1957 — Santa Fe City Council on Oct. 30 unanimously adopts the Historic Zoning Ordinance that requires Pueblo or Territorial styles for new construction in the Historic District — the oldest part of town, about 20 percent of the city, mostly east side and downtown. It does not authorize the city to stop demolition of historic buildings or regulate remodeling them. Enforcement is by the Historic Styles Committee of the Planning Commission.

1960 — Plaza and Palace of the Governors designated as National Historic Landmarks. Mayor Leo Murphy proposes historical styles advisory commission to catalog and authenticate sites and buildings which have historic significance.

1961 — The city demolishes the Simon Nusbaum House, a Civil War-era Territorial-style building at the corner of Nusbaum Street and Washington Avenue, despite efforts to preserve it. This begins a move to amend the ordinance to protect existing buildings considered historic.

1962 — Pat Hollis elected mayor.

1964 — New Mexico Supreme Court upholds Historic Zoning Ordinance in a challenge brought by Gamble-Skogmo, a national retail chain.

1966 — Historic Zoning Ordinance invoked to stop the demolition of the Padre Gallegos House, now Santacaf & eacute;, on Washington Avenue. The Planning Commission had refused to allow Robert E. McKee Construction Co., the owner, to tear down building, and the City Council upheld those decisions on appeal.

1967 — By the 10th anniversary of Historic Zoning Ordinance, it had been amended to expand the historic zone and to allow the city to regulate signs within the zone. During Historic Preservation Week, Mayor Pat Hollis brags, "Blinking, objectionable neon is absent from our H zone."

1968 — George Gonzales elected mayor.

1972 — Joseph Valdes elected mayor. Hilton Hotel opens on old Five Points site near Santa Fe River after a series of small structures demolished.

1974 — Plaza renovated with federal grant, using plans that John Gaw Meem helped to develop.

1976 — Sam Pick elected mayor.

1978 — Arthur Trujillo elected mayor. Commission blocks proposal for apartment complex on Canyon Road and orders East Alameda gallery to remove signs from second-story window.

1979 - Controversy erupts over proposal to raze red brick houses on East Marcy Street to make room for new office building.

1980 - Trammell Crow Co. of Dallas proposes to raze one-story shops between Washington and Lincoln avenues to make room for multistory First Interstate Plaza. Committee gives "concept approval" to plan despite a public hearing where opponents outnumbered proponents, 18 to 8.

1981 - Commission debates proposals to remodel the Victorian-style Pickney R. Tulley House, now Windsor Betts gallery, on Grant Avenue.

1982 — Louis Monta & ntilde;o elected mayor. Historic Design Review Board, now separated from the Planning Commission, turns down request from Inn of Loretto to replace 1880s wrought-iron fence on stone wall. As First Interstate Plaza goes up, people complain it is too massive. "Ugly" buttons appear around town and the word "ugly" is spraypainted on the structure. Former members of committee regret approving the building.

1983 - New York City developer William Zeckendorf proposes to tear down Big Jo Lumber to make room for the largest hotel in town, the Eldorado. Developers pledge to incorporate into their plans parts of what was believed to be a trapper's house that dated to 1830. But after part of an adobe wall collapsed, Zeckendorf is allowed to raze the rest of the old house. Board creates regulations for solar panels, satellite dishes and other rooftop appurtenances in historic zones. Board orders La Fonda to set two satellite dishes back from street and screen them from public view. Board questions placement of green-and-white automated teller machine on Sandoval Street because colors don't fit historic style. Century-old Ellsberg-Thomas House is moved from its site at Washington Avenue to East Lupita Road, to prevent it from being demolished.

1984 — Effort to allow board to designate historic landmarks outside the historical districts without the owners' consent is tabled because councilors believe it would be unfair to landowners. The authority is given years later. Board admonishes developer Lee Brown for razing the remains of Archbishop Lamy's garden without city permission to make room for a home, office complex and parking garage. Amended sign ordinance reduces maximum size of signs from 20 to 12 square feet.

1985 — Board gets the authority to regulate flags and banners used in historic zones.

1986 — Pick elected mayor.

1988 — Board seeks charges against sculptor Glenna Goodacre for demolishing garage and gate on Camino del Monte Sol, originally the home of artist Willard Nash, after the board denied the demolition. Board approves changes for Inn at Loretto that includes new shops around historic Loretto Chapel. Board refuses to allow second floor on home of artist Will Shuster at 550 Camino del Monte Sol. Board rejects proposal to enclose second floor balcony on Ore House. Board rejects plan from architect David Pfeffer, who would be elected as a city councilor in 2002, for a second-story atrium in a historic building at 72 E. San Francisco St. Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Bill Mauldin complains that a second-story addition to a neighbor's house will block his view of the mountains from his home on Old Santa Fe Trail. Board rules that 80-year-old wooden barn behind Gormley's Store at 627 Canyon Road cannot be torn down, even though its owners say it is hazardous.

1989 — Board gives conditional approval to plans for Hotel Santa Fe at northwest corner of Paseo de Peralta and Cerrillos Road. Board approves canopy for gasoline pumps at Allsup's convenience store at northeast corner of Guadalupe Street and Cerrillos Road. Mayor Pick calls for Betsy Bateen to resign from board because of her decisions. Los Angeles firm that planned to buy Inn of Loretto says it will pull out due to board rejection of plan to remodel hotel.

1990 — Board orders several businesses, including The French Pastry Shop and Creperia on West San Francisco Street, to remove awnings because they are not historically authentic. More than 140 local businessmen petition the city to use its historic-styles ordinance to stop street vendors from creating a "flea market" downtown. More questions arise about second-story additions. Mayor Pick clashes with board, saying it takes too long to make decisions and bases its rulings on personal tastes rather than the law. Board narrowly approves renovation of old Sears building on Lincoln Avenue into restaurants and shops.

1991 — Eldorado Hotel cites economic factors for canceling its proposal to expand west into a small commercial complex. Board had objected to proposed expansion. Board approves keeping Santuario de Guadalupe in the California mission style, even though this was only its latest style since the sanctuary was built in 1807. City Councilor Phil Griego, now a state senator, pleads for more flexibility in the style code to accommodate locals who want to improve their homes. "We need to take in the human factor more," he said.

1992 - City Council gives board authority to regulate heights in historic zones. Previously, heights were regulated by zoning ordinance. Downtown property owner Nathan Greer warns that reducing heights downtown would amount to a "downzoning" deemed constitutional by the U.S.. Supreme Court. Council also sets up system to classify structures in historic zones as "noncontributing," "contributing" or "significant" depending on whether they are at least 50 years old and whether their original architectural features remain undisturbed. The council also set up a system to designate historic landmarks outside the historic zones. So far, seven buildings have been granted that status.

1993 — Board cites problems created by the Eldorado Hotel's height in rejecting Maloof family's plan for four-story Sandoval Hotel at the northeast corner of West Alameda and Sandoval Street. The proximity of another tall building, the First Northern Plaza, would create "another Johnson Street," said board member Saul Cohen in a reference to the often shadowed street north of the Eldorado. After the board rejects La Fonda's plans for expansion due to its proximity to Cathedral Place, hotel owner Sam Ballen tells board he would send his architect "back to square one."

1994 — Debbie Jaramillo elected mayor. Board rejects proposal from Inn of Loretto owner Jim Kirkpatrick to build a three-story building at southeast corner of Old Santa Fe Trail and Water Street. After the City Council upholds board, Kirkpatrick appeals to District Court. Board approves plan to remodel gasoline station at northeast corner of Washington Avenue and Marcy Street into a bank. Architect Ed Mazria gets permission to tear down two buildings on the southeast corner of Cerrillos Road and Paseo de Peralta to build new commercial buildings. Board rejects two-story addition on West Houghton Street.

1995 — New Mexico Court of Appeals upholds board's authority to limit heights, overruling state District Judge Art Encinias who said the city "changed the rules in the middle of the game" by blocking plans for a two-story condominium on West Manhattan Street. The Supreme Court refuses to review case.

1996 — Inn of Loretto sold to Kirtland, Wash., firm, seven years after the deal collapsed due to opposition from board on proposed remodel. Council passes an ordinance setting out a new procedure for determining maximum height of buildings in historic districts. Board approves plan for new Georgia O'Keeffe Museum after delaying approval for demolition of building at 217 Johnson St.

1997 — Board rejects plans for an electronic gate at the Wilderness Gate subdivision on the far east side of town, saying that it would contribute to the destruction of the historic character of Santa Fe.

1998 — Larry Delgado elected mayor. Board approves plan for major remodeling of Lensic Theater on San Francisco Street into performing-arts space. State Museum of Fine Arts submits plans to expand to the board, even though state, like other governments, is not subject to the city's ordinance.

1999 — Board approves proposal to redesign two-thirds of the front facade of the old Woolworth's on the Santa Fe Plaza, for its new owner, Gerald Peters. Council agrees to expand historic district into the Santa Fe Railyard. Board agrees to close Burro Alley to motorized traffic, leaving it open to pedestrians and for tables for adjacent restaurant.

2001 — The board allows First Presbyterian Church to demolish part of its building on Grant Avenue and gives the church a height exception for its expansion. Renovation plans call for the construction of a new 31,000-square-foot building for church offices, a day-care center and meeting rooms.

2002 — Delgado re-elected mayor. Board begins paying closer attention to preservation of buildings once the homes of historical characters, such as the Arroyo Tenorio house of archaeologist Sylvanus Morley or the Acequia Madre compound of early aviatrix Katherine Stinson Otero. Sara Melton, who for years monitored the board, gives Santa Fe Foundation a historic-preservation easement on her house. & quot;Since I've been a Realtor for many years, I have become rather well acquainted with the built environment in Santa Fe, especially the housing stock, & quot; she said. & quot;I know how few houses such as this have been preserved intact. This is a good tool for keeping the historic fabric available for future generations. & quot; Geronimo, a restaurant in the historic Borrego House, 724 Canyon Road, red-tagged for putting plastic enclosures on front and back porches

2003 — Board approves plans for a bandstand on the Plaza, designed to look similar to one that existed on the Plaza in the 19th century. City officials begin to look into the first major rewrite of the styles ordinance in 46 years by Clarion Associates of Denver. A new study of the ordinance focuses on height regulations and the need to "freeze in time" the specific architectural style of a district. Board narrowly approves plan to tear down El Seville apartments to make room for El Corazon condominium project on the site of El Seville Apartments after developers agreed to designate 14 of the 76 units as affordable — up from 11. Board votes against such traffic-calming devices within historic districts, even though neighborhood associations favor them on Upper Canyon Road, Cerro Gordo Road and Camino Cabra.

2004 — Board criticizes plans for new History Museum, saying it would overwhelm the historic Palace of the Governors next door. But board approves plans after a citizens committee recommends changes — including elimination of onyx wall. Public debates proposed rewrite of styles ordinance, with some urging more contemporary design and others favoring strict adherence to centuries-old look. Board again rejects plans for multistory building at corner of Water Street and Old Santa Fe Trail.

2005 — City Council declares two more historic landmarks outside of historic districts. One is a 53-year-old home at 2210 Brownell-Howland Road designed by Pueblo Revival architect John Gaw Meem, owned by Nancy Wirth, Meem's daughter and the mother of state Rep. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe. The other new landmark is Fairview Cemetery, 1130 Cerrillos Road, including a 1,300-square-foot caretaker house, a wrought-iron fence and three mausoleums. David Groenfeldt and Annette Cantor are forced to remove $40,000 worth of solar collectors on their two-story house at 1021 Camino Santander after they are red-tagged for not having board approval to install them. Board approves new civic center design after eliminating one faux bell tower. Board balks on proposal to tear down small shack on an alley behind Santa Fe Avenue because it had once been a lunch stand, called Della's.

2006 — David Coss elected mayor. Council overturns board to allow demolition of Della's. Archdiocese of Santa Fe proposes $200-million redevelopment project on six acres adjacent to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi — the biggest project ever proposed in downtown Santa Fe. Board scales down heights of proposed buildings, saying that no more than 15 percent can be three stories and no more than 30 percent can be two stories. Archdiocese appeals to City Council, then postpones appeal. Mayor David Coss announces new compromise with archdiocese. Board upgrades to contributing the historic status of Villa Theresa Clinic, which would have been razed according to archdiocese plan. Board approves plan to remodel The New Mexican's 64-year-old at 202 E. Marcy St. Board approves fashion designer Tom Ford's plans for a 14,000-square-foot house on Talaya Hill, following several public meetings where some people complained the house would be too visible to surrounding neighbors. City red-tags work on the Oldest House, 215 E. De Vargas St., after preservationist cuts ends off protruding vigas to keep rotten wood from wicking moisture into adobe walls. Red tag later withdrawn so mud plaster can be reapplied to walls. Coss replaces outspoken board member Randall Bell, a lawyer, with Charles Newman, an architect, saying that Bell had contributed to the "polarization" of the board. Board approves scaled-back expansion for Inn of Loretto. Coss breaks tie to convey landmark status to 13 structures at the 10-acre campus of the former St. Catherine Indian School.