Santa Ana Settles Lawsuit Over Luxury Condos

A luxury condominium project will be built in downtown Santa Ana and 20 low-income homes will be built elsewhere in the city under a lawsuit settlement approved by the City Council onTuesday night.

The 194-unit condominium project, bounded by French, 4th, Minter and 3rd streets, was authorized by the City Council last July. But a citizens group called the Alliance for Fair Redevelopment sued in August, alleging that the city failed to conduct an adequate environmental study and calling for low-income housing on the site.

A historical preservation group, Heritage Orange County, subsequently joined the lawsuit in an effort to save an old Red Car train depot on the site that the state had designated as a historical building. That effort became heated when Heritage officials went to court on Nov. 26 for a restraining order to stop city-contracted workers, who had torn off most of the roof that morning.

Shortly after that, the council voted to cut off $143,000 earmarked for Heritage to conduct several preservation projects for the city.

Judge’s Ruling

On Jan. 14, a Superior Court judge ruled that no construction could occur on the site until a trial was held. After that ruling, all three parties to the suit began the negotiations that resulted in Tuesday night’s settlement. The council voted 6 to 1, with Councilman John Acosta dissenting and Councilman Robert W. Luxembourger absent, to approve the settlement.

“I think it’s a good sign that the City Council and staff are reaching out and trying to solve some of the problems in the city,” said Alliance member Bob Lopez, who runs a downtown accounting firm.

David Ream, executive director of community development, said the settlement should be viewed as an opportunity for the city to move forward with redevelopment of the downtown area. He pointed to the end of the feud with Heritage as a particularly good sign. “It’s a chance for us to get back to a positive working relationship with a group that we’ve had a very rewarding relationship with for at least eight years,” he said.

Heritage spokesmen could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Terms Outlined

Terms of the settlement include:

- The Pacific Electric depot will be razed, but the facade along 4th street, including a corner through which trains entered the station, will be preserved and stored. Efforts will be made to incorporate it into another project, ideally within a restaurant or some other small development in the city, Ream said.

- The Salvation Army building at 4th and French streets will be rehabilitated for commercial uses. City Manager Robert C. Bobb noted that the amended contract calls for Urban Ventures Inc., the condominium developer, to outfit the Salvation Army building to be compatible with the Fiesta Marketplace, a Latino-oriented shopping center to be developed across French Street. The 194 condominiums will be built behind the rehabilitated building.

- Twenty single-family homes for low-income families will be built. The city will acquire and clear land for the houses and pay for the construction by a nonprofit housing firm. If the city fails to locate land or live up to those terms within nine months, a payment of $20,000 per unit will be made to the selected nonprofit firm.

- The contract with Heritage for various historic projects will be restored.

- The city will pay attorneys’ fees in the amount of $12,100 to Alliance attorney Salvador Sarmiento and $42,978 to Heritage attorney Fran Layton.

- The city will not destroy or “impair in any way the architectural quality, historical/cultural value or structural soundness” of the Yost Theater, 307 Spurgeon St., or the Hervey-Finley Building, 202 East 4th St., as a result of downtown redevelopment projects.

Alliance member Sam Romero echoed Lopez in praising the settlement but said it is just a “small step” in providing enough housing for the city’s poorest residents. He also called for the 20 units to be built in the impoverished Logan-Lacy neighborhood in the northeast section of the city.

Said fellow Alliance member Sal Mendoza: “Twenty units is a lot better than nothing.”