Tax break available to historic home owners

CARLSBAD

Letters are in the mail to the owners of older Carlsbad properties that could be eligible for tax breaks under the city’s new Mills Act program.

The voluntary program is intended to help the owners of historic properties offset the costs of preservation and to help recognize the city’s unique background and culture.

Properties at least 50 years old are eligible for the program, in which the owners sign a 10-year contract agreeing to complete a list of maintenance, repairs and sometimes restoration work. In return, participants save 40 percent to 60 percent on their annual property tax bill.

Carlsbad adopted the state program last year. June 1 is the deadline for the first applications, which will be accepted annually and reviewed beginning in April in the order received. To be eligible, a property must be designated as historic at the national or state level, or added by a resolution to the city’s historic register.

The state Legislature adopted the Mills Act in 1972. The program was suggested to the Carlsbad City Council as part of efforts to preserve the Culver-Myers-Capp house, built in 1887 at the corner of Highland Drive and Oak Avenue. The two-story Victorian home had been vacant for years and needed repairs when the family that inherited it offered it for sale in 2021.

The City Council and the Carlsbad Historic Preservation Commission discussed ways to avoid the sale, which could go to a developer who would likely demolish the structure and subdivide the large lot.

Carlsbad’s last inventory of potentially eligible properties was in the early 1990s and showed about 350 locations at least 50 years old. Only a handful are expected to apply for the program in the first round. The tax credits will be available beginning in 2024. More information is on the city’s website at carlsbadca.gov.

San Diego, Escondido, Chula Vista, La Mesa, Coronado and National City also have Mills Act programs. San Diego has more than 2,000 homes in the program.

The program is named for San Diegan James Mills, a former state senator from 1967 to 1982, who wrote the legislation.