(a) No local government building or facility that is listed or is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places or listed on any officially sponsored state or local register or inventory of historic places, may be demolished, destroyed, or significantly altered, except for restoration to preserve or enhance its historical value, unless the local government finds that the structure presents a clear and imminent threat to the public of bodily harm or of damage to adjacent property which threat cannot be mitigated by isolation or other measures less damaging than removal, or unless the State Office of Historic Preservation determines, pursuant to subdivision (b), that the structure may be demolished, destroyed, or significantly altered.

(b) Any local government may apply to the State Office of Historic Preservation for its determination as to whether a structure meeting the description set forth in subdivision (a) shall be demolished, destroyed, or significantly altered. That determination shall be based upon the extent of damage to the structure, the structure’s historic significance, and any other factor deemed by the State Office of Historic Preservation to be relevant. In making that determination, the State Office of Historic Preservation shall consider the recommendation of a team selected by the State Office of Historic Preservation composed of three residents with historic preservation expertise who reside in the affected county.

(Added by Stats. 1990, Ch. 23, Sec. 2. Approved in Proposition 122 at the June 5, 1990, election.)