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11/02/2009 15:05 FAX 714 226 6111 PACIFICARE <br />Santa .Ana His toriC a1 <br />Preservation Society <br />Dr. V~illttlla Howe-Waffle Housc & Medical Museum <br />120 Ci.~ic tenter Drive Wcsc, <br />Santa Ana, CA 92701-7505 <br />(714} 547-9545 • mwwSanraAnaI~istorycam <br />[~ 002 <br /> ~ ~~ <br />~ ...-d <br /> <br /> ,^'--~ .-w .. <br />Santa Ana City Council <br />.___, <br />.. ~" <br />20 Civic Center Plaza ~ <br />Santa Ana, Califomla 92702 - ~~-~ <br /> <br />November 2, 2009 -ta <br />_ _-~= <br /> N <br />RE: Lacy Neighborhood Demolition for'the Station District _... <br />-- _ _ <br />Dear Council Members. , <br />A month ago the Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society successfully appealed to the Council fnr a <br />~iay of execution on demolition of the city-owned historic houses in the lacy Neighborhood. We <br />appreciate the Council's consideration in allowing more time for the Society to rneet with the City to <br />'explore alternatives to the wholesale demolition of these properties. <br />hAuch valuable information was exchanged at our October 20~' meeting with Cir.~dy Nelson and Roger <br />7orriero, also attended by Councilman Benavides_ The Society presented some alternative ideas to <br />~lemolltion and the City gave their viewpoint on drawbacks to these ideas. The~developer Mr. Torriero <br />made it dear that his hands were tied as far as developing a plan inclusive of historic preservation, <br />because the RFP prepared by the City did not include this as an element. As ~a result of this meeting, <br />the Society was asked by Councilman Benavides to supply a list of houses of greatest concern and to <br />I°ee ff we could develop additional options to the demolition. Cindy Nelson statHd that she would be <br />gpen to hearing alternative options. <br />Representatives of the Society have since attended a number of the Station District community <br />outreach meetings, and we have actively sought the opinions of other intereste~~ groups on the <br />'passibility of inGusian of historic properties as a part of the Station District plan <br />I <br />1Ne have made substantial progress in the past few weeks. After conversatian5 with these groups, we <br />;are happy to say that there is consensus that the existing historic properties sh~~uld be included in <br />;plans for the Station District project. In addition to Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society, the <br />following groups feel that on site preservation of historic properties should be part of the Station <br />4;District planning. So far, They include <br />i • Heritage Orange County <br />• SACRED <br />• Logan Neighborhood representatives <br />• Taller San Jose <br />I <br />~In addition, we understand that the Orange County Historic Commission, witha~at soNcitation from the <br />Society, is in the process of drafting a letter supporting preservation of these properties. Additional <br />groups, including Historic French Park, Heritage Museum, and the Lofts have riot yet had time to <br />'respond to our inquiries, but we expect support from Them as weN_ Given lime, we are confident that <br />iadditional community groups will also support this cause. <br />A <br />This coalition of organizations. with widely differing viewpoints and objectives, has a vision of <br />revitalizing the Station District area which includes the long range benefits of maintaining the historic <br />character of the area. This group has come up with a number of creative alteniatives to demolition, <br />i <br />