Benicia Historical Society

Page 3 City of Benicia Mills Act Program The purpose of the program is to encourage the preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of historic property in the City of Beni- cia. The Mills Act is a State law that allows cities and owners of historic structures to enter into contracts that decrease property tax in exchange for continued preservation of buildings and property. Prop- erty tax can be reduced by 50 percent or more under Mills Act con- tracts. The contracts automatically renew annually for another ten years, unless purposely non-renewed by either party (in which case the contract lasts only through stated ten-year term) or canceled. An owner may petition the City for immediate cancellation, and the City may only cancel a contract for breach of conditions (which carries a penalty for the owner equal to 12 1/2 percent of assessed property value). Participation in the program is open to owners of the follow- ing types of structures: 1. Historic Landmark Buildings, as identified by the Downtown or Arsenal Historic Conservation Plans (the DHCP or the AHCP). 2. Contributing buildings, as identified by the DHCP or the AHCP. 3. Buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places 4. Buildings listed in any State, City or County official register of historical or architecturally significant sites, places or land- marks. Thank you to the Benicia City Council, the Historic Preserva- tion Review Commission and the City staff for their participation in the preservation of our historic resources. For more information, con- tact the Community Development Department, City of Benicia.