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Orozco, Norma From: Ginelle Hardy <ginelleann@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2021 3:20 AM To: eComment Subject: Public Comment: Cypress Fire Station, Closed Session Item Above is a current image of the city of Santa Ana's FIRST & OLDEST fire station, the Cypress Fire Station, Engine Co. No. 4, (predating Engine Co. No.I by one year). The Cypress Fire Station has an esteemed historical designation as a "KEY" structure listed on the Santa Ana Register of Historic Properties. Built 1928, the Cypress Fire Station's Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style is historically significant as an example of a typical architectural style of Government Buildings at the time. Located at 625 S. Cypress Avenue in Pacific Park/Eastside neighborhood that was Ward 2, the Cypress Fire Station sits between single -story Queen Anne Victorian architectural style homes of small massing and scale. One home has been recently covered in stucco losing much of it's architectural character defining features, while the other continues to sport it's Queen Anne characteristic wood siding including intricate bands of "fish scale" shingles that can be seen in the eaves and in a wide frieze under the gable ends. On February 4, 2002 a DPR 523A survey concludes that, "...although converted to a Community Center the Cypress Fire Station retains it's overall integrity and clearly conveys it's former use ..." May 17, 2021 Honorable Mayor Sarmiento, Mayor pro tern Penaloza, Councilmembers Phan, Lopez, Mendoza, Bacerra, and Hernandez, I am writing to you about my concern for the city of Santa Ana's FIRST & OLDEST fire station, the Cypress Fire Station, a historic resource that is City owned. We have seen and know that private builders/developers are not good stewards of our City`s historic assets, and why should they be when their primary interest is never historic preservation. So why do we continue as a City to look for private developers to take our irreplaceable historic buildings off our hands? I am proposing that we step back and look to meeting objectives found in the Strategic Plan and, pending adoption by City Council, the new General Plan. I believe both documents seek active engagement, strive to include all community stakeholders, and have provisions for historic preservation of properties, neighborhoods and districts - Citywide, north, east, south & west. Based on these documents a strong argument can be made to withdraw the RFP, stop the sale to a private entity, and return the historic Cypress Fire Station for use by the community. FY20/21-24/25 Strategic Plan's "Word Cloud" represents Santa Ana resident's input on the City's 5-year Vision. The word "historic" is right on