75B - PH - APPEAL 1584 EAST SANTA CLARA AVE

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HRCA No. 2012-01 HRC No. 2012-01 April 5, 2012 Page 3 The DPR for the final EIR for the TAVA Development project concluded that the Sexiinger site was eligible for inclusion on the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Chapter 30 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code (SAMC) Section 30-2, Criterion 6: "Buildings or structures that were connected with a business or use which was once common, but is now rare" (Exhibit 3). However, the analysis did not conclude that the property was eligible for the State or National historic registers. Analysis of the Issues In March 1999, the City Council approved an ordinance establishing the Historic Resources Commission and the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties. The Historic Resources Commission may, by resolution and at a noticed public hearing, designate as historical property any building or part thereof, object, structure, or site having importance to the history or architecture of the city in accordance with the criteria set forth in section 30-2. Specifically the property, object, structure or site must be at least 50 years old and must meet one or more of a set of eligibility criteria. The Sexiinger farmhouse and orchard meet the minimum selection criteria of being 50 years or older and further meet the criteria listed under 30-2, Criterion 6, pertaining to buildings or structures that were connected with a business or use which was once common, but is now rare. According to the Cultural Resources section of the Draft EIR prepared for the TAVA development project, the Sexiinger property is the last intact orange grove in Santa Ana remaining from the period of time when orange growing was the predominant business and land use in this area JAVA Development Project; Revised Cultural Resources Section Draft Environmental Report, p. 5; December 2011). As such, the Sexiinger property meets criteria 30-2 (a)(6). Following the establishment of eligibility the code provides criteria for the level of categorization; Landmark, Key or Contributive. In this case staff recommends that the property be listed in the "Key" category based on its compliance with Section 30-2.2 (2)(b) which pertains to buildings, structures, objects or sites that are characteristic of a significant period in the history of the city. Orange growing was once a predominant industry and land use in Santa Ana and exemplifies an important period in the City's history. Although Chapter 30 of the SAMC allows for designation of resources that are connected with a land use that was once common, but now rare, the commission has not used this finding in previous designations. Of the more than 400 properties currently listed on the SARHP none are for sites as a whole, but only for the structure on the site. In these cases, changes to the landscape may be made without the need to comply with the City's standards for historic preservation because they do not affect the structure. However, listing the Sexiinger farmhouse and orchard entails maintaining the structures, as well as the presence of orange trees in the existing landscape design. This is an 75B-7