of the most fundamental tools we have to preserve San Diego’s historic neighborhoods, homes, and landmarks.
The initiative is rooted in a false conflict — that preservation and housing are at odds. In fact, San Diego’s historic neighborhoods are already home to thousands of modestly scaled, walkable, and relatively affordable homes. These neighborhoods are not the problem — they are part of the solution.
Historic preservation has never been a major barrier to development. Preservation-related reviews apply to a small fraction of projects, and the city’s own data confirms that these reviews cause minimal delay. Yet this initiative would roll back protections under the guise of speeding up construction.
While some aspects of the proposal offer promise — such as stronger enforcement tools for demolition by neglect — many of the central reforms would significantly erode preservation in San Diego.
Politicizing Historic Designation Decisions: Currently, the City’s independent Historical Resources Board (HRB)—composed of experts in history, architecture, and planning—makes decisions about whether a property is historic. Under the new proposal, the City Council could override those decisions based on politics, not professional criteria.
Weakened Protections for National Register Historic Districts: Districts already listed on the National Register of Historic Places currently receive local-level protections. The proposal would lessen those protections, leaving many historic neighborhoods vulnerable to insensitive alterations and demolition.
Harder to Qualify for Individual Historic Designation: The proposal raises the bar for designating individual historic sites, making it more difficult to preserve properties that reflect San Diego’s architectural, cultural, and social history. Designation is already a robust process; it should be made more accessible not more difficult.
Reduced Access to Mills Act Tax Incentives: The Mills Act is one of the only financial tools available to owners of historic properties. The City is considering new restrictions that would drastically scale back or limit the program, undercutting the very incentive that helps make preservation feasible for many homeowners.
Eliminating the Early Warning System for Potential Historic Sites: A key part of the City’s preservation process is screening building permit applications for potential historic significance. The City wants to eliminate this safeguard before completing a citywide survey of historic resources—leaving countless buildings at risk of demolition without review.
Despite requests from preservationists, community groups, and neighborhood leaders, the City has not conducted an economic analysis of how these changes would impact historic neighborhoods, housing affordability, or cultural heritage. In response, SOHO and partners including Mission Hills Heritage and Talmadge Historic Association and over 80 individual donors are funding an independent study by PlaceEconomics, a national expert on the benefits of preservation.
We’ve asked the City to hold off on finalizing these reforms until the study is complete—but so far, they have not agreed.
SOHO believes that responsible planning can—and must—include strong preservation protections. We support reforms that streamline processes without weakening safeguards for San Diego’s historic assets.
We also welcome the opportunity to improve clarity, offer better education about preservation, and expand tools like adaptive reuse. But any changes must be developed in collaboration with preservation professionals and neighborhood leaders, and not driven by developers.
We urge the public to speak up. Let your elected officials know that San Diegans value their history—and that progress should not mean sacrificing our city’s unique character and legacy.
