Downtowns Looking Up

Re “Reinventing Downtown: Placentia,” Jan. 22:

Kudos to the city of Placentia for revitalizing the Santa Fe area and providing a safer business and consumer atmosphere by replacing 50-year-old buildings, taverns and bars with renovated rental units and family-owned restaurants.

As described by the local merchants, the changes have brought renewed interest to the area. However, the business and local community should beware of leaving the fate of the Santa Fe area in the hands of economic growth alone.

Lifelong residents like Margaret Duncan are right in feeling that it will take more than just a face lift to solve that area’s public drinking and loitering problem.

One of the main contributors to public drinking is the sale of single cans and bottles of beer. Single cans and bottles are often sold at a lower price in low-income communities.

Single sales can increase youth access and drinking under the influence, since the container can easily be concealed in a paper bag and make it difficult for law enforcement to identify the crime.

By strengthening the conditional use permit to prohibit the sale of single cans and bottles as proposed by the Placentia Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Coalition, the City Council would be taking steps in preventing these problems.

We can support policies to reduce public drinking by requiring new licensees and their staff to attend special training on responsible beverage service.

FRANK BURCIAGA

Co-Chair

Placentia ATOD Coalition

* Thank you for your fabulous series of articles on the rehabilitation and rediscovery of downtown districts. Being a very proud resident of the Old Towne Orange area, I find it very interesting that after other cities have demolished their historic downtown buildings, they are now are trying to re-create this image, a sense of the past and a sense of community.

Old Towne Orange is commonly known as the antique capital of Southern California but there are a lot of other things happening in our district, including a variety of charming restaurants and the arrival of the new law school at Chapman University.

We also have a real residential area surrounding our downtown. There are approximately 1,300 homes built before 1940. Like most of the other areas in your articles, at one time this was a blighted area. Currently we have several young families moving into the neighborhood to enjoy a sense of the past while contributing to the quality of living here.

Our downtown area is built around an oval park. (People call it the “circle,” but the actual dimensions make it an oval.) This park was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The business district, the spoke streets from the center park, was placed on this prestigious list in 1982. There are eight other buildings or homes in the mile-square, combined business and residential area also on the National Register. The most recent addition is an 1880s frame church that has been converted to P.J.’s Abbey, a new restaurant. There is now an application before the State Historic Preservation office to place the residential area on the National Register.

I know nothing about politics. I’m not only politically incorrect, I’m politically inept. But I’m confused that our city officials discussed if they want to support the nomination. Why would they be against national recognition of a neighborhood in their city, on the same level as Mount Vernon and Monticello, and the other distinguished property listed locally already? Why would they be against giving tax credits to income producing property in the district?

JOAN CRAWFORD

Orange