Laserfiche WebLink
French Park Historic District Sart-:, a r,^ai-ricr, banta Ana, CA Orange County <br />MOWDi ^ <br />tm. roM-ooff <br />United Stetes Department of the Interior <br />NatJonaJ Pari( Service <br />National Register of Historic Places <br />Continuation Sheet <br />Section number 1 5 <br />Minter, two on E. Washington, and several on N. Garfield were replaced by <br />apartment buildings. In the Mid-1970s two large and fashionable condo- <br />minim projects were built on Ninth St. <br />The revitihzation of French Park began in the late 1970s, when a few <br />families purchased property, planning to restore and occupy the historic <br />homes. By 1980, this movement accelerated as a new group of people with <br />neighborhood In1980 they organized the Historic French Park Association and began work­ <br />ing with the city to create its first local historic district. <br />A daring and, at the time, controversial new concept called for down-zoning <br />to prevent developers from tearing down fine homes in order to build any <br />more unattractive lot-line-to-lot-line apartment buildings. The SD-19 <br />Ordinance which created the local historic district, required that those <br />owners making changes to the exteriors of their homes had to follow the V; <br />Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. The Historic French <br />Park Association reviews all plans and makes recommendations. <br />In 1987, the Association applied for and received its non-profit <br />status, allowing it to receive block grant funds. The City purchased five <br />empty lots on Lacy Street that had been slated for apartments to be built <br />by a 31-partner limited partnership. A badly-deteriorated 1970s <br />apartment house on the comer of Vance and Lacy was purchased and <br />demolished Through the use of block grant funds and help from Housing <br />Services, the Historic French Park Association saved three houses slated to <br />be demolished by moving them to Lacy St., to become single-family, owner- <br />occupied homes. <br />During the past ten years, most of French Park’s historic houses have <br />once more become single-family homes, leaving only five rooming houses. <br />Within the past two years more than fifty houses have been repainted, <br />he Histone French Park Association cooperates and works well with the <br />Community Development, Code Enforcement, Police, Building, and Planning <br />departments of the City. <br />Two years ago, the neighborhood was given the opportunity to <br />redesign an ugly modern stucco-clad apartment unit at 1029 N. Spurgeon. <br />1 <br />  <br />    <br />