Transit-oriented development: exclusions: historic sites

The law expands local governments’ ability to preserve designated historic properties and districts when applying state density standards near transit. It covers both locally designated historic sites and specified properties in the State Historic Resources Inventory.

What the law does ​

• Excludes contributing properties in historic districts on the State Historic Resources Inventory, if designated before January 1, 2025, from the transit-oriented housing rules.
• Excludes individually listed historic-resource parcels on that inventory, if designated before January 1, 2025, from those rules.
• Requires a local government to adopt an exclusion ordinance and show excluded sites or transit-oriented development zones on its public zoning map.

Who it affects ​

• Local governments setting zoning and housing rules near major transit stops.
• Owners and potential developers of qualifying historic properties.
• Residents and businesses in designated historic districts.

Context ​

The new exclusions apply to properties designated before January 1, 2025, and operate before one year after a jurisdiction adopts its seventh-cycle housing element.