Item 23 - Amendment Application (Zone Change) No. 2024-01 to Amend the Zoning Map

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2101 and 2109 E Santa Clara Avenue April 2, 2024 Page 10 designation. The City's environmental consultant closely reviewed and applied criteria for evaluation, as outlined by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, as part of their significance evaluation. The evaluation was included as Appendix C in the Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) prepared for the project. Their significant evaluation summarized that the Newcombs were one of many early families that arrived in the Santa Ana area in the 1870s and 1890s. The family owned a sizable tract of land and used it for agricultural purposes and built a family homestead in the 1920s nearby at the corner of what is now Tustin and Santa Clara avenues. Robert Henry Newcomb was the grandson of this early Santa Ana family, and it appears that he built the existing ranch house on the project site in circa 1957. However, from the 1950s through the early 1970s, much of Santa Ana, including Santa Clara Avenue, experienced a postwar development boom and numerous homes were constructed on what was previously agricultural land. During this period, the original family homestead from the 1920s (which best represented the Newcomb family) was demolished by 1972. From circa 1957 to 2021, multiple Newcomb family members lived in the ranch house (2109 E. Santa Clara Avenue), including Robert Henry Newcomb. Robert owned a successful shoe store in downtown Santa Ana for approximately 60 years; the store was eventually sold in 1980. Members of the Newcomb family continued to own the ranch house from circa 1957 to 2021, when they sold the property to SRP Stater Bros, LLC, the entity that owns the adjacent commercial center to the north of the project site. Although the Newcombs were one of the City's early families, they were not the first family to settle in the area from the 1870s to the 1890s, and no evidence was found to suggest that the Newcomb family made any significant contribution to the history of Santa Ana or to its early agricultural industry. While Robert Newcomb had a successful business for many years, his business and his contribution to his profession were not revolutionary or impactful from a historical perspective. Additionally, the ranch house was constructed much later than the original family homestead and long after the arrival of the family in the area in 1883. Furthermore, the original setting for the ranch house is unrecognizable today as a result of significant commercial and residential development in the area that included the demolition of the Newcomb family homestead by 1972. Given the lack of significant historical associations, lack of significant contributions to the history of the City, and a lack of integrity of setting, neither single-family structure rises to the level of significance required for designation under any State or local criteria. This includes the City of Santa Ana's local historic preservation ordinance (Chapter 30 — Places of Historical and Architectural Significance). Specifically, the criteria for local designation into Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties "Register," outlined in Section 30-2 (Criteria for Selection) of the Santa Ana Municipal Code (SAMC). Therefore, with respect to built environment resources, the proposed project will have a less than significant impact on historical resources under CEQA. Traffic and Safety Impacts