Communities that value their historic resources typically have dedicated staff to pursue preservation efforts, as well as a Historic Preservation Commission to designate landmarks and review proposed changes to historic properties.

Preservation staff or local commissions typically review permits for demolition or alteration of historic resources, administer Mills Act programs, and designate new landmarks. They are often responsible for commenting during the CEQA process regarding historic properties.

In many communities, they are also important advocates for historic preservation and a great resource for property owners on preservation techniques and practices.

In the new Preservation Report Card scoring system, communities with a staff member dedicated to historic preservation received more points than those that assigned preservation-related duties to the general staff pool.

Similarly, communities with a Historic Preservation Commission devoted to identifying and designating their historic resources received more points than those that delegated these duties to an entity whose primary purpose is not preservation.