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Home My WebLink AboutCRA #3 - DEMOLITION - MEMO FROM DEPARTMENTply _ MEMORANDUM To: City Manager Date: October 30, 2009 Deputy City Manager for Development Services From: Community Development Agency Subject: STATION DISTRICT -DEMOLITION CONTRACT The Redevelopment Agency continued the contract award for the demolition of Agency-owned properties in the Station District until its meeting of November 2, 2009 in order for staff and Councilmember Benavides to meet with the Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society. A meeting took place on October 20 with several members of the Society, Councilmember Benavides, Roger Torriero of Griffin and city staff. Griffin walked the properties, with special emphasis on the motor court building on Santa Ana Boulevard and Minter. Mr. Torriero indicated that in his professional opinion, based on years of experience with historic preservation, that this particular building did not merit saving for a number of reasons. Councilmember Benavides then toured the various structures, along with Ben Grabiel who is involved with the Society. Based on feedback from Councilmember Benavides, he indicated that he agreed with regard to not retaining the motor court property; however, he expressed some interest in perhaps making available for relocation (to the general public) 2 of the other single family homes slated for demolition. Should the Redevelopment Agency be so inclined to pursue that course of action, we offer the following for your consideration when making that decision: • The City's building department will need to first inspect the homes to determine if they are, in fact, structurally able to be relocated. Staff would need to know which two homes are being considered so an inspection can be arranged. • Whether the homes are moved to a site in Santa Ana or elsewhere, there are city requirements that must be met prior to the move taking place. In Santa Ana, for example, the homes must be set on an approved foundation and have water, gas and electrical hook-ups completed. This requires preparation of site plans and engineering which are then reviewed through the normal development review process which may include Planning Commission approval. The planning process, depending on the circumstances, can take four to six months. • Once Planning approval is obtained, then the actual engineering/relocation plans are put into plan check. • A key consideration is ensuring the buyer has adequate financial resources to successful relocate the home to another site. Staff would recommend that a cash bond or some form of guarantee be required to ensure that the house would actually be removed from our site. City Manager October 30, 2009 Page 2 Given all of the above, it could realistically take 12-16 months before the homes are actually relocated. Staff is still recommending that we proceed with demolition of all the properties. None of them are historic, they continue to be a maintenance/security challenge, and their deteriorating condition is unfavorable for the neighborhood. The Preservation Society has been afforded the opportunity to salvage from these homes, and we have even offered to hire a contractor to assist them in this regard. The Agency's plans to develop these sites with new housing has long been known to the Society and others. The timeline to move forward with firm development plans is critical given the tax credit application periods for 2010, and the Related/Griffin team is deserving of the certainty of actions on the part of the Agency if they are to continue to invest time and money in this process. We are available to answer any questions the Agency may have in advance of the November 2 meeting. e '~ "~ %~~l Cynthia J. Ne~abn Mayor and City Council City Attorney Housing Manager