Foothills Sentry July 2024

Page 7 Foothills Sentry JULY 2024 •Burn where you buy • Don’t move firewood Wood may be infected • Inspect your trees Stop the Spread! Ways to help: Your choice can make the differnce Gold Spotted Oak Borer For more information and help, contact Mike Boeck at rockdad@cox.net. Fairhaven Memorial Day event brings observers together Fairhaven Memorial Park com- memorated Memorial Day with a program of band music, song, speeches and salutes presented to a standing-room only crowd who overflowed the designated seat- The OC Concert Band played patriotic music ahead of the formal pro- gram. The house at 688 Hewes will not become a temporary shelter for up to five families at a time. The Illumination Foundation is selling the property. Linda Martin, left, and Patricia Pokonny-Merickel set up a B-17 model in a display dedicated to a generation of Rosie the Riveters. Orange Mayor Dan Slater was a featured speaker at the event. Matthew Noell on fife, and John Davis on drum, relive the Spirit of ‘76. ing area and spread out with lawn chairs and blankets to the corners of the event area. The May 28 event was accom- panied with informational booths and displays. Foundation withdraws temporary housing facility in residential neighborhood By Tina Richards The Illumination Foundation has abandoned its plans to turn a five-bedroom home on Hewes Street into temporary housing for up to five families at a time, cit- ing neighborhood opposition as a factor in its decision to look else- where. A “For Sale” sign was posted at the property at 688 Hewes Street on June 12. The Foundation purchased the property in January, and began converting the bedrooms into small independent living units without alerting either the City of Orange or the neighbors of its in- tentions. The plan was to provide transitional housing for families (up to 30 people) for 90 days at a time. A workshop on the grounds would be converted to an office. Apparently unaware that it need- ed city approvals and/or permits, the Foundation was preparing to move in the first residents in early March. Suspicious activity Neighbors suspected some- thing unusual was happening when they saw multiple mattress- es and refrigerators being moved in. They began asking questions, learned that the premises were slated to be temporary housing for multiple families, and attend- ed the Feb. 27 city council meet- ing to express their concerns. That was the first the city had heard of the Illumination Founda- tion, or its plans for the home. Two public meetings ensued, with the Foundation explaining the need for such housing and claiming that the city had to treat the home as it would any other residence, that it did not need city permission to proceed. The Foun- dation reported that it owned four similar homes in other Orange County cities, had opened them without notifying those jurisdic- tions, and had been operating them for some time with “no trouble.” Those meetings were attended by Mayor Dan Slater, Council- woman Ana Gutierrez, Assistant City Manager Susan Galvan and planning staff. They listened to the Foundation’s presentation and a litany of resident objec- tions. The neighbors did not be- lieve a single-family community to be the right place for a tempo- rary housing facility that would produce an influx of “strangers” and up to 20 cars at a time, create noise and ignore fire safety. A scramble to catch up Caught off guard, just as the Hewes Street community was, city representatives told meeting attendees that they would “ask a lot of questions” and do every- thing possible to ensure the health and safety of the community. The meetings served only to further inflame the neighbors. They put up large banners on Hewes expressing their opposi- tion to the multi-family housing proposal and soliciting com- munity support. They opened a communications channel with city staff; groups of Hewes Street neighbors attended every sub- sequent city council meeting to keep the issue simmering. Meanwhile, city planners pro- vided the Foundation with a se- ries of “pre-occupancy concerns and conditions that it would ap- ply to any other residential dwell- ing of the same type in the same zone.” An exercise room was convert- ed into a bedroom without a per- mit; a kitchenette and air condi- tioning unit were installed with- out permits; bedrooms must be of a certain size to house more than two people; the proposed work- shop/office was illegal because it was not a resident’s home-based business. Sprinklers are required. Emergency egress was unclear in all bedrooms. Due to the number of expected occupants, a manual fire alarm and fire hydrant were required. Illuminations Foundation noti- fied the city, June 11, that it would not pursue the transitional living facility at 688 Hewes due to the magnitude of neighborhood op- position, which it, reportedly, had never before experienced. It also cited a desire to “work with the city, not against it. “ Photos by Tony Richards Photos by Tony Richards