First Historic Policy Update Community Workshop

The first virtual workshop for the citywide Historic Policy Update was held on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, with 40 members of the public joining. The workshop provided an overview of historic preservation at the federal, state, and local levels and introduced terms and programs that are commonly used when speaking about historic preservation. It also provided real-world examples of how standards for designated homes can be applied to additions or alterations. 

The workshop included three breakout rooms asking attendees to 1) describe what they love about San Mateo, 2) share the people, places, and events that should be remembered 100 years from now, and 3) collaborate on what should be prioritized for preservation. These were intended as ice breakers to get people thinking about what “historic” in San Mateo should be about. 

While the overall information shared was very useful as a baseline, the breakout rooms suffered some technical glitches that limited the amount of small group discussion.  Staff, however, took lots of notes on participant preferences that will influence future sessions.  

This was the first of several upcoming engagement opportunities and staff will continue to adapt content based on community feedback.  Rincon, the project consultants, already is working to make future meetings more mobile device friendly, have content that is more tailored to questions we are hearing from the community, and leave room for a large group Q&A session.  There also will be an online survey which can be widely shared.

The City also will increase promotion of future sessions to reach more residents who might want to learn about historic preservation and have a say in how it is implemented in San Mateo.  Please plan to participate when the sessions are scheduled and invite a couple of San Mateo friends and neighbors to join you.  Your word will be more motivating than any social media post!

As a fun bonus, we have launched a San Mateo Digital Time Capsule where you can share your memories, photos and videos of San Mateo. Be part of our collective memory and share what San Mateo means to you.  Add your treasures here!