Huntington Beach advisory panel pledges support for preserving Wintersburg

Historical preservation advocates from around Southern California attended a Huntington Beach advisory board meeting Wednesday to express support for protecting Historic Wintersburg, a property with ties to early 1900s Japanese American history that reportedly is for sale and could become a storage facility.

Six members of the Historic Resources Board voted to write a letter expressing their desire for the land at Warner Avenue and Nichols Lane to become a historical park. Board member Charles Epting was absent.

The vote came after Wintersburg advocates said last month that the property’s owner, trash disposal company Republic Services, was looking to sell the 4.4-acre plot to Public Storage.

The news shocked groups that had been under the impression that Republic was onboard with selling the land and its buildings so they could be preserved and protected.

Republic Services and Public Storage have declined to comment about the matter.

Wintersburg contains six structures, including a Depression-era Japanese Presbyterian mission. The National Trust for Historic Preservation named Wintersburg a “national treasure” in 2015 and one of America’s 11 most endangered historic places in 2014. But it has no official government protection.

Mary Urashima, chairwoman of the Historic Wintersburg Preservation Task Force, a city-sponsored ad hoc committee, told the Historic Resources Board that despite productive talks with Republic last year, there has been no contact since and the group was told about Republic’s intentions by city officials, not Republic.

“We hoped that Republic would come back to the table,” she said. “We hope that they will reconsider.”

Steve Nagano, a board member with the Little Tokyo Historical Society in Los Angeles, said California had more than 40 “Japan towns” at one time but is now down to three.

Nagano said Huntington Beach would have “more value because of its history.” Preserving Wintersburg, he added, would “serve as a beacon for many other cities and ethnicities.”

Nancy Oda, president of the Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition, which seeks to preserve the memory of a World War II-era detention facility for Japanese, German and Italian immigrants in Tujunga, urged Huntington Beach to preserve its history.

“This town is known as Surf City … I think you want to be known for more than that. I think you want to leave a legacy for your children,” Oda said.

Board Chairwoman Kathie Schey said Wintersburg needs to be a place people can visit. It is currently fenced.

“You can write all the books you want, but the average person isn’t going to read them,” she said. “Being able to touch something … it’s worth thousands and thousands of words.”

City Councilman Erik Peterson said it’s unlikely the city could maintain Wintersburg as a park. It likely would need to be a county, state or federal park, he said.

“We can’t maintain our own parks and our own infrastructure,” Peterson said. “To add something that needs care, that needs upkeep, is just a little too much for us right now.”

bradley.zint@latimes.com

Twitter: @BradleyZint