Item 25 - Approval of Historic Property Preservation Agreements

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HRCA No. 2021-06, HRC 2021-06, HPPA No. 2021-06 – The Martha Ann Brooks House July 1, 2021 Page 2 1 8 0 4 designate as a historical property any building or part thereof, object, structure, or site having importance to the history or architecture of the city in accordance with the criteria set forth in Section 30-2 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code (SAMC). This project entails applying the selection criteria established in Chapter 30 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code (Places of Historical and Architectural Significance) to determine if this structure is eligible for historic designation to the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties. The first criterion for selection requires that the structures be 50 or more years old. The structure identified meets the minimum selection criteria for inclusion on the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties pursuant to criteria contained in Section 30-2 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code, as the property is 70 years old and is a good example of period architecture. No known code violations exist on record for this property. The property, recognized as the Martha Ann Brooks House has distinctive architectural features of the hacienda variant of the Ranch architectural style. This house was originally constructed in 1951 for $20,000 by J. H. Russell and Son. Soon after it was constructed it was sold to Martha Ann Brooks and her first husband William Cheney. Martha Ann Brooks and William Cheney divorced in the mid-1960s, and Martha Ann later married Walter L. Brooks who served on the Santa Ana City Council in the 1960s. Martha Ann was a civic leader in Santa Ana, raising money for the public library, arts and culture, and hospitals. Inspired by the nineteenth century adobe homes of the California pioneers, the Martha Ann Brooks House is an intact and unusual example of the hacienda variant of the Ranch style. The one-story single-family residence sits on a modestly sized parcel, sited with a typical setback, and features a detached three-car garage. The house and detached garage exhibit a horizontal, one-story massing with low-pitched and side- gabled roofs clad in clay barrel tiles displaying carved brackets in the overhanging eaves. Both structures’ exterior walls are clad in brick and stucco suggesting adobe. wood clapboard sides the gable ends. A partial-width open porch tucked beneath the gable roof is characterized by stout, brick piers, banded at top by decorative tiles, that define three bays. Centrally located within the porch, the front entry consists of a single half-glazed, wood front door with a single side light. The living room north of the entry is illuminated by a large metal-framed, multi-light picture window, consisting of a large central pane flanked by a pair of casement windows. Two double, metal-framed, multi- light casement windows are located further north of the living room in the projecting end bay of the façade and overlooking the south bay of the porch.. Along the north, south, and east elevations, the building incorporates a series metal-framed, multi-light casement windows, many similarly capped. A non-original decorative brick chimney rises above the roof ridgeline. Alterations to the house include an addition to the rear of the property. Other than the relatively minor noted changes, the house appears intact and is in good condition. Character-defining features of the Martha Ann Brooks House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to: horizontal, one-story massing; low-pitched and side-gabled roofs covered in clay barrel tiles and displaying Historic Resources Commission 2 –2 7/1/2021