Foothills Sentry February 2022

Page 3 Foothills Sentry February 2022 By Tina Richards “Orange has a positive sense of self, a clear identity; it sees its heritage as significant and Old Towne as a treasure.” That assessment was made by Orange Interim City Manager Tom Hatch, speaking to a Zoom audience at the annual member- ship meeting of the Old Towne Preservation Association, held Jan. 12. Hatch, along with Mayor Mark Murphy and City Council- woman Arianna Barrios, was a guest speaker at the meeting. He praised OTPA for its preservation efforts, saying, “I’m the new guy in town, this group is seasoned.” Preservation a priority Noting that one of the require- ments for the city manager posi- tion was to “foster a commitment to historic preservation” among city staffers, he reported that a training video is being created to help achieve that goal. In addi- tion, the city has created a posi- tion for an historic preservation intern who starts in February. In keeping with the city’s focus on heritage and history, Hatch cit- ed a virtual cultural history tour of the Cypress Barrio and a walk- ing tour of the plaza area avail- able on the Orange website. Paseo pending Mayor Mark Murphy thanked the group for bearing up under the adjustments the Paseo/Glas- sell Street closure inflicted on Old Towne residents and prom- ised “plenty of opportunities” for public input before a decision is made on its future. “We will find out if the Paseo was a good tem- porary solution or whether it pro- vided lessons learned to benefit the whole community,” he said. Murphy reported that the city is maintaining business as usual as COVID uncertainty continues; and that the council extended an urgency ordinance passed to miti- gate recent state legislation (SB9) that removes many land-use de- cisions from local jurisdictions. “We haven’t tested that ordinance yet because we’ve received no applications from anyone lever- aging new state laws,” he ex- plained, “at least not yet.” District 1 will change Arianna Barrios, who repre- sents District 1 encompassing Old Towne, reported that she is continually collaborating with OTPA on issues important to the neighborhood and encouraged constituents to contact her with comments and concerns. She also pointed out that this is an election year and Districts 3, 4 and 6 will be voting on a council representative. District 1 will also be up this year. She was elected for a two-year term as opposed to the standard four years to keep the council seats staggered. That is, half of the four-year terms ex- pire every two years. The city is redrawing its dis- tricts based on the 2020 census. District 1 experienced the larg- est population growth due to new high-density housing in the Town and Country area. Because dis- tricts must be relatively equal in population, District 1 will have to shrink, meaning every district will change. She said she is focused on keeping Old Towne together and would like the Cypress Barrio to be in District 1.” OTPA meeting puts a shine on City of Orange Boots on the ground Barrios reported that she meets monthly with Chapman Univer- sity’s President Daniel Strupa and Vice President of Community Relations Alisa Driscoll. “We talk about what’s going on in our neighborhood. We’ve identified 20 problem houses and I went door to door to 10 of them. We explained the rules of living in a neighborhood. Not everyone likes to stay up until 3 a.m.” Barrios had asked the city for a report on code enforcement at the Jan. 11 council meeting. “Orange has fewer code enforcement offi - cers than other cities of its size,” she told the virtual audience. “I want to find out what violations we’re seeing, and how many.” Aprimary purpose of the OTPA annual meeting is to elect board members. Outgoing President Tony Trabuco voluntarily stepped down after one year of service, handing the gavel back to Sandy Quinn. The new board has been enlarged by seven members as it takes on more responsibility. “Expanding the board is transfor- mational,” Quinn said. Beloved letter carrier hangs up her mail bag after 35 years Residents of the Jamestown/ Colony neighborhood in Orange said “goodbye” to the letter car- rier who had delivered their mail for 35 years by decorating mail boxes with balloons, flowers and love. Terri Fuller retired at the end of 2021. She delivered more than mail to the community, supple- menting envelopes and pack- ages with conversation, smiles and treats for the neighborhood dogs. Residents report than when the dogs heard her truck pull up, they’d start wagging their tails in anticipation of the ever-ready snack. Homeowners would meet her at the mail box for a short chat or a friendly wave. She was so entrenched in the community, that she was invited to block parties and neighbor- hood gatherings. In a letter announcing her re- tirement to the residents, she wrote, “You are like family to me. I’ve watched your children grow up, and have children of their own. How special is that?” New equestrian laws in effect California motorists will be re- quired to follow several new traf- fic safety laws that were signed by Gov. Gavin Newson in 2021. As of Jan. 1, a new state law, AB974, requires a person under the age of 18 to wear a properly fitted and fastened helmet when riding an equestrian animal on a paved road. Equestrian animals include horses, mules and don- keys. AB 974 does not apply to riders in a parade or festival, or when crossing a paved road from an unpaved one. In addition, riders or their ani- mals are required to wear reflec - tive gear or a lamp when riding after sundown. The new year also ushered in AB798, which modifies the Cali - fornia Vehicle Code to include tribal emergency vehicles on the list of vehicles that drivers are re- quired to pull over for. TAWC will host Friendship Tea The Tustin Area Woman’s Club will hold its Friendship Tea on March 12 at the Santa Ana Elks Lodge. Proceeds will benefit the TAWC Scholarship program and other philanthropies. Doors open at 10 a.m. for shopping at vendor booths and browsing. The lun- cheon begins at 11 a.m. The reg- istration deadline is March 1 and the fee is $40 per person. Contact chefbarb@cox.net for more info. Letter carrier Terri Fuller was treated to mailboxes decorated in her honor by the residents she had served for 35 years.