80A - JT PUBLIC HRG-320 WEST FOURTH

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Historic Resource Impacts Courthouse Lofts Project 320 West Fourth Street Santa Ana, California eligibility for, inclusion in the California Register of Historical Resources. While the most common building height is two-stories, there is no consistent roofline in the Historic District. Rather, contributing buildings step up and down regardless of the height of adjacent buildings. The proposed building is within the height envelope of the Historic District that includes a few four and six story buildings. The proposed project's height is within physical characteristics as defined for the Historic District which recognizes and includes a few buildings up to six stories tall. As an addition on an empty site it will not cause demolition of any historic building. The CEQA Guidelines state that a substantial adverse change in significance would occur if the proposed project would cause demolition or materially alter in an adverse manner the characteristics that account for its inclusion in a local register of historical resources pursuant to local ordinance or resolution. The proposed project is sited on a rare vacant site in a built-out downtown. The empty lot is not a character-defining feature of the Downtown Historic District or a contributing feature to the District. Thus, construction of a building that falls within the development patterns of the existing Historic Downtown building types will not cause change in status of the vacant site in terms of the Santa Ana Historic Register. Construction of the Courthouse Lofts building will not have any negative impacts on the Santa Ana Downtown Historic District. The addition of the proposed building would not result in a de-listing of the Historic District since the infill building is designed within the development norms and patterns of the Historic District's eclectic set of architectural styles and its varied building sizes and massing. The one historic feature that will be impacted by the construction of the Courthouse Lofts is the "ghost billboard" on the Semi-Tropic Hotel's exposed west party wall elevation. The painted element was not a mural which might have been intended to be a permanent fixture. Rather the wall was a billboard for changing advertisements and, as such, none of the images were meant to be a permanent feature of the building. They were revenue generating vertical real estate available for rental. As an exterior feature, the ghost billboard has been exposed to climactic elements for almost 30 years, without protection. Arguably, the construction of the Courthouse Lofts could delay further deterioration (west elevation exposure to sun) or it could result in further deterioration based on some aspect of construction (moisture trapped). Regardless, a portion of the ghost billboard (the upper 42 feet of the sign age) will be obscured by the infill Courthouse Lofts project. The loss of visibility of a portion of what is a transitory and ephemeral feature would not likely result in an adverse impact. As part of a party wall, it was reasonably expected that one day an adjacent building would be constructed. However, the following measure is recommended: Prior to construction, the Kaplan Chen Kaplan 14 April 20, 2006 80A-93