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HRCA No. 2025-01, HRC No. 2025-01, HPPA No. 2025-01– Brophy House (2301 N. <br />Westwood Avenue) <br />March 6, 2025 <br />Page 4 <br />4 <br />8 <br />2 <br />6 <br />Located in West Floral Park, the house cost $23,000 to build in 1957. The recommended <br />categorization is “Key” because it has a distinctive architectural style and quality reflective <br />of the Mid-Century Modern style. <br />Mills Act Agreement <br />Ordinance No. NS-2382 authorized the Historic Resources Commission to execute <br />Historic Property Preservation Agreements (HPPA), commonly known as Mills Act <br />agreements for eligible properties (Exhibit 2). To be eligible for the Mills Act, the property <br />must be listed on the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties. The Historic Resources <br />Commission Application and Historic Register Categorization actions proposed for this <br />site authorize the listing of the property on the local register. The agreement provides <br />monetary incentives to the property owner in the form of a property tax reduction in <br />exchange for the owner’s voluntary commitment to maintain the property in a good state <br />of repair as necessary to maintain its character and appearance. Once recorded, the <br />agreement generates a different valuation method in determining the property’s assessed <br />value, resulting in tax savings for the owner. Aside from the tax savings, the benefits <br />include: <br />•Long term preservation of the property and visual improvement to the neighborhood <br />•A mechanism to provide for property rehabilitation <br />•Incentives for potential buyers to purchase historic structures <br />•Discouraging inappropriate alterations to the property <br />The property has no identified unauthorized modifications. Upon consideration of the <br />application, it is recommended that the City enter into a Historic Property Preservation <br />Agreement subject to a completion of future improvements as described in an attached <br />Work Plan. <br />Overall, future improvements (Work Plan) proposed by the homeowner during the initial <br />ten years of the Mills Act Agreement include the following: removing the non-compatible <br />rear vinyl window, changing the exterior lighting for historically-appropriate lighting, <br />maintaining trimmed condition of landscaping and trees at the front of the property, and <br />repainting the exterior with a compatible color palette. Staff suggests adding the following <br />items to the Work Plan: removing the double security doors from the main entrance, and <br />removing and replacing the double glass block window (south façade) with a historically <br />compatible window. Staff will ensure that the proposed work will be done sensitively and <br />will maintain the property’s character-defining features as part of the Mills Act Agreement <br />for this property. <br />As part of the Mills Act approval process, staff will work with the applicant to ensure that <br />a bronze plaque is installed honoring and recognizing the structure. The plaque will <br />include the historic name, address, year built, and local historic register designation. <br />Historic Resources Commission 1 -4 3/6/2025