Historic District & Design Guidelines
The Historic Design Review Guidelines are intended to supplement the City of Grass Valley’s existing general plan guidelines. They are a tool for both the public and the City to make informed decisions regarding additions, alterations, infill, and other similar types of changes to historically significant residential and commercial buildings within Grass Valley’s Historic 1872 Townsite.
Application for Designation of Historic Resources
Historic Homes
The City of Grass Valley encourages the protection, preservation, and enhancement of its heritage and architecturally significant resources.
In order to effectively assess the relative value of buildings and structures in the historic 1872 Townsite, a priority rating system with four categories was created:
Priority 1 - rating can be applied to properties that retain superb integrity, are one-of-kind or unique examples
Priority 2 – rating can be applied to properties that retain good integrity with some loss of historic fabric, but continue to convey their period of significance and architectural style or sub-style
Priority 3 – rating may be applied to properties that have lost a substantial amount of integrity either through remodeling, additions, or other types of alterations
Priority 4 – rating may be applied to properties that generally lack integrity or are modern (Post 1950’s) infill. It is extremely unlikely that these properties may be recoverable and elevated to a higher rating.
Historic Surveys (Rated 1 or 2) on parcels located within the 1872 Historic Townsite are listed below:
Property addresses between 101 - 115
Property addresses between 116 - 130
Property addresses between 131 - 150
Property addresses between 151 - 215
Property addresses between 216 - 230
Property addresses between 231 - 300
Property addresses between 301 - 315
Property addresses between 316 - 349
Property addresses between 352 - 415
Property addresses between 416 - 515
Property addresses between 517 - 815
Historic Design Guidelines
Historic Paint Colors
Historical Paint Color Review Application
Historic Preservation Ordinance
The Historic Preservation Ordinance established regulations and procedures for the protection, enhancement and preservation of properties, structures, sites, artifacts and other cultural resources that represent significant and distinctive elements within the 1872 Historic Townsite. This includes the City’s cultural, educational, social, economic, political and architectural history.
Historic Preservation Ordinance
Historical Resource Guide
The Grass Valley Historical Commission, in partnership with the Nevada County Contractors Association, has published this resource guide to facilitate rehabilitation and restoration of older structures. The resource guide includes contractors, artisans and suppliers known to be skilled in working on older homes. The list was assembled from a variety of sources. The City, nor Historical Commission, does not endorse nor recommend any specific contractor. The intent of this guide is to provide property owners with a list of qualified contractors with experience working on older homes.