New Santa Ana | Tag Archives: park santiago

The NIMBYs won’t be able to stop the proposed townhomes at 2525 N. Main St.

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Editor Posted in Development, Housing, Jessie Lopez, Phil Bacerra, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Nationwide homebuilder Taylor Morrison hosted a community meeting about the new proposed townhome community at 2525 N. Main St. last night at the First Congregational Church of Santa Ana, located in the Park Santiago Neighborhood. This was done in order to comply with the Santa Ana Sunshine Ordinance.

Interestingly the Council Member who represents Ward 3, which includes the Park Santiago Neighborhood, Jessie Lopez, was not at the community meeting. But Mayor Pro Tem Phil Bacerra was. Two candidates who ran against Lopez were also at the meeting.

Lopez has no reason not to vote to change the zoning so that the townhome project can be built. She has few supporters in Park Santiago and will be in office for the rest of her four-year term. She can vote for the zoning change knowing that this will curry favor with the developer – and result in campaign contributions when she runs again in a few more years.

Who do you support for the O.C. Board of Supervisors in District 2?

Bacerra won his City Council seat with support from the NIMBYs in Park Santiago but his next election will be district-specific so these folks will be of no use to him. He too then can vote for the zoning change and not sweat any repercussions.

What about the rest of the City Council? Now that we have ward-specific City Council elections they can all vote for the zoning change and not worry about antagonizing any voters.

Why would they not support this project? The developer only wants to build about 81 townhomes on a 4.38-acre site. The previously proposed apartment project would have featured at least 256 units.

The townhomes will start at about $800K and add badly needed new housing stock to our city. The residents that will buy these townhomes will surely be well-heeled and will be a boon to the area businesses.

The NIMBYs keep pushing for a new office building at 2525 which is insane on many levels. For one thing office buildings generate far more traffic than residential units. Moreover there is zero demand for more office space in Santa Ana. Thanks to COVID-19 many folks now can work from home and as a result there are empty office buildings all over our city.

This townhome project will also add millions of dollars in new taxes to the city’s coffers, which can’t hurt.

Most of the NIMBYs are retired and barely contribute anything to the city’s coffers. Quite a few of them inherited their homes and are slowly dying off or moving – selling their homes for huge amounts of money. The City Council should ignore them and do what is right for our city.

Can the NIMBYs come up with even one vote against the zoning change? Who would that be exactly?

Consider that the developer hired the lobbying firm run by former Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle. That means he will be working hard behind the scenes to buy off the City Council Members.

This battle is already over for the Park Santiago NIMBYs.

Townhome development proposed for the empty lot at 2525 N. Main St.

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Editor Posted in Development, Housing, Planning, Santa Ana 6 Comments

The nationwide homebuilder Taylor Morrison has apparently acquired the vacant lot at 2525 N. Main St., in north Santa Ana, adjacent to Santiago Park.

You might recall that previously a different developer tried to build a luxury apartment project at that location but the neighborhood NIMBYs in the Park Santiago Neighborhood were able to shut down that development.

The previous developer eventually had to raze the office building at that lot when the local homeless vagrants kept causing problems there including setting it on fire.

There is now an unofficial skateboard park on the concrete pad where the office building once stood. The police periodically chase out the skateboarders but they just come back.

Opposing the apartments completely backfired as it will resulted in more malicious mischief by transients. The only entity to benefit from all this has been the Discovery Cube as they have been using the parking lot at the location for overflow parking. Currently that lot is full almost all day due to the ongoing Bubblefest event at the Discovery Cube.

Taylor Morrison will be holding a community meeting about the new proposed townhome community at 2525 on April 20 at the First Congregational Church of Santa Ana, located in the Park Santiago Neighborhood at 2555 Santiago Street, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. You can RSVP by emailing Uriel Zamarripa at tmsantaana92705@gmail.com or by calling 714-623-7512.

Hopefully the Park Santiago NIMBYs will not cause this developer any trouble. We need more housing in Santa Ana and this development will generate much needed tax revenue for the City of Santa Ana. Building townhomes on this vacant lot will also reduce crime caused by the vagrants who are currently hanging out there.

North Santa Ana has a new homegrown skate park

Posted on March 29, 2022 by Editor Posted in Development, Neighborhood Associations, Parks and Recreation, Santa Ana, Skateboards 2 Comments

North Santa Ana NIMBYs stopped a luxury apartment development at 2525 N. Main St. The office building that was at that location was burned by transients and eventually had to be demolished.

The enterprising locals have turned the empty lot into a skate park of their own creation complete with several homemade ramps.

The City of Santa Ana would never put a city skate park at Santiago Park because of course the NIMBYs would not have it. But now that is exactly what they are stuck with – but worse it is an illicit and unpermitted skate park.

By now the lot should be a luxury apartment development that would have generated millions of dollars in annual tax revenue for the City of Santa Ana.

The NIMBYs won the development battle but it was a pyrrhic victory. But the locals are sure enjoying their new skate park!

11 transients were arrested during a cleanup at Santiago Park

Posted on January 13, 2022 by Editor Posted in Civic Affairs, Crime, Drugs, homeless, Parks and Recreation, SAPD 1 Comment

The Santiago Creek area, in Santa Ana’s Santiago Park, got cleaned up again on Wednesday morning, as a large scale, multi-agency initiative involving the City of Santa Ana, the City of Orange, Cal Trans, California Highway Patrol, City Net (a homeless outreach provider contracted by the City), and the County of Orange Mental Health Services Agency worked collaboratively to address homelessness at various locations in that area.

Cal Trans and the City of Santa Ana contract crews cleaned the area of any abandoned property and graffiti. City Net also offered services to 23 individuals experiencing homelessness but only 1 individual accepted shelter.

City Net will continue to connect with individuals experiencing homelessness in the city through ongoing case management support.

Additionally, 11 individuals were arrested for outstanding warrants, trespassing or other SAMC violations. Regrettably such individuals often end up right back on the street in short time.

Learn more about the City of Santa Ana’s work to address homelessness on our data dashboard at https://www.santa-ana.org/HomelessData.

Demolition of the dilapidated office building at 2525 N. Main St. to start soon

Posted on March 27, 2021 by Editor Posted in Development, Public Works, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The City of Santa Ana has announced the pending demolition of the dilapidated office building located at 2525 N. Main St. The owner of that building will be spearheading the demolition.

By now there should have been a luxury apartment building at that location but the NIMBYs in the adjacent Park Santiago Neighborhood succeeded in cancelling that development when current Mayor of Santa Ana Vince Sarmiento flipped his vote, after fellow Councilman David Penaloza did the same.

Stopping the development however did not pan out well for the neighborhood as the empty building has become a refuge for drug users and other vagrants. The developer initially paid for security guards at night then tried to just board up the building but the local homeless kept breaking in. They could be seen at night streaming into the building.

The City of Santa Ana granted a demolition permit on March 15, 2021. The scope of the demolition application includes the demolition of the building and capping of onsite utilities. No subsurface soil or site grading work were approved under the permit issued by the City. After the approved demolition work has been completed, the site is to be fenced, secured, and maintained on an ongoing basis.

The property owner anticipates preparation work for the demolition of the building will begin the week of March 29th and will start with the clearing of the building interior and capping of utilities. The demolition of the building will follow soon after.

According to the City of Santa Ana, the property owner of 2525 N. Main is entitled to and applied for a permit to demolish the building to address the nuisance concerns on the property. A demolition permit is an over-the-counter permit that may be obtained by any property owner prior to initiating the demolition of an existing structure.

The City of Santa Ana also stated that the property is a public nuisance and has been a source of numerous community and public safety concerns since 2019. The City adheres to code enforcement procedures from the Santa Ana Municipal Code to obtain compliance by the property owner. The City issued multiple Administrative Citations and fines culminating in a Notice to Abate Public Nuisance issued to the owner by the City on February 4, 2021. As part of the due process, the City also presented the Notice to Abate at a Public Nuisance Hearing conducted on March 15, 2021. The City is awaiting the determination by a Hearing Officer, which is due within 30 days from the date of the hearing. If the decision is in the City’s favor, it will enable the City to pursue an inspection and abatement warrant with the courts.

The City of Santa Aa did not change its enforcement procedures on this property from standard protocols to abate a public nuisance on private properties. Similar to 2525 N. Main, the locations listed below were recent vacant-property sites of continual complaints associated with transients, trash, debris, and the property owners’ inability to properly secure or maintain. All received notices and escalated fines and resulting in a Notice to Abate issued by the City. These property owners, as with the property owner of 2525 N. Main, opted to demolish the boarded structures. This action greatly reduced the city calls for service at those locations.

1821 N. Grand Ave., (Marie Calendar’s site)
2107 E. 17th St. (Knowlwood’s)
1703 E. 17th St. (Monroe’s Furniture)
2056 W. Civic Center (residential)

The demolition of the site will not allow the previously approved apartment project to be developed on the property. The demolition permit has nothing to do with the contested project planned on the site. The approval of the apartment project was rescinded by the City Council in May of 2020.

The demolition of the site will not allow a new housing development to occur. The demolition of the building does not change the fact that the current Professional zoning of the property does not permit any residential uses.

Noise sources associated with demolition activities are prohibited between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, including Saturday, or any time on Sunday or a federal holiday. For noise concerns relating to demolition activities you may call (714) 834-4211.

There was a drive-by shooting in Santa Ana’s Park Santiago neighborhood

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Editor Posted in Crime, Gangs, Guns, Santa Ana, SAPD 4 Comments

A drive-by shooting was reported in Santa Ana’s Park Santiago N eighborhood yesterday, at the 2500 block of Larchmont, at the corner of Joana, in broad daylight at 3:22 p.m.

Four SAPD vehicles responded to the scene as well as a department helicopter.

Two victims, allegedly age 18-25, were injured in the shooting and apparently made their way to a local hospital after getting shot.

The shooters were reportedly two Hispanic males. One of them was sitting on the corner with an “OC” tattoo on his lower right leg and the other was standing on the south side of Joana. The tattooed suspect shot once at two Hispanic males in a black Nissan 4-door coupe, apparently aiming at the driver. The passenger in the black Nissan leaned out and and apparently was able to fire one shot back.

The driver of the Nissan then drove his car from Joana, turned right, heading north, into Larchmont, where the passenger shot at the first shooter.

A neighbor said she heard a total of three shots. She saw two men hop into a gold-colored car that came into the area through Grovemont, from Lincoln.

Neighbors were shocked by the shooting as this type of crime is rare in the Park Santiago area. There are questions now as to whether or not any of the victims or suspects actually live in the area or were just passing through.

The SAPD did not issue a press release about the incident.

Many of the residents of the Park Santiago neighborhood opposed a proposed luxury apartment development at 2525 N. Main last year. The City Council flipped on that project and it was derailed. The dilapidated office building at that site is now a focal point of nefarious activities by drug users and transients who hang out at Santiago Park.

A Defund the Police march is set for this Friday at Santiago Park

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Editor Posted in African Americans, Civic Affairs, Civil Rights, Santa Ana, SAPD 2 Comments

It appears that a Black Lives Matter march will be held at Santiago Park on Friday at 4 p.m. The address on the invitation is 2628 Santiago St. The invitation notes that there will be art and music after the march. They are asking those who attend to wear a mask.

That location is the softball field at the end of Santiago St., right in the middle of the Park Santiago Neighborhood. There is not much parking there and Santiago is blocked so you cannot use it to access Memory Lane. If you take Memory Lane due East from North Main St. you can normally park along Santiago Creek, in the wash. But I believe the park entrance remains closed to the public due to the pandemic.

The SAPD has reacted to the announcement with a Tweet announcing that they will be fully staffed and will coordinate with their law enforcement and community partners surrounding the park area to maximize safety for those involved.

Ironically the theme of the event is “Defund the Police.”

Santa Ana Recall Election campaign signs posted illegally

Posted on March 23, 2020 by Editor Posted in 2020 Elections, Ballot Measures, Cecilia Iglesias, Crime, Elections, Housing, Politics, Santa Ana 6 Comments

Backers of the campaign to recall Santa Ana City Councilwoman Ceci Iglesias have put signs up in a Caltrans work area on N. Main St. and Edgewood, at the 5 Freeway. This is a blatant violation of the Santa Ana political sign ordinance which prohibits putting signs up in public areas. This work zone is also off limits to the public so the recall campaign supporters engaged in trespassing when they put up these signs.

I reported this on the MySantaAna phone app this morning. I expect the signs will be taken down soon.

This is the type of behavior I have come to expect from the recall supporters, who are mostly NIMBYs from the Park Santiago neighborhood and disgruntled members of the Santa Ana Police Officers Association.

The NIMBYs are upset because Iglesias voted to support the development of a luxury apartment building at 2525 N. Main St.

The police officers are upset because Iglesias refused to support their huge pay raise, which passed without her support.

Iglesias was actually instrumental in convincing the developer to greatly reduce the density of this project.

In related news we posted a video, above, of paid signature gatherers who were collecting signatures at Santa Ana College on a related ballot referendum, to overturn the City of Santa Ana’s approval of the 2525 N. Main St. development. The signature gatherers can be heard in the video telling voters that this project will displace the Discovery Cube – a blatant lie as this project will actually result in the Discovery Cube gaining access to badly needed additional parking spaces at 2525 N. Main St.

We also caught the signature gatherers blatantly blocking a public sidewalk in the Park Santiago neighborhood, by the 2525 N. Main St. property. That violation was also reported on the MySantaAna phone app.

The entitled NIMBYs who are supporting these ballot referendums are clearly willing to break the law to get their way. Santa Ana’s voters should remember this when the recall election comes up on May 19.

These same NIMBY’s by the way are currently lying again, on the Nextdoor website, about a recent killing that took place at Santiago Park. The killing happened at the entrance to that park, as a group of suspects attacked and killed a homeless man. The NIMBY’s right away blamed the 2525 N. Main St. development for this murder.

In reality if the 2525 N. Main St. project was actually progressing it would currently be in the framing state and there would be security around the clock. There would be less crime in the Park Santiago neighborhood.

The NIMBY’s recalcitrance and obstinance has actually made the Park Santiago neighborhood less safe!

A brazen burglar stole a security camera off a porch of a Park Santiago home

Posted on February 11, 2017 by Editor Posted in Crime, homeless, Jose Solorio, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Santiago Park burglary suspect

A brazen burglar stole a security camera right off a home in Santa Ana’s Park Santiago Neighborhood on February 9, but the camera caught his image and now the home owner is hopeful that someone will recognize the suspect.

The suspect was wearing a hooded poncho, khaki pants and black work boots. Continue reading→

There is a lot to love about Santa Ana despite the ongoing gang war

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Editor Posted in Arts and Culture, Civic Affairs, Crime, Education, Family, Food, Restaurants, Santa Ana, Working Families, Youth Activities 2 Comments

I get a little tired about the constant bashing of Santa Ana. Yes the ongoing gang war sucks but there is still a lot to love about our city, such as:

$3 movies at the MainPlace Mall

When a new movie comes out my kids and I will quickly label it as either a “must-see” or a “$3 movie.” Most films are in the latter category (and a lot of them end up on our Redbox and Netflix list). While I would love it if there was a first run movie theater in Santa Ana I really like being able to go to the Picture Show at the MainPlace Mall to see movies that have been out for a few weeks, if not months, for only $3 (and only $2 on Tuesdays).

The MainPlace Mall

I really dislike South Coast Plaza. Who can afford what the stores there have to offer? But the MainPlace Mall is just the ticket with a decent array of stores and anchors and a great food selection that now includes wood-fired pizza at Blaze Pizza and bbq ribs at the new Lucille’s. There is ample parking and two frozen yogurt places – plus my eye doctor. The previous owners of the MainPlace Mall, Westfield, just sold the shopping center to a group of developers. I hope they don’t mess it up! Continue reading→

A fire broke out this afternoon at Santiago Park’s historic log cabin

Posted on April 4, 2015 by Editor Posted in Crime, Fires, Parks and Recreation, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Picture Courtesy of the Park Santiago Neigborhood Association’s Facebook page

A fire broke out this afternoon at the log cabin located at Santiago Park. The cabin was not occupied at the time. Santiago Park is located off of Memory Lane and Main St., just north of the 5 Freeway, in north Santa Ana. The Orange County Fire Authority has not yet reported about the fire on their Twitter feed or their Facebook page.

My son saw several fire trucks and police cars at the park and the fire was also reported on the Park Santiago Neighborhood Association’s Facebook page. They also reported that the fire was started by embers from a nearby bush/tree fire. Continue reading→

Drive by shooting in the Park Santiago Neighborhood?

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Editor Posted in Crime, Santa Ana 9 Comments

Graphic courtesy of CrimeMapping.com

Crime is rising even as scores of yuppies are moving into Santa Ana’s Park Santiago Neighborhood. It has been a rude awakening for those who were expecting a vibrant city, not one awash in criminal activity.

This struck particularly close to home on June 4, at 7:19 pm, when there was allegedly a drive by shooting at the 900 block of E. 19th St, according to CrimeMapping and a commenter on the Park Santiago Nextdoor website. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana Lawn Bowling Club is hosting an Open House on May 10

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Editor Posted in Entertainment, Gerardo Mouet, Parks and Recreation, Santa Ana, Seniors, Sports 9 Comments

The Santa Ana Lawn Bowling Club no longer lists their members or officers on their website. Perhaps they took that information down after we revealed that hardly anyone from Santa Ana actually participates in this organization.

So who are these people who are using our public park for their own entertainment, even though most of them don’t live here? In 1935 & 1936 the 1st lawn bowling green in Santiago Park was constructed with public funding from the Work Projects Administration (WPA) program. In the summer of 1938 the first lawn bowl was rolled. Popularity of the sport created a need for the second “green” which was constructed in 1952. Continue reading→

Burglars targeting homes in north Santa Ana

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Editor Posted in Crime, Santa Ana 9 Comments

Neighbors in north Santa Ana’s Floral Park and Park Santiago neighborhoods have been buzzing about an increase in burglaries in their areas over the past few weeks. This comes just after the Santa Ana police officers got a new contract and, I am told, that the City Council has extended an offer to their current Temp Chief of Police, Carlos Rojas.

The City of Santa Ana generally looks out for these neighborhoods as they are filled with VIPs, including Mayor Miguel Pulido, who lives in Floral Park, and Parks and Agency Director Gerardo Mouet, who lives in Park Santiago.

One suspected burglar, pictured above, has been seen zipping around Park Santiago on a motor bike and he was even followed by a resident, who asked him if he lives here. He threatened to call the police but left after the concerned resident invited him to do so. Continue reading→

Cub Scout Pack 26 Blue and Gold Banquet set for tonight at 7 pm

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Editor Posted in Entertainment, Family, Santa Ana, Youth Activities Leave a comment

Santa Ana’s Cub Scout Pack 26 is hosting their annual Blue & Gold Banquet, which is a celebration of the anniversary of the Cub Scouts, tonight, Friday, February 22, 2013, at 7:00 p.m., at First Congregational Church of Santa Ana, located at 2555 Santiago St., in Santa Ana’s Park Santiago neighborhood.

This is a great opportunity for your family to find out what the Cub Scouts are all about! Feel free to come on by and get to know us. This years banquet will be a potluck. Pack 26 is asking each scout family to sign up to bring either a side dish, salad or a main dish. Dessert will be provided by the Pack. If you are a guest of Pack 26, don’t worry about bringing a dish, but please do let them know that you will be stopping by. The contact information is below. Continue reading→