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March 3, 2014 Maria Huizar City Clerk City of Santa Ana Subject: Sexlinger Orchard mhuizar@santa-ana.org Dear Ms. Huizar, I am writing this letter in regards to the fate of the Sexlinger Orchard at 1584 E. Santa Clara Ave. in Santa Ana. I would like the Santa Ana city council to know that as a resident of Orange County, I am deeply concerned about the fate of one of our last remaining orange groves, which can remain in tact for future generations to appreciate or become yet another high density residential property. While I understand that the property owners have the right to eliminate one of the very last orange groves, which are the namesake of our county, I find it morally wrong to erase our local history. The city council has the power to right this potential wrong on Tuesday night, March the 4" 2014. They can go down in history as the group of people who had the foresight to protect an endangered and important species. I would like the council to consider a compromise. I would like the council to preserve the entire orchard as public green space and offer the property owners an alternate location in the city to build new homes on. The city owns land which can be transferred to the owners in exchange for the orchard. Place it under the parks and recreations department and preserve this orchard for the good of my generation and our future generations. We do not need another housing complex nearly as much as we need green space and a cultural heritage landmark. We don't need the toxic exhaust from more and more vehicles where we had oxygen generating plants in place. This is a rare opportunity to save a piece of history and it only takes an understanding city council who is willing to pursue another avenue in order to satisfy the property developer and the people of Orange County who care about hanging on to one of the last remaining orchards. Too much of our county has been bulldozed and erased to squeeze in more homes, which creates more overcrowding in schools, traffic on our streets and lack of opportunity for employment. There are fewer and fewer places where we can enjoy an inexpensive family outing, especially one that includes educational, historical and cultural values. Preserving this Sexlinger Orchard is the right thing to do and I hope that this council will vote to protect Orange County history, not erase it. Sincerely, Josh McIntosh Orange County Historical Society Santa Ana Historical Society Garden Grove Historical Society Anaheim Historical Society 75B -530