Item 23 - Historic Property Preservation Agreements

Home Browse Search

HRCA No. 2024-06, HRC No. 2024-04, HPPA No. 2024-09 — Smith House (2539 French Street) September 5, 2024 Page 2 Analysis of the Issues Historical Listing In March 1999, the City Council approved Ordinance No. NS-2363 establishing the Historic Resources Commission and the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties. The Historic Resources Commission may, by resolution and at a noticed public hearing, 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 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 structure is 72 years old and is a sound example of period architecture. No known code violations exist on record for this property. The Smith House is architecturally significant as an intact example of Minimal Traditional - style house in Santa Ana. The original building permit is dated February 21, 1952, and indicates it was built as a six -room residence and garage for owner Norman Herzig by contractor Charles Lawrence at a value of $12,000. The original architect is unknown. Herzig appears to have been affiliated with the property only during the time of the initial building permit, and by May 19, 1952, the property had been transferred to H. Mumper (misspelled on the permit as "Mumfer"). A 1953 city directory listing shows A.F. Mumper as the property's occupant. Mumper continued to reside at that address until at least 1954, when the The Register identified the subject property as his address and identified the property as the site of a meeting of the Orange County Renters Association, of which Mumper was the secretary (The Register June 11, 1953). By 1960, Edward L. Smith was the property's occupant, most likely with his wife Blanche U. and their family (Ancestry.com 2011). Edward was an insurance salesman by profession and owned the Lee Smith insurance agency. While it is unknown when Edward died, at the at the time of Blanche's passing in 1975, she was the sole owner of the property (Anaheim Bulletin August 8, 1975). Sources identifying owners and occupants of the property are not available between 1976 and 2023. By 2023, City planning records show, the property's current owners and residents Frangois and Roxana Fyad took ownership of the property. The Smith House is a modest, intact example of a one-story, Minimal Traditional -style single-family residence and detached garage. It is characterized by a compact and irregular plan, cross -hipped roof with asphalt shingles and moderately wide boxed eaves, and stucco exterior cladding. The porch and front entrance are located on the front -facing