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March 3, 2014 <br />Maria Huizar <br />City Clerk <br />City of Santa Ana <br />Subject: Sexlinger Orchard <br />mhuizar @santa- ana.org <br />Dear Ms. Huizar, I am writing this letter in regards to the fate of the Sexlinger Orchard at 1584 E. <br />Santa Clara Ave. in Santa Ana. I would like the Santa Ana city council to know that as a resident of <br />Orange County, I am deeply concerned about the fate of one of our last remaining orange groves, which <br />can remain in tact for future generations to appreciate or become yet another high density residential <br />property. While I understand that the property owners have the right to eliminate one of the very last <br />orange groves, which are the namesake of our county, I find it morally wrong to erase our local history. <br />The city council has the power to right this potential wrong on Tuesday night, March the 4th 2014. They <br />can go down in history as the group of people who had the foresight to protect an endangered and <br />important species. <br />I would like the council to consider a compromise. I would like the council to preserve the entire <br />orchard as public green space and offer the property owners an alternate location in the city to build <br />new homes on. The city owns land which can be transferred to the owners in exchange for the orchard. <br />Place it under the parks and recreations department and preserve this orchard for the good of my <br />generation and our future generations. <br />We do not need another housing complex nearly as much as we need green space and a cultural <br />heritage landmark. We don't need the toxic exhaust from more and more vehicles where we had oxygen <br />generating plants in place. This is a rare opportunity to save a piece of history and it only takes an <br />understanding city council who is willing to pursue another avenue in order to satisfy the property <br />developer and the people of Orange County who care about hanging on to one of the last remaining <br />orchards. Too much of our county has been bulldozed and erased to squeeze in more homes, which <br />creates more overcrowding in schools, traffic on our streets and lack of opportunity for employment. <br />There are fewer and fewer places where we can enjoy an inexpensive family outing, especially one that <br />includes educational, historical and cultural values. Preserving this Sexlinger Orchard is the right thing to <br />do and I hope that this council will vote to protect Orange County history, not erase it. <br />Sincerely, Josh McIntosh <br />Orange County Historical Society <br />Santa Ana Historical Society <br />Garden Grove Historical Society <br />Anaheim Historical Society <br />