And The Winner Is...

Three members won terrific prizes at May's general meeting. Rosemarie Williams collected a gift certificate to the Hair and Nail Mall, Brian Parrott won the handmade wooden frame by Ty Fitzsimmons Woodworking, and Kris Olsen received Green and Green: Masterworks, the beautiful hardcover book by Arts & Craft author, Bruce Smith and photographer, Alexander Vertikoff. Congratulations to our OTPA members!

OTPA's 15th Annual
Preservation Awards Banquet a Success!

On Sunday, May 3rd, Citrus City Grille was filled with preservation enthusiasts, residents and our own "VIPs" Mayor Carolyn Cavecche and Mayor pro tem, Tita Smith. All were anxiously waiting to hear "who won". To read more about this exciting event and view photos, click here.

In Memorium

Anne Siebert was one of OTPA's founders and an ardent and active supporter through these many years. On April 7, 2009, she lost her battle with cancer. Anne served on the OTPA Board, in various positions for many years including President. Both she and her late husband, Russ, chaired the OTPA booth during the International Street Fair for over ten years. Yesterday, a gathering of family and friends paid tribute at the Plaza with Mayor Pro Tem, Tita Smith, presenting a Proclamation for Anne's various contributions to the City of Orange and offered it to her children, Dave, Pete and Carolyn.

OTPA would like to take a moment to say thank you Anne...you will be missed.

If you would like to read the article from the O.C. Register, please click here http://www.ocregister.com/articles/siebert-old-towne-2361923-orange-people

May is National Preservation Month

It's up to all of us to ensure that our favorite historic homes, buildings, landmarks and communities are protected and preserved. National Preservation Month was established by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to bring about the awareness of the importance of preservation. For more information, or to see how you might get involved, go to www.preservationnation.org/take-action/preservation-month/

OTPA will be celebrating with our annual Preservation Awards Dinner on Sunday, May 3rd at Citrus City Grill. We hope you'll join us. For more information or to purchase tickets to this exciting event, click here.

General Plan Update

4/14/09 Update: A designated group from OTPA's Board of Directors, met with Mayor Carolyn Cavecche, Director of Community Development, Alice Angus, and the City's Principal Planner, Anna Pehoushek. We voiced our concerns about the Old Towne Orange portion of the City's proposed General Plan. They listened to us and, hopefully, are taking our suggestions into consideration.

We will also be setting up meetings with each member of the City Council. However, until the General Plan is adopted, we must stay alert and involved. We'll keep you updated, so please check back here from time to time!

As many of you may be aware, OTPA sent all members and single family residences within the boundaries of historic Old Towne a flyer briefly describing some of the City's General Plan items that will directly and, we feel, adversely affect those of us living in Old Towne. We provided you with a Letter to the City letting them know that you were opposed to these items. If you have not already done so, would you please take a moment to sign and return the letter to the City now? Mail your letters to: Anna Pehoushek, City of Orange, 300 E. Chapman, Orange, CA 92866. For those that didn't get a chance to read the flyer and letter, you can download them by clicking on these pdfs.

Read PDF's Letter | Flyer.

We also suggest that you visit the City's website page that directly deals with the proposed changes. Click here. Click on any of the pdfs of the various Focus Areas to view a map of the proposed land use changes and the Draft Environmental Report.

OTPA received many emails of support and we thank you for that. We also received some questions from you and hope that the following information will help.

Frequently Asked Questions
Regarding the General Plan

Q: Can I get a copy of the general plan?

A: “Each city and county within California is required to adopt a general plan update and update that plan at regular intervals. The purpose of the general plan is to anticipate and plan for ‘the physical development of the county or city, and any land outside of its boundaries which bears relation to its planning’.” (I-2, GP) The associated Environmental Impact Report “is intended to provide information to public agencies, the general public, and decision makers regarding potential
environmental impacts related to adoption and implementation of the updated Orange General Plan (p.1-1 EIR) The General Plan (GP) and the associated Environmental Impact Report (EIR) are both available on the city’s website (www.cityoforange.org). They’re both long and detailed reports, so if you only read one, we would recommend reading the EIR.

Q: Who is spearheading this?

A: The City of Orange is updating the current general plan, which is updated approximately every 10 years.

Q: Please give more details about widening Glassell.

A: Included in the plan is the widening of Glassell from La Veta to Collins excluding the Plaza, utilizing right of ways. (EIR volume 1page 5.14-30) The GP also states that “The City plans to prohibit on-street parking on all streets except those classified as Secondary or Collector streets in order to facilitate improved traffic flow along Orange’s major arterials.” (EIR p.14-51)

For more frequentlty asked questions regading the General Plan, please click here.

Check out our Links and Resources page for additional tours and events in Orange and the county.