HomeMy WebLinkAboutCorrespondence - CS #3
Orozco, Norma
From:Randi Coddington <howdydo@vastbb.net>
Sent:Tuesday, May 04, 2021 8:47 AM
To:eComment
Subject:Cypress Fire Station
I have been reading with great interest about The Cypress Fire Station, a valuable Historic asset in the City of Santa Ana.
To say the least, I am very disappointed that the first and oldest Fire Station in your City may have a very questionable
fate. As a native Californian, I have seen this happen time and time again and to what end? The time is here and now to
save and rehab the Historic Cypress Fire Station.
I am an active preservationist and live in a 100+ year old home that falls under Historic Preservation guidelines. The
Cypress Fire Station cries out to be used, for the front facade to be rehabilitated and to serve the whole Santa Ana
community. Whether it be art, culture, education or other needs of the community it needs to be saved and adapted for
use.
I will be following the rehab progress I hope you will be making on the Cypress Fire Station. It’s potential to be a jewel in
the crown of our Santa Ana History astounds me. Please do not dissapoint!
Respectfully submitted,
Randi Coddington
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Orozco, Norma
From: Ginelle Hardy <ginelleann@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, May 03, 2021 1:09 PM
To: eComment
Subject: Public Comment_CC_mtg 5/4/21_Closed Session Item 3 - Potential Sale of Cypress
Fire Station
Public Comment _CC_mtg 5/4/21_Closed Session Item 3 - CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY
NEGOTIATOR pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.8: - Potential Sale of Cypress Fire Station
May 3, 2021
Honorable Mayor Sarmiento, Mayor pro tern David Penaloza, Councilmembers Phan, Lopez, Mendoza,
Bacerra, and Hernandez,
As you can see by the attached photo taken a few years ago security of the premises, property, interior and
exterior including signifiant exterior architecturally character defining features at the historic CYPRESS FIRE
STATION has never been adequate. As with any other vacant property in the City the responsibly for guarding
against vandalism and for being a good neighbor to the surrounding other property owners lies with the
property owner of a vacant building.
In this instance the property owner is the City and the property is the historic CYPRESS FIRE STATION.
- The FIRST & OLDEST fire station in the City, a designated "KEY" structure listed on the Santa Ana Register
of Historic Properties and uniquely located between and in front of homes that are some of the last remaining
Victorian style architecture in the City and all in the Pacific Park/Eastside neighborhood. The CYPRESS FIRE
STATION is the equally important and valued Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival style of architecture.
As seen in this photo, at this time, the building "security" is consisting of plywood and boards only put in place
after countless complaints form residents, neighbors and observers and after the a fire inside the building.
Lack of security of this building is negligence that continues today as evidenced by gaps in the sections
of chain link "security" fencing at the front of the property that was observed and photographed as recently as
lastnweek. - I ask you what kind of "security" is so cheap that they fail to provide enough material to do the job
and their efforts are shoddy & flimsy too?
I am asking that you take action to;
1. Please remove the CYPRESS FIRE STATION from the City's surplus property - (Considering and being
mindful
that this is the City's last City owned property, Santa Ana Register of Historic Properties is not the place to
mine
for surplus property, and listed Santa Ana Register of Historic Properties, including the CYPRESS FIRE
STATION,
are a City Historic Resource)
2. Please pull the RFP and pull any pending sale of the CYPRESS FIRE STATION as soon as possible
3. Please rally around retaining the Cypress Fire Station as an important historical property open for the public
benefit of our residents, supporting the Station's transformation into a Library, History and Technology hub that
serves all of Santa Ana.
4. Please support a coordination of the City's South Main Alliance for Healthy Neighborhoods, Pacific Park /
Eastside neighbors, neighborhood leaders and knowledgeable individuals who have or are serving on the
City's Historic Resources Commission, Historic Preservation Society, and other historic preservation
communities
- who as a group are motivated to build a steering or Ad Hock Committee bringing together community
representatives with City staff for the purpose saving the CYPRESS FIRE STATION through an exterior
architectural rehabilitation of the front facade and a (high tech) adaptive reuse of the building's interior for
community benefit.
5. Additionally moving forward please be prepared to support a "Mothballing" effort involving controlling the
long-term deterioration of any historic building in the City while it is unoccupied as well as finding methods to
protect it from sudden loss by fire or vandalism. As mothballing is only a temporary protective measure, setting
a timeline for the period of vacancy and identifying probable future uses of the structure can help to adapt the
mothballing process toward an eventual exterior architectural rehabilitation and adaptive reuse outcome.
Thank you for your concern and help in this most important matter,
Ginelle Hardy
Historical Heninger Park, President
Historic Resources Commissioner
ginelleannggmail. com
Orozco, Norma
From: Mike Tardif <mike@tardifsheetmetal.com>
Sent: Monday, May 03, 2021 3:38 PM
To: eComment
Cc: Penaloza, David; Lopez, Jessie; Hernandez, Johnathan; Mendoza, Nelida; Bacerra, Phil;
Phan, Thai; Sarmiento, Vicente
Subject: May 4th Council Meeting - Closed Session Agenda Item no. 3 - Cypress St. Fire
Station
Mayor and Council,
Re. Closed Session Agenda Item no. 3 - Cypress St. Fire Station
This property & historic structure MUST NOT be sold to a private party. As soon as it is in private hands the value is in
the property — NOT the historic structure.
Once sold the incentive becomes for the owner to neglect the historic structure so that "demolition by neglect' comes
into play.
For the private property owner, the best thing would be for the historic structure to BURN!
Please to not endanger the Cypress St. Fire Station by selling it to a private party.
Mike Tard if
Santa Ana
Orozco, Norma
From:Jeff Dickman <dickmanaj@att.net>
Sent:Tuesday, May 04, 2021 10:46 AM
To:eComment; Sarmiento, Vicente; Penaloza, David; Bacerra, Phil; Phan, Thai; Mendoza,
Nelida; Lopez, Jessie; Hernandez, Johnathan; Gomez, Daisy
Cc:Brandon Pho; Phil Chinn; Tina Davidson; Connie Major; Ginelle Gmail Hardy; Pocha
Pena; Preserve Orange County; North Santa Ana Preservation Alliance NSAPA; Santa
Ana Historical Preservation Society; Irma Jauregui; Ann Moerer Dickman; sandy
welch; Michael Tardif
Subject:Santa Ana City Council, Closed Session - Agenda Item #3, Cypress Fire Station, May 4,
2021
The City of Santa Ana appears ready to dispose of its historic Santa Ana Fire Station #4, located at 625 S. Cypress
Avenue, to a private party. The fire station is located in the Eastside/Pacific Park neighborhood, and is one of the last
remaining public buildings in this area, and the last antique fire station owned by the city.
Residents have expressed concern about the potential and irrevocable sale of building to a private party, and the loss of
the opportunity to restore, reuse, and repurpose the structure for a higher and better use for this under-served community.
In addition to their concerns, it is useful to understand how the City reached its decision to dispose of the building without
the Community's involvement.
Regarding the sale of Fire Station #4, the City did what it often does when it wants a desired result - it conducts only the
minimum public outreach. This is a decades-old, and well-honed approach intended to reduce public involvement and
streamline City Council's decision-making. Instead of advocating for the reuse of its own building, for use by the
community of Eastside/Pacific Park, the City has quietly brought this item to Council's agenda with almost no outreach to
your long-time preservation and community partners.
As a result of its minimalist this approach the City Council is poised to sell the property. This leaves the community, and
other City partners, unable to participate, effectively eliminating other alternative solutions. None of City's long-established
and active preservation and community organizations were invited to participate in this discussion to consider ways re-
make Fire Station #4 as a community asset.
Besides not working early on with the Eastside/Pacific Park community, the City failed to contact the Santa Ana Historical
Preservation Society, Heritage Orange County, and the Preserve Orange County. All three participated in the on-going
effort to save the Orange County Title Building from demolition. Why were they, and other community organizations, not
contacted early in the surplus process to offer insights to save Fire Station #4?
By not involving its well-known community partners, the City finds itself unable to protect the antique fire station from
egregious acts of on-going vandalism. If City had convened a "roundtable" of key interest groups, early on, to assist it with
interim uses of the building, and its later protection, Council may have instead discussed opportunities for reuse of the fire
station, and not its sale.
Please consider the following suggestions in regard to Fire Station #4:
1. Remove the property from the Surplus List
2. Immediately begin coordination with the Eastside/Pacific Park Neighborhood, your preservation partners, and business
community, to finds ways to protect the structure from further damage
3. Discuss interim and long uses for the building, which serve the immediate neighborhood, and surrounding area
4. Pursue grants, and partnerships which involve, and is not limited to, health, community services, and learning and
education uses for the fire station
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Your vibrant and active community of residents and partners is ready to work with you to save and reuse Fire Station #4,
and return it to usefulness for the benefit of all.
Jeff Dickman
Historic French Park
714 240 0883
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Orozco, Norma
From:Sandra Pocha Peña <pocha@pocharte.com>
Sent:Tuesday, May 04, 2021 11:58 AM
To:eComment
Cc:!City Clerk
Subject:May 4 Council Public Comment: Closed Session Item - Cypress Fire Station
Attachments:SANTA ANA CYPRESS PROPOSAL.docx
Importance:High
Dear City of Santa Ana,
I submit this comment to the public record for tomight's Closed Session Item, the sale of the historic
Cypress Fire Station.
Attached and below is my Public Comment in the form of a letter.
I have also attached a proposal for the rehabilitation of the Cypress Fire Station created by the Santa
Ana Healthy Neighborhood Alliance.
Would you please forward both my letter and proposal to our Mail and City Council prior to their
Closed Session today?
Also please include both in the Public Record on this item for tonight.
Thank you,
-- Sandra
--
Sandra "Pocha" Peña Sarmiento
"Frontier Arts & Hybrid Culture"
www.pocharte.com
www.ocfilmfiesta.org
714.417.0073
*** PUBLIC COMMENT Cypress Fire Station ***
May 4, 2021
Re: Private Session - Cypress Fire Station Sale
Honorable Mayor and Councilmembers,
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I am writing to urge reconsideration on the sale of our historic Cypress Street Fire Station.
As a lifelong resident and current leader in Eastside, now Pacific Park, it’s been heartbreaking seeing our neighborhood
continue to be so underserved. The Roosevelt Center was open very limited hours, mainly for classes pre-COVID. There
is no place here for our youth and elders to go for safe access to our collective history and the wealth of knowledge
available online.
Tapping into our City’s historical narrative, library offerings & wifi access is important for working class neighborhoods
like Eastside/Pacific Park. Keeping historic structures open and available to the public give neighborhoods like ours a
sense of identity and hope.
Please don’t sell our history. Please invest in our long-suffering neighborhood and help us transform one of the most
blighted corners on the Eastside into a beautiful resource for local history and access to technology for our residents.
Paired with the South Main Corridor revitalization, a restoration of the Cypress Firehouse to public service would be a
game-changing venture!
Attached is a proposal for transforming the Cypress Fire Station into a public resource that would transform the whole
area. Decades of neglect and blight would be solved with an investment in our underserved community. We are one of
the densest residential districts in the entire district and greatly need the Cypress Fire Station restored to public service,
to inspire and inform our residents.
The Cypress Fire Station is a one-of-a-kind Key Historic Property in our City and has the potential to uplift an entire
neighborhood. Please help us retain and transform it.
Sincerely,
-- Sandra “Pocha” Pena Sarmiento
Pacific Park/Eastside Neighborhood Leader
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Proposal for Cypress Fire Station – Digital Library, History Room & Technology Center 1
CYPRESS FIRE STATION
Digital Library, History Room, Technology Center
BACKGROUND HISTORY:
The Cypress Fire Station is located near the corner of Cypress & Bishop, in Pacific
Park Neighborhood, one of the Santa Ana’s most polluted and underserved
working-class communities. Built in 1928 under the tenure of John Luxembourger,
Santa Ana’s first full-time fire chief, the Cypress Fire Station is our city’s oldest fire
station.
For over a decade, South Main Neighbors had been working with former Parks &
Rec director and City Manager Gerardo Mouet at turning the site into a history
center, a combination Learning Center, SA Library History Room Annex, & Gallery.
When Mouet left the city, staff said it would keep the community informed about
what happened with the property. Instead, the property was allowed to decline
physically and then put on the Surplus Property List at a bargain rate.
Pacific Park/Eastside leaders and neighboring residents have repeatedly asked
staff for the Cypress Fire Station property to be properly secured, removed from
Proposal for Cypress Fire Station – Digital Library, History Room & Technology Center 2
the Surplus Property List and developed for public use. All these requests have
been ignored. Pacific Park residents have had no involvement in drafting
“conditions” for the Cypress Fire Station RFP and were not supported in forming a
Steering Committee to restore the Station to public use as a library annex and
digital learning center. It is a travesty that the Cypress Fire Station, a property of
great public significance, would be disposed of to a private buyer.
Eastside Santa Ana would blossom with access to a Digital Library, History &
Technology Center at this historic location. The benefits would extend beyond our
youth, to reach our elders and neighborhood residents. Both Young and Old will
greatly benefit from access to digital reading materials and films in a variety of
languages, access to tablets, free wifi, wifi hotspots for checkout, public desktops,
on-sight technical assistance, meeting rooms, research rooms and a gallery.
We are even open to having the SAPD have a desk at the center for a police
substation type of presence to assure safety at the facility.
A HISTORIC TREASURE:
The Cypress Fire Station is a one-of-a-kind key historic property built in the
Spanish Colonial Revival design. Per a 2002 CA Intensive Survey Update,
Cypress Fire Station “retains it’s overall integrity and conveys former use.”
As a site serving the public, the Cypress Fire Station can both inspire and
empower. It’s architecture and historic legacy can connect our youngsters
to our city’s narrative, while access to a digital library and technology
center would open doors to an abundant future.
To have a historic asset like the Cypress Fire Station put to use in serving
the public, would benefit the entire South Main area. It would especially
help our residents easily access an increasingly technological world. Digital
Design and App Development is growing in Orange County at a huge rate.
Helping our youth and families access the technology needed to enter
these lucrative job markets would ensure our neighborhoods thrive.
Proposal for Cypress Fire Station – Digital Library, History Room & Technology Center 3
Tech Bootcamps for adults and children, like Sabio and Steamcoders, need
digital facilities like Digital Libraries and Technology Centers to hub
programs around locally. Entry-level Junior Developer coders earn an
average of $95,000 in our area!
LOCATION & STATS:
625 Cypress Ave, Santa Ana, CA
Building is 4,350 square feet
Parcel is 7,188 square feet
PARKING:
There are over 45 parking spots in the Dollar Tree lot directly across from
the Cypress Fire Station. Over 30 parking spots are empty at all times of day
or night. Because of the low need for parking the lot owner has sublet it to
a recycling service which attracts lots of homeless folks, crime, illegal
dumping of trash and open drug use.
It would uplift the whole area to have this underused parking lot across
Cypress from the Fire Station, repurposed for community center use.
STAFF NEGLECT & MUNICIPAL CHALLENGES:
It’s important to mention that staff neglect and/or incompetence has a
huge role to play in the Cypress Fire Station’s decline. For almost a decade,
frequent calls for security and protective equipment went ignored or
underserved. Given the ongoing SAPD presence at the Dollar Tree lot, it’s
hard to see how homeless occupation of the firehouse got so out of
control. Similarly, substandard fencing has been an ongoing problem. The
most recent break in happened this past week.
Proposal for Cypress Fire Station – Digital Library, History Room & Technology Center 4
It’s not right that after neglecting a historic community property, that
community would be prevented from saving the building or fundraising for
its upkeep, then told the property is being sold to a private buyer who has
no conditions on providing a community benefit.
NEXT STEPS:
- Take the Cypress Fire Station off Surplus Property List
- Form a Steering or Ad Hock Committee to guide the restoration
- Research similar successful projects like the BIBLIOTECHs in Texas
- Get estimates for restoration work and operational funds
- Outreach for public grants and private partners (tech industry)
- Negotiate Parking with
- Restore Fire Station in accordance with best practices in preservation
- Tap Cypress Station tech specs into South Main Tech upgrades
- Open the new Cypress Station to community and watch it transform!
FUNDING:
State Library Grant – The City of Fullerton just secured a grant of over 2
million dollars to repurpose their old Hunt Library into an Arts Center. This
grant was secured with the help of Representative Sharon Quark Silva.
Federal Library Funds – Financed the Texas BIBLIOTECHs, multiple digital
libraries and technology centers.
Federal Historic Preservation Funds - There are many resources available
for transitional communities (former rural, under 500,000 in population)
like Santa Ana to restore and preserve our heritage.
Public / Private Partnerships - Orange County’s technology industry is
booming, so this is a great time to bring the tech sector into investing in
Santa Ana. Google, Blizzard, The Vine, and others may be interested in a
project like our Cypress Fire Station.
POTENTIAL COMMUNITY PARTNERS:
Proposal for Cypress Fire Station – Digital Library, History Room & Technology Center 5
Santa Ana Public Library
Santa Ana College
SAUSD
Local Preservation Groups
Technology & Industrial Design Businesses
SAPD Association Funds
Federal & State Funds for closing the Digital Divide
Charitable Foundation Support (Annenberg, Ford Our Town, Guggenheim)
CASE STUDY:
San Antonio’s BIBLIOTECH series of Digital Libraries and Technology
Centers, were the first in the nation. They built three centers in their three
most underserved communities, with excellent results. Youngsters are
thriving academically, Families are prospering and Elders are connecting in
new and innovative ways!
https://bexarbibliotech.org/about-us
https://bexarbibliotech.org/
https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/San-Antonio-s-
BiblioTech-branches-reopen-in-15245549.php
GRASSROOTS INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED:
Steering or Ad Hock Committee – A group is needed to bring community
representatives together with city staff and electeds to guide this project
through to its completion. Fundraising events and dinners can be handled
through this group as well as regular media updates and press events.
Proposal for Cypress Fire Station – Digital Library, History Room & Technology Center 6
SUMMARY:
The South Main Alliance for Healthy Neighborhoods stands in solidarity
with our neighbors in Pacific Park / Eastside in retaining the Cypress Fire
Station as an important historical property open for the public benefit of
our residents. We support the Station’s transformation into a Library,
History and Technology hub that serves all of Santa Ana.
Orozco, Norma
From:Saraí J. Santamaría <sarai.santamaria93@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, May 04, 2021 12:12 PM
To:eComment; !City Clerk
Subject:Cypress Fire House
Dear City Staff,
I would like to submit the following for Public Comment:
Please DO NOT sell and PRIVATIZE our city assets. I ask that we preserve and rehabilitate the Fire Station for
community use. You know our community needs art, resources, technology, and safe places to congregate.
Best Regards,
Saraí Santamaría
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To whom it may concern:
This letter is in response to the future of the old Cypress Fire Station here in the Pacific Park
neighborhood, formally Eastside. I am deeply concerned about the future of this historic
building. My main grievance with this dilemma is that our ward council member (David
Penaloza) has failed to inform residents of what is incurring at this location. There have been
complaints of residents who live in the area, the Mr. Penaloza as not acted with due diligence
with putting the needs of residents of his ward first; and it was with dismay that many were not
aware of the impending action the city intends to implement this with the firehouse. There are
those who feel some ‘backdoor’ deal was made behind there backs, worse yet that it would be of
financial benefit to Mr. Penaloza and the mayor. I do not consider this to be some type of
Machiavellian venture; but without input from Pacific Park residents; and the fact a closed
session council meeting was held on this issue one shall tend to speculate in a non-positive view.
th
I live on E. Myrtle St. and I am excited about the 4 development, it has been long over doing. In
fact, the city allows me to research the long-term plans for the area. Most of the information is
open source and informative: Fire Station Cypress is not. I would recommend any decision on
this property be put on hold until residents of the area can have input, or opinion. I personally
like, and highly recommend this building be restored to its original condition and be made into
the art, education; and technology center that some our Pacific Park advocates are
recommending. In the parlance of my military background, it would be a ‘force multiplier ‘in our
neighborhood. It would enhance quality of life for many by more opportunity for civic
engagement. Adding some type of housing is not the solution for this high area. This area is
already high density, and new housing would create more problems we face now in the area.
I advise reconsider any tentative plans for this area, this is moral and ethical imperative that must
be met.
Thank You Mark I Lopez (Mexican American Advisory Group)
Orozco, Norma
From:timrush@bhhscaprops.com
Sent:Tuesday, May 04, 2021 2:45 PM
To:eComment
Subject:Sale of Cypress Fire Station
Honorable Mayor & Council;
On several occasions prior I have communicated with you about my reasons for my advocacy of a sale to an owner
occupant for the above property. Pure and simple it is because I am a fan of PRESERVATION and having it turned into a
SFR occupied 24/7 is the best hope to keep it from further vandalism and torching. Simply condition the sale that the
owner must rehab the exterior to Secretary of The Interior Standards for a historic building, further that it be placed on
Mills Act to subject it to yearly inspection to confirm its maintenance and further that a Certificate of Occupancy not be
issued until the rehab is 100% complete.
Thank you for your consideration,
Tim Rush, Vice Chair Historic Resources Commission
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties
13926 Seal Beach Boulevard
Seal Beach, CA 90740
(714) 299-4455
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Orozco, Norma
From:Ginelle Hardy <ginelleann@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, May 04, 2021 3:29 PM
To:eComment
Cc:Sarmiento, Vicente; Phan, Thai; Phil Bacerra; Hernandez, Robert (PWA); Lopez, Jessie;
Penaloza, David; Mendoza, Nelida
Subject:Santa Ana, an adopted Certified Local Government, has committed to historic
preservation!
Honorable Mayor Sarmiento & Councilmembers,
I would be a miss if I failed to remind you that Santa Ana is a City Council adopted Certified Local Government
committed to historic preservation!
Preservation through Partnership: this is the goal of the Certified Local Government (CLG) Program. Local, State, and Federal
governments work together in the Federal Preservation Program to help communities save the irreplaceable historic character of
places. Through the certification process, communities make a local commitment to historic preservation. This commitment is
key to America’s ability to preserve, protect, and increase awareness of our unique cultural heritage found in the built
environment across the country.
Being a CLG demonstrates your community's commitment to saving what is important from the past for future generations. As
a certified community it becomes easy to demonstrate a readiness to take on successful preservation projects, making your
community able to compete for new opportunities!
Please STOP THE SALE of Historic CYPRESS FIRE STATION #4
Ginelle Hardy
Historical Heninger Park, President
Historic Resources Commissioner
1
Orozco, Norma
From:Victor Payan <victor@masamedia.org>
Sent:Tuesday, May 04, 2021 4:05 PM
To:eComment
Subject:Fwd: Public comment Save Cypress Fire Station
-------- Original Message --------
Public Comment Save Cypress Fire Station
Subject:
2021/05/04 3:59 pm
Date:
Victor Payan <victor@masamedia.org>
From:
ecomment@santa-ana.org
To:
vsarmiento@santa-ana.org, dpenaloza@santa-ana.org, TPhan@santa-ana.org, JessieLopez@santa-
Cc:
ana.org, pbacerra@santa-ana.org, JRyanHernandez@santa-ana.org, nmendoza@santa-ana.org,
kridge@santa-ana.org, dgomez@santa-ana.org, cityclerk@santa-ana.org
Dear Mayor, Councilmembers and City Manager,
I am writing to join in the chorus of residents, community leaders and neighborhood association leaders
who are opposed to the sale of the Cypress Fire Station, located at 625 S Cypress (Closed Session Item
3).
As a resident of the Pacific Park neighborhood, where the Cypress Fire Station is located, and Director of
Media Arts Santa Ana (MASA), I would love to strongly advocate turning the building into a community
technology center. The pandemic made plain Santa Ana’s need to address the tremendous digital divide in
our city, and currently there is a scarcity of locations where residents can access reliable internet to
complete assistance forms, apply for jobs, learn new job skills, pay bills, and other actions necessary for
functioning in today’s world.
Turning the Cypress Fire Station into a community technology center is in alignment with the South Main
Plan, as the building is also located in the footprint of that project.
My organization, Media Arts Santa Ana (MASA) would be interested in holding bilingual media arts
production and digital literacy classes in the building if it is turned into a community technology center. I
am sure there are other organizations that could also fill the space with state-of-the-art programming that
serves both the local youth and local adult population.
A few years ago, we tried to court the coding organization SABIO to Santa Ana, to provide free coding
classes to our underserved community. They searched and were unable find a technically suitable or
affordable space in all of Santa Ana, and we lost the opportunity to Irvine. Let’s act today to make sure we
st
don’t lose more opportunities to provide 21 Century amenities and job training to our residents.
We are all too familiar with the doleful regret in which the sale of the Santa Ana Fire Department
discussed to this day. Please do not make the same mistake of losing a valuable resource forever, when
there is such demand from the community to repurpose the building for modern community use.
1
I’m sure you are profoundly aware of the historical significance of the building, as it has been the center of
much of the discussion online, and that is reason enough to save the building. Developers can always find
other properties to develop and flip for a profit. But, in all honesty, how many historic buildings can you
find in Santa Ana that can be repurposed to community use? How many city-owned properties will be
saved for community use?
I encourage you to consider the cost of losing a historic building and community resource vs the amount
of money the developer stands to make flipping the property.
We must save public buildings for public benefit and public use. And we must save and safeguard Santa
Ana’s history and historic buildings for future generations.
I thank you and hope you will do the right thing by Santa Ana’s history and legacy, and save the Cypress
Fire Station for public benefit and public use.
Sincerely,
Victor Payan
--
Victor Payan
Director
Media Arts Santa Ana (MASA)
c: 619-701-0073
e: victor@masamedia.org
Media Arts Santa Ana (MASA) is a project of Community Partners, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
--
Victor Payan
Director
Media Arts Santa Ana (MASA)
c: 619-701-0073
e: victor@masamedia.org
Media Arts Santa Ana (MASA) is a project of Community Partners, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
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