The Los Angeles Conservancy recently released the Los Angeles County Preservation Report Card and Santa Monica was near the top of the class with an "A-" grade.

The LAC reviewed the preservation policies of 89 jurisdictions in LA County and found only five others worthy of a grade in the “A” range. (Santa Monica’s minus came as a result of high landmarking fees and the absence of a full-time staff member for preservation.)

“Santa Monica has a tremendous architectural history to safeguard and the city government realizes that. The city has done a stellar job of laying the framework for preserving Santa Monica’s unique identity,” said Santa Monica Conservancy President Tom Cleys.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us and fortunately the city council has given us great tools to work with. With a little budget prioritization, we could -- and should -- move up to a flat “A” next time. The LA Conservancy report rightly recognizes that Santa Monica needs to reduce its fees for designating landmarks.”

Cleys also suggested that other opportunities for our city to capitalize on the existing preservation policies includes dedicating a full-time staff member, or two, to preservation as most other “A” cities do, and also to integrate the consideration of preservation throughout all city processes including all city departments and with all city commissions including the Architectural Review Board, Planning Commission, and Recreation and Parks Commission.

“It’s important to remember that our top grade is only for the tools, in this case the city’s preservation policies. The report didn’t review how well we’ve done at actually saving our architectural treasures. Preserving Santa Monica’s distinctive identity is a struggle that is coming to a head now and over the next few years. We’ll need even more cooperation between residents, property owners and the city if we’re going to earn an “A” for what we’ve saved. In that arena, many of the other cities with “A” ratings have a strong preservation mindset that permeates the social conscious of these cities. Cities like Pasadena are synonymous with preservation. Preservation is a way of life with both citizens and city government. Such cities have celebrated their heritage and made it an integral part of their identity. Here is where the citizens of Santa Monica and we at the Santa Monica Conservancy have our work cut out for us. After all, if we as a community do not support preservation, we cannot expect our elected officials and city administration to carry the ball for us.” Cleys said.

“A big next step in winning the fight to save Santa Monica’s character is already in the works for early next year when the city begins looking at additional incentives for property owners who preserve historic homes and buildings. Property values have been rising for years and as a result we’ve seen an enormous modernization of our downtown, and pressure to tear down preservation worthy gems often at the expense of our history. The city will need to work hard to come up with the incentives needed to safeguard the architecture that visitors from around the world have come to recognize as Santa Monica. We need our citizens to step up and support economic and development incentives in Santa Monica that have real teeth.” Cleys said.

The full LA Conservancy report is available online at www.laconservancy.org.