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Planning and Building Agency <br />City of Santa Ana <br />20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br />Historic Resources Commission Staff Report <br />January 29, 2026 <br />Topic: HRCA No. 2025-14, HRC No. 2025-11, HPPA No. 2025-12 — The Joy House <br />(1402 S. Birch Street) <br />RECOMMENDED ACTIONS <br />1. Adopt a resolution approving Historic Resources Commission Application No. 2025- <br />14 and Historic Register Categorization No. 2025-11; and <br />2. Recommend that the City Council authorize the City Manager and City Clerk to <br />execute the attached Mills Act agreement with Laura Trudeau and Nicholas Timmons, <br />for the property located at 1402 S. Birch Street, subject to non -substantive changes <br />approved by the City Manager and City Attorney. <br />EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br />Laura Trudeau and Nicholas Timmons are requesting approval to designate an existing <br />Minimal Traditional -style residence located at 1412 S. Birch Street to the Santa Ana <br />Register of Historical Properties, as well as approval to execute a Mills Act agreement <br />with the City of Santa Ana. The property qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of <br />Historical Properties under Criterion 1 as an intact example of a Minimal Traditional -style <br />house. It is worthy of "Contributive" categorization as it has a distinctive architectural style <br />and quality reflective of the Minimal Traditional style, including its gable -on -hip roof, <br />exposed rounded rafters, and two -over -two wood -sash windows, among other features. <br />DISCUSSION <br />Project Location and Site Description <br />The subject property is located on a corner lot with Birch Street to the east and Borchard <br />Avenue to the north, in the Wilshire Square neighborhood in Santa Ana. The site contains <br />a 1,598-square-foot, Minimal Traditional -style residence and attached garage on an <br />approximately 6,100-square-foot residential lot (Exhibits 3 and 4). <br />