ORANGE : City Rejects Plan to Move Historic Home

The City Council last week rejected a preservation group’s plan to relocate a historic home, killing a second proposal to save the Victorian cottage this year.

The building was threatened with demolition after a plan to turn it into a group home for drug-addicted babies fell through several months ago.

Then the Old Towne Preservation Assn. purchased the 1895 Queen Anne house from the city for $1, hoping to relocate it from Pixley Street and Almond Avenue to a lot in the Nutwood tract.

But the city rejected the preservation group’s plan after inspecting site plans and hearing opponents testify that the 22-foot home is too big for the La Veta Avenue lot.

Any property owner building on the lot at 222 E. La Veta Ave. would need to designate 10 feet of the land to the city for potential widening of La Veta Avenue, a requirement that would make the property too small to accommodate the Queen Anne house, opponents said.

The building must be removed from its current location by September, when construction of a 15-unit home for seniors is expected to begin.

Other residents interested in purchasing the Queen Anne house can contact the city. If the building is not purchased, it will be demolished.