Tustin Historic Resources Survey

Additional Information on the Historic Resources Survey

The City of Tustin's 2021 Historic Resources Survey provides a comprehensive assessment of the city's historic properties, identifying and evaluating buildings, sites, objects, and structures of historical significance through 1976.  This survey included approximately 330 properties previously identified in the 1990 and 2003 historical resource surveys, the entire Cultural Resources District (CRD) and other portions of the City except for Tustin Ranch and the Tustin Legacy Specific Plan areas.   The survey plays a crucial role in preserving Tustin's cultural heritage by documenting its architectural history and informing future planning decisions.

Having a current survey offers numerous benefits:

1. Informed Decision-Making: It aids city planners and policymakers in making decisions about development and preservation, ensuring that significant properties are recognized and protected.
2. Public Awareness: The survey increases awareness of Tustin's historic resources among residents and visitors, fostering a sense of community pride and identity.
3. Grant Opportunities: Up-to-date surveys can help secure funding for restoration and preservation efforts through state and federal grants.
4. Zoning and Development Guidance: The survey serves as a guideline for development proposals, promoting compatible development that respects the historic context.
5. Educational Resource: It acts as a valuable educational tool for schools, organizations, and the public, highlighting Tustin's unique history.

Links to Survey Documents Below:

• 2021 Historic Resources Survey Report (Adopted by PC Resolution No. 4437) 
  • Survey Appendices and Supporting Documents
    • Introduction
      • Project Overview & Scope, a Description of the Survey Area, the Project Team and Previous Designations and Surveys
    • Methodology
      • Archival Research, the Reconnaissance Survey and Property List, Community Outreach, the Historic Context Statement, Intensive Survey, California Historical Resource Status Codes and Resource Categories.
    • Existing Regulations and Criteria for Evaluation
      • National Register of Historic Places, the California Register of Historical Resources and the Tustin Cultural Resource District (Historic Preservation Ordinance)
    • Tustin’s built environment represents an array of architectural types and styles that represent different periods in the City’s development. Together, these various architectural styles provide Tustin with distinctive qualities and help to define the community’s character. The Historic Context Statement analyzes historic contexts and themes in Tustin from pre-1870 through 1976, and more specifically:
      
      • Historical Background (The Tustin Area, pre-1870), 
      • Context (Establishment and Early Development of Tustin City 1870-1913), 
      • Context (Tustin Becomes a City, 1914-1945),
      • Context (Postwar Development in Tustin, 1946-1976), and, 
      • Context (Architecture and Design, 1870-1976)
    • Appendices
      • Appendix A:  Survey Area Map
      • Appendix B:  Survey Chronology Map
      • Appendix C:  Master Findings Map
      • Appendix D:  Potential District Expansion Map
      • Appendix E-1:  Property Evaluations in Cultural Resource District and Potential District Expansion
      • Appendix E-2: Previously Recorded Properties Outside of Cultural Resources District and Potential District Expansion
      • Appendix E-3:  Newly Identified Individual Properties
      • Appendix E-4:  Newly Identified Districts and Non-Parcel Resources
      • Appendix E-5:  Properties Not Recorded Due to Lack of Integrity, Significance or Visibility
      • Appendix E-6:  Ineligible Previously Surveyed Properties
  • Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) Forms
    • Available by request - contact the Planning Division at TustinPlanning@TustinCA.org. 
  • The historic survey update document includes six (6) architectural style guides specifically designed for Tustin.  These architectural style guides were selected since these are the six (6) most prominent architectural styles in Tustin’s historic resources inventory.  Staff will use the style guides when analyzing the compatibility of proposed modifications to historic resources, when preparing Certificates of Appropriateness for improvements, and for educational purposes.  Follow the links below to see the six most common architectural styles and their characteristics in the City of Tustin. 

• Victorian Era Architecture (Italianate, Eastlake/Stick, Queen Anne, Vernacular Types)
• Arts and Crafts Movement (Craftsman, Stone Houses)
• Period Revival (American Colonial Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Mission Revival, Classical Revival)
• Minimal Traditional
• Modernism (Moderne, Mid-Century Modern)
• Ranch (Traditional Ranch, Contemporary Ranch)

As an important land use planning tool, staff, the Planning Commission, and the City Council will use the survey to make informed decisions related to historic resources, guide homeowners and developers, develop and implement land use policies, perform environmental review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), consider adaptive reuse of existing resources, and educate the public in understanding and in appreciation of the community’s history.   

The Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) forms are primary records of each identified historic resource and can be used by property owners to nominate their properties to the California or National Register of Historic Places.  Staff will use the DPR forms to inform and guide the review of potential alterations of historic buildings. The updated 2020 DPR forms combined the information that was contained in the prior DPR forms prepared during 1990 and 2003 surveys.  

Previous Surveys

1990 Historic Resource Survey

2003 Historic Resource Survey