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<br />Orozco, Norma
<br />From:Jeff Dickman <dickmanaj@att.net>
<br />Sent:Tuesday, May 04, 2021 10:46 AM
<br />To:eComment; Sarmiento, Vicente; Penaloza, David; Bacerra, Phil; Phan, Thai; Mendoza,
<br />Nelida; Lopez, Jessie; Hernandez, Johnathan; Gomez, Daisy
<br />Cc:Brandon Pho; Phil Chinn; Tina Davidson; Connie Major; Ginelle Gmail Hardy; Pocha
<br />Pena; Preserve Orange County; North Santa Ana Preservation Alliance NSAPA; Santa
<br />Ana Historical Preservation Society; Irma Jauregui; Ann Moerer Dickman; sandy
<br />welch; Michael Tardif
<br />Subject:Santa Ana City Council, Closed Session - Agenda Item #3, Cypress Fire Station, May 4,
<br />2021
<br />The City of Santa Ana appears ready to dispose of its historic Santa Ana Fire Station #4, located at 625 S. Cypress
<br />Avenue, to a private party. The fire station is located in the Eastside/Pacific Park neighborhood, and is one of the last
<br />remaining public buildings in this area, and the last antique fire station owned by the city.
<br />
<br />Residents have expressed concern about the potential and irrevocable sale of building to a private party, and the loss of
<br />the opportunity to restore, reuse, and repurpose the structure for a higher and better use for this under-served community.
<br />In addition to their concerns, it is useful to understand how the City reached its decision to dispose of the building without
<br />the Community's involvement.
<br />
<br />Regarding the sale of Fire Station #4, the City did what it often does when it wants a desired result - it conducts only the
<br />minimum public outreach. This is a decades-old, and well-honed approach intended to reduce public involvement and
<br />streamline City Council's decision-making. Instead of advocating for the reuse of its own building, for use by the
<br />community of Eastside/Pacific Park, the City has quietly brought this item to Council's agenda with almost no outreach to
<br />your long-time preservation and community partners.
<br />
<br />As a result of its minimalist this approach the City Council is poised to sell the property. This leaves the community, and
<br />other City partners, unable to participate, effectively eliminating other alternative solutions. None of City's long-established
<br />and active preservation and community organizations were invited to participate in this discussion to consider ways re-
<br />make Fire Station #4 as a community asset.
<br />
<br />Besides not working early on with the Eastside/Pacific Park community, the City failed to contact the Santa Ana Historical
<br />Preservation Society, Heritage Orange County, and the Preserve Orange County. All three participated in the on-going
<br />effort to save the Orange County Title Building from demolition. Why were they, and other community organizations, not
<br />contacted early in the surplus process to offer insights to save Fire Station #4?
<br />
<br />By not involving its well-known community partners, the City finds itself unable to protect the antique fire station from
<br />egregious acts of on-going vandalism. If City had convened a "roundtable" of key interest groups, early on, to assist it with
<br />interim uses of the building, and its later protection, Council may have instead discussed opportunities for reuse of the fire
<br />station, and not its sale.
<br />
<br />Please consider the following suggestions in regard to Fire Station #4:
<br />
<br />1. Remove the property from the Surplus List
<br />
<br />2. Immediately begin coordination with the Eastside/Pacific Park Neighborhood, your preservation partners, and business
<br />community, to finds ways to protect the structure from further damage
<br />
<br />3. Discuss interim and long uses for the building, which serve the immediate neighborhood, and surrounding area
<br />
<br />4. Pursue grants, and partnerships which involve, and is not limited to, health, community services, and learning and
<br />education uses for the fire station
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