Bankers Hill

Yes. The City's Historical Resources map shows the Heart of Bankers Hill, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and roughly 130 individually designated historical resources in the neighborhood. Under the City's code, a property listed on the National Register counts as a designated historical resource.

On a single-family lot with a designated historical resource, or in a designated historical district, new development needs a Site Development Permit, decided through the City's Process Four, unless it qualifies for an exemption, such as minor alterations that follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards. Exempt work still needs a regular construction permit, and the rules apply to the whole lot.

Yes. For a permit on any parcel with a structure 45 or more years old (outside areas the City has exempted), the City decides whether a site-specific historic survey is needed — within 10 business days for a construction permit, or 30 calendar days for a development permit. A survey is required when a historical resource may exist and the project is a substantial alteration. Interior-only electrical or plumbing work, in-kind roof repair, in-kind foundation repair (except decorative block or cobblestone foundations) and a rear-yard pool are exempt from this review.

Separately, the City's Historical Resources Board can designate individual homes after a public hearing; owners get notice at least 10 business days before.

The Mills Act lets the owner of a City-designated historic property sign a contract with the City to maintain and restore it, in exchange for a property tax assessment set by the County Assessor under a state formula. The City says savings depend on the property's location, size and comparable rents, and that long-held homes with already-low taxes may not benefit.

The home must be designated by the City — listing on the National or California Register alone does not qualify. Applications are due March 31; the home must have been designated by December 31 of the year before; and the application needs a 10-year work plan showing the tax savings going back into the house. The contract runs 10 years and renews every year.

On a lot with a single-family home, usually yes. The City allows one ADU inside the house or an existing accessory structure such as a garage, plus one new attached or detached ADU, plus one junior ADU of up to 500 square feet inside the house or an attached garage. A new attached or detached ADU can be 150 to 1,200 square feet. ADU floor area counts toward the lot's floor-area limit, but one ADU of 800 square feet or less is allowed even where floor-area, lot-coverage or front-setback limits would block it.

Detached ADUs on single-family lots can be up to two stories, within the zone's height limit. Side and rear setbacks for an ADU 16 feet tall or less are zero outside High and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones, and 4 feet inside them; canyon-edge lots may be in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone on the City's map. No parking is required for an ADU here, and a garage converted to an ADU does not have to be replaced. ADUs cannot be rented for less than 31 days; owners don't have to live on site, except with a junior ADU. Bankers Hill is outside the Coastal Overlay Zone, so the City's current ADU rules apply.

A transit priority area is land within half a mile of an existing or planned major transit stop. On a lot even partly inside one, the City requires no off-street parking for a single-family home. On the City's map, every home sold in Bankers Hill from January 1, 2025 to November 10, 2026 (197 sales) was inside a transit priority area.

SB 9 duplexes and lot splits are not available on a lot in a designated historic district or with a designated historical resource. The City's Complete Communities Housing Solutions program — extra floor area for apartment and mixed-use projects that include affordable homes and neighborhood amenities — applies only in Sustainable Development Areas on sites zoned or planned for at least 20 homes per acre, so it matters for corridor and apartment sites, not single-family lots. It does not apply inside designated historic districts here.