Homes and Shops at Odds

Veronica Ruiz and her father, Mario Ruiz, wanted to open a shop on their vacant property to repair cars and turn a profit.

Instead, they were accused of trying to destroy one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods.

The showdown, which took place almost two years ago, typifies an ongoing debate over whether the Logan neighborhood in northwest Santa Ana should be for homes or industry.

The Ruizes eventually lost their battle when the City Council sided with homeowners and voted 6 to 1 to deny a zoning change needed for the business.

But debate continues.

The neighborhood is situated around Logan Street, which ends at the Santa Ana Freeway to the north and Santa Ana Boulevard three blocks to the south. It is a mix of modest homes and mostly industrial shops, such as petroleum and roofing companies. Tractors are parked next to Hondas.

Many residents say the businesses are slowly destroying their sense of community. They fought the Ruizes’ car shop, contending it would tip a fragile balance between the homes and businesses.

“There’s always someone who wants to keep chopping at the neighborhood,” said Sam Romero, who was born and raised in Logan but now lives in another Santa Ana neighborhood.

Others contend they have a right to do what they want with their land.

Mario Ruiz, who still has hopes that he and his daughter can win approval for an auto shop, says the area’s housing already is in decline, and that a business could benefit the neighborhood. A city report has also indicated that Logan has “deteriorating housing” and “depressed property values.”

“Really,” said the elder Ruiz, “that is an industrial area. Look at the freeway, the bus station, the train station.”

Standing on his daughter’s land, which overlooks the Santa Ana Freeway, Ruiz said it wouldn’t make sense to build a home that would be subjected to noise from hundreds of cars each minute.

Ruiz and other property owners with vacant residential lots said it was cheaper to demolish the homes that once stood on the parcels than to bring them up to city code.

He said he can give more back to the community--and the tax collector--by opening a profitable auto repair business. Others say they could almost triple their property value--from $50,000 to an estimated $125,000 in one case--if they could sell their vacant lots for business uses.

“We feel discriminated against. We should be able to do with our property what we please,” Esther Hernandez, a Logan property owner, said. “We don’t mean to harm anyone, but this place will never be what it once was.”

Logan was settled in the first half of the century as a residential neighborhood, but was rezoned to heavy industrial uses by 1929 to make way for the Santa Fe railroad. The area experienced a number of zoning changes over the years, and by 1978, homes and businesses had become neighbors.

The area includes 116 privately owned parcels. About a dozen others are owned by the city or Caltrans. Of the privately owned parcels, about 85 are zoned for homes. The remaining 31 lots are zoned primarily for industrial or commercial uses.

Resident Frances Orozco, who recently built a home on East Stafford Street, said businesses and homes might be able to exist side by side if businesses followed the rules. She alleged that some shops violate city ordinances, such as those relating to noise.

Orozco said she would like to see the city rezone the whole neighborhood as residential just to make it free from such annoyances as the heavy trucks she says tear up the streets.

She said Logan remains a good place to raise children.

“I was brought up here,” she said. “I like the neighborhood. . . . Everybody watches out for everyone.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

NEIGHBORHOODS Logan

Bounded by: Santa Ana Freeway on the north, Santa Ana Boulevard on the south, Santiago Avenue on the west and Lincoln Avenue on the east

Population: About 335; the rest of the area is businesses

Hot topic: Whether homes and businesses can coexist side by side