3 - WORK STUDY_114 AND 117 EAST FIFTH STREET_COMMENT

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City Policy 4.2 Encourage the retention and reuse of historical buildings and sites COMMENT: The Applicant opposes retaining and reusing the highly significant Orange County Title Company building. Applicant is aware that antique buildings are commonly reused for permanent and rental housing, business and other uses. Most of the other antique buildings in the Santa Ana Downtown, are currently in use. REQUEST #6: Direct the Applicant to allow Toll Brothers the opportunity to explore the historical integrity of the exterior of the Orange County Title Company building, and to allow for the reuse of this building as part of the Toll Brothers residential development project. THE URBAN DESIGN ELEMENT OF THE CITY‘S GENERAL PLAN City Goal 2.0 Improve the physical appearance of the City through the development that proportionally and aesthetically related to its district setting (page 4.4.14 Cultural Resources). COMMENT: The project fails to follow Goal 2.0 because its proportions and aesthetics do not reflect those in the historic Downtown. Instead the project sets aside the design, scale and aesthetic of the Downtown and uses its own out-of-scale proportions and aesthetics to negatively impact the Downtown in a way which will cause irreparable harm. REQUEST #7: The City must turn down Applicant's project for its violation of its Goal 2.0. City should direct the Applicant to redesign so it respects Goal 2.0, and the many other Goals and Policies adopted by the City in its Transit Zoning Code EIR. City Policy 2.3 Preservation involving the adaptive reuse of historic and architecturally significant structures, is encouraged Citywide. COMMENT: The City nor the Applicant support the adaptive reuse of the 1931 Art Deco, Orange County Title Company building, even though the structure was in constant use as a business from 1931 until recently. REQUEST #8: Direct City to work with the Applicant to peel away a portion of the clad siding from the west and north elevations so the integrity of the Orange County Title Company building can be assessed. If the antique building exists under the metal cladding, I request the antique structure be converted, as part of the Toll Brothers project, for use as a project leasing office. City Policy 2.4 New projects must respect the architectural style, scale, context, and rhythm of Santa Ana‘s historic buildings and districts. COMMENT: Applicant's project does not respect the architectural style, scale and context of any of the historic buildings in the City, including those in the Downtown, as required by Policy 2.4