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w <br />w sir <br />N kid"„ <br />�rru w <br />3 <br />Off cerS. <br />Jeannie Gillett <br />Pre.sidenl <br />Ryan Bensley <br />Vice - President <br />Treasurer <br />Board Memhers: <br />Patrick Mitchell <br />Moises Plascencia <br />Steve Ray <br />Nick Spain <br />F1dIDI7 <br />"To pl'eser p, <br />acquire, restore <br />and manage the <br />Old Orange Orchard <br />located in Santa Ana, <br />California, as an <br />historic, cultural, <br />agricultural and <br />educational <br />rosour cc for all " <br />Contact <br />(714) 20-6 -4642 <br />R O. Box 10038 <br />Santa Ana, California <br />92711 -0038 <br />Old (')rtchard <br />November 6, 2013 <br />VIA EMAIL AND U.S. MAIL <br />Members of the Santa Ana City Council <br />20 Civic Center Plaza <br />P.O. Box 1988, M31 <br />Santa Ana, California 92701 <br />Subject: Preservation of the Sexlinger Farmhouse and Orchard <br />Dear Honorable Members of the Santa Ana City Council: <br />As you know, members of The Old Orchard Conservancy have been working tirelessly <br />for more than two years toward the preservation of the historic Sexlinger Farmhouse <br />and Orchard. It is the official position of The Conservancy to preserve the entire five - <br />acre property; however, we are now open to considering a preservation alternative <br />acceptable under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that would allow up to <br />half of the property to be developed and the remainder preserved. <br />One of our principal objections to the environmental review process has been, and <br />continues to be, that the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared for the proposed <br />development project has never included a feasible preservation alternative. The EIR <br />currently includes an alternative that would provide for the development of 21 single <br />family houses on the Sexlinger property, which would result in the destruction of more <br />than 90 percent of the orchard and the irreparable loss of the integrity of the historic <br />resource. Lack of a preservation alternative was one of the reasons the Planning <br />Commission voted not to recommend approval of the project. <br />Earlier this year, we met several times with representatives of Orange Lutheran High <br />School and Concordia University of Irvine in an effort to reach an agreement for the <br />purchase of the property by The Conservancy. When it became clear that our <br />discussions were not going to lead to a successful resolution, The Conservancy began <br />to think more broadly about other preservation options which could include a limited <br />amount of residential development. <br />We have come to the position that the development of up to 50 percent of the orchard <br />could take place while still maintaining a significant portion of the original historic <br />integrity of the resource. Acceptable development would include single -story <br />architecture consistent with the historic character, period and style of the property with <br />transitional landscaping that would seamlessly blend into the orchard. This approach <br />would respect the City's decision to add this last example of our agricultural past to the <br />historic register and preserve this irreplaceable landscape creating a community <br />resource with a huge potential for educational and health and wellness programming, <br />trvtn w. � d 0 1 hard Con servancy,o rg <br />75A -81 <br />