The Natural Resources Element covers a wide
range of diverse issues, from the protection of
water resources to the establishment of
recreational trails. In order to focus policy and
implementation programs on each specific issue,
the Natural Resource Plan is divided into two
“mini-plans”—a Natural Resource Conservation
and Protection Plan, and a Park and Recreation
Plan.
NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION PLAN
Before Orange was an incorporated city, people were attracted to the area by its wealth of natural resources—the temperate climate, clean air, abundance of water, variety of plants 327
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and animals, and vast acres of open space, from the alluvial plains below the Santa Ana Mountains to the rolling hills and shaded canyons. People found Orange to be a desirable place to farm, raise a family, and pursue a high quality lifestyle.
Population growth in the 20th century transformed Orange from a quiet farming community into a sizable urban city. The sand and gravel resources of the Santa Ana River and Santiago Creek were used to support urban development, first on the flatlands, and then into the hills of east Orange.
Growth has been accompanied by a gradual reduction in the quality and quantity of the natural resources which first attracted people to the area. Growth in Orange, as well as throughout the region, has contributed to a decline in air and surface water quality, reduction in local groundwater supplies, and elimination of some open space areas suitable for agricultural production and wildlife habitat.
Despite the reduction and loss of some resources, Orange residents have not lost sight of the benefits natural resources provide the community. Clean air and water are vital to ensure the protection of public health and to support wildlife. Plant and wildlife resources enrich the urban setting by providing changes in scenery and environment . They contribute to the biodiversity and ecology of the region. Also, preservation of some open space areas (floodplains, steep hillsides) is necessary to protect public safety. Finally, aggregate resources (sand and gravel) provide the community with a source of income and a source of readily available building materials to support new construction and growth in appropriate areas of the community.
Open Space Resources
Open space lands may be set aside for many purposes, including the provision or preservation of: (1) parks for recreation or wildlife habitat preservation ; (2) water resources for groundwater recharge and support of plant and animal habitat; (3) environmental hazard zones for the protection of public safety ; and, (4) prominent geologic features and scenic resources for the visual enhancement of the urban environment.
As shown in Figure NR -1, Orange’s planning area includes approximately 7,400 acres of open space, which is about one-third of the planning area’s total land area. Open spaces include lands used as City or County parks, ridgelines, and areas designated as Open Space on the Land Use Policy Map. The greatest concentration of open space within the planning area is in the Cleveland National Forest, a portion of which is located within the City’s Sphere of Influence. This open space includes several hundred acres in the Peralta Hills area and several hundred acres in the hills south and east of Orange Park Acres , consisting of Santiago Oaks Regional Park, Irvine Regional Park, and Peters Canyon Regional Park. An additional 15,800 acres of open space lies within the City’s Sphere of Influence, east of the planning area.
The open space areas also include a portion of the 37,000 -acre reserve area established by the Central and Coastal Orange County Natural Communities Conservation Plan /Habitat Conservation Plan (NCCP/HCP). This area encompasses portions of Santiago Hills II and east Orange. Additionally, the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve affects the pattern of developable and undevelopable land in the eastern portion of the planning area. The reserve stretches from Weir Canyon near State Route (SR) 91 at the north end of Irvine Ranch, connects with the 328
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Cleveland National Forest along the northeast border of the ranch, continues south to include large regional open space systems in the northern and southern hillsides of the City of Irvine, and extends to the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and Crystal Cove State Park near Laguna Beach.
Conserving current open spaces and creati ng new open spaces are important concerns. As development pressure increases in the hillside areas east of the City, one key to preserving the quality of life for Orange residents lies in providing open spaces that preserve scenic vistas, provide habitat for wildlife, and maintain the ecological balance of the area .
Additionally, because most of Orange’s open spaces are located adjacent to the many reservoirs and creeks located within the City, opportunity exists to improve water quality in the region by enhancing and adding open spaces around these reservoirs and creeks.
To increase the amount of open space within the City, Orange will work with large landowners to secure open space dedications where feasible. The City will also work with land trusts and non-profit agencies to secure grant funds for acquisition and conservation of open space areas. Where appropriate, this process may include the use of conservation easements, which are voluntary agreements that allow landowners to limit the type or amount of development on their property while retaining private ownership of the land. The easement is signed by the landowner, who is the easement donor, and by a government agency or non-profit organization, which is the party receiving the easement. The landowner continues to privately own and manage the land, and may receive tax advantages for having donated the conservation easement. The government or non -profit accepts the easement with the understanding that it must enforce the terms of the easement in perpetuity. After the easement is signed, it is recorded with the County Clerk and applies to all future owners of the land.
Air, Water, and Energy Resources
The quality of air, water, energy, and land resources must be preserved, not only for public health, environmental, and economic reasons, but also to improve and maintain the quality of life for Orange residents. All of these resources generate regional issues. Therefore, resolving issues related to air, water, energy and land resources requires the coordinated efforts of many jurisdictions. Collectively, smaller local actions can have wide -reaching impacts.
Air Resources
Orange has seen steady growth in both population and development over the past decades, which has urbanized a once rural town. The population growth in Orange and surrounding jurisdictions has led to declining air quality in the regional air basin. Orange is located within the South Coast Air Basin , managed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), which is the regional agency responsible for regulating pollutant emissions in the air basin.
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NR-11 Figure NR-1 Open Space Resources
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In order to protect and improve air quality at a regional level, the City will continue to cooperate with SCAQMD to implement the Air Quality Management Plan . At a local level, the City will carry out the following programs to help improve regional air quality:
▪ Assess project impacts on air quality as part of the environmental review process.
Whenever appropriate, environmental review and mitigation measures will be coordinated with SCAQMD.
▪ Support efforts to provide public transit, and routes that are user-friendly for bicyclists and pedestrians throughout the City.
▪ Support the development of pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. As described in the Land Use Element, more intensely used commercial and mixed-use areas will be concentrated in identified opportunity areas located throughout the western portion of the City.
Centralizing these uses may encourage mass transit to better serve core employment areas. Also, increased business opportunities within the City may reduce the number of area residents commuting greater distances to work (e.g. to downtown Los Angeles or Irvine).
▪ Require major employers to institute Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plans.
Such plans establish incentives to encourage employees to carpool, take public transportation, bicycle, walk, or use some means other than private automobiles to get to and from work.
Water Resources
Water is a resource that must be preserved , not only for public health, environmental , and economic reasons , but also to improve and maint ain quality of life. Water quality is most definitely a regional issue. Pollutants entering the hydrologic system are dispersed outward, with the potential to affect all who use the water within the system.
Water sources are considered most vulnerable to contamination from industrial activities and/or environments such as chemical processing, petroleum pipelines and storage, gas stations, and sewer collection systems. The local issue of household chemicals entering water sources is also a challenge to water safety. Pollution of urban runoff and storm water, and threats to the City’s water supply arise from i mproper use of household hazardous materials, such as solvents, fuels, paints, swimming pool chemicals, miscellaneous flammable and corrosive substances, and from improper disposal of household hazardous wastes, including used motor oil . Reliable water supplies are essential to public health, safety, and welfare, and the City tests all water supply sources to assure safety and compliance with all drinking water standards.
Ground Water Quality and Supplies
Protection of water supply and ground and surface water quality is imperative for the health and quality of life of Orange residents, businesses, and visitors. Between 60-80 percent of the water supply to the City is drawn from municipal wells drilled into the Santa Ana River Aquifer from the Lower Santa Ana River groundwater basin managed by the Orange Cou nty 332
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Water District (OCWD) . The City is a member of this District, which manages the Orange County Groundwater Basin and monitors and maintains ground water quality in the region.
Other water sources include surface water runoff into Irvine Lake purchased from the Serrano Water District. The Lower Santa Ana River basin, which extends from San Bernardino County southwest to the Pacific Ocean, underlies the entire western portion of the planning area. The Santa Ana Mountains and foothills form the basin’s eastern boundary. The ground water supply is supplemented by imported water purchased through the Metropolitan Water District of Orange County (MWDOC).
Figure NR -2 identifies major surface water bodies, waterways, and watershed areas in the planning area. A watershed is the geographic area draining into a river system, ocean , or other body of water through a single outlet and includes receiving waters. Watersheds are usually bordered and separated from other watersheds by mountain ridges or other naturally elevated areas. Three watersheds are located within Orange’s corporate boundaries: the Santa Ana River Watershed (Lower Santa Ana River drainage basin), the San Diego Creek Watershed, and the Westminster Watershed (Los Alamitos/East Garden Grove/Bolsa Chica drainage basin). Most of Orange falls within the Santa Ana River Watershed. The southeastern portion of the planning area falls within the San Diego Creek Watershed, and consists primarily of residential communities with scattered neighborhood -serving commercial areas. A small southwestern portion of the planning area falls within the Westminster Watershed. These watersheds are based on the hydrologic areas delineated by the Orange County Flood Control District.
Irvine Lake, Villa Park Reservoir, and Peters Canyon Reservoir are artificial lakes constructed to provide water storage and flood control capabilities. All three lakes lie within areas designated for open space uses on the Land Use Policy Map. Villa Park Reservoir and Peters Canyon Reservoir lie within areas designated for public park uses. Therefore, land use policy ensures the preservation of these water resources for both resource conservation and recreation uses.
Irvine Lake is planned for continued use as a water reservoir, and such use includes related recreational uses such as fishing, sailing, and boating. Resort and commercial recreation uses on adjacent lands enhance the lake’s recreation function. In determining the mix of recreation uses for the lake, the Irvine Ranch Water District and the Serrano Irrigation District recognize the primary use of the lake as an agricultural and domestic water supply reservoir.
Desilting activities may continue as a part of the lake’s management program to assure sufficient capacity for water storage.
The Santa Ana River, which forms the City’s western boundary, is the major drainage course for the Santa Ana River basin. The river performs valuable flood control and groundwater recharge functions along its entire route. In recognition of the important role the river plays in providing groundwater recharge areas and adequate flood protection for Orange County, land use policy calls for open space uses along the river.
Santiago Creek flows from the Santa Ana Mountains through Orange and empties into the Santa Ana River in the City of Santa Ana. In addition to controlling floodwaters and recharging the groundwater basin, Santiago Creek has become a defining feature of the community, characterized by trails and recreational open space throughout portions of its 333
NR-15 Figure NR-2 Drainage Areas and Water Recharge Facilities 334
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length within Orange. Community members identify with the creek, and the City seeks to incorporate natural characteristics of Santiago Creek in the design of adjacent future projects. The upper portions of Santiago Creek are characterized by large, abandoned mining pits. In particular, the pits near Bond Street serve valuable groundwater recharge purposes.
Land use policy recognizes these uses by designating the creek and several surrounding properties as Open Space or Open Space-Park.
Handy Creek is a minor drainage course flowing from Peters Canyon Reservoir to Santiago Creek. Water flows from Peters Canyon Reservoir are channeled through Handy Creek to the recharge basin system at Santiago Creek near Bond Street, where it replaces water pumped from wells and helps maintain levels of groundwater supply for the area.
To promote water conservation, the City will encourage all developments to utilize water conservation measures in accordance with the City’s Municipal Code, and will encourage sustainability in project site planning and building design. The City will use native and drought-tolerant plants for landscaping, and will use recycled and reclaimed water for irrigating landscape projects whenever feasible. Reclaimed water is the reuse of treated wastewater, and is usually used for non-drinking purposes. Using recycled or reclaimed water instead of expensive and increasingly scarce potable water helps to ensure the long -term availability of drinking water to Orange residents.
Urban Runoff
Urban stormwater runoff occurs when rainfall that in a nonurban environment would have been absorbed by groundcover or soil is instead collected by storm drains. In urbanized areas such as Orange, vegetation and top soil have been largely replaced by impervious surfaces such as buildings, roads, sidewalks, and parking lots. When it rains, trash, litter, silt, automotive chemicals, fertilizers, animal wastes and other contaminants are can be washed into the storm drain system. Since storm drains are designed to carry only stormwater, these drains typically are not equipped with filters or cleaning systems. Consequently, they can carry contaminants found in urban runoff directly into local flood control channels, lakes and the ocean. Many of the contaminants found in this runoff affect water quality and can, at elevated concentration levels, be toxic to aquatic and marine life.
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
Local stormwater pollution control measures are implemented in accordance with the 1972 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act) and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The Clean Water Act prohibits any person from discharging pollutants through a “point source” into a “water of the United States” unless they have a NPDES permit. The NPDES Program, mandated by Congress under the Clean Water Act, is a comprehensive program for addressing the nonagricultural sources of stormwater discharges that adversely affect the quality of the nation’s waters. The Program uses the NPDES permitting mechanism to require the implementation of control and monitoring measures designed to prevent harmful pollutants from being washed into local water bodies by stormwater runoff. The NPDES program requires the owner or operator of any facility, including publicly owned facilities, or any person responsible for any activity that discharges waste into the surface waters of the U.S., to obtain an NPDES permit. The Clean Water Act 336
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amendments of 1987 established a framework for regulating stormwater discharges from municipal, industrial, and construction activities under the NPDES program.
The Clean Water Act provides that states are authorized to operate their own NPDES programs, provided that such programs meet minimum federal requirements. In California, the NPDES Program is administered by the State Water Resources Control Board and its nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards. The NPDES Municipal Storm Water Permit for northern and central Orange County, including the City of Orange, is issued by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board (Region 8). The City of Orange, along with other northern and central Orange County cities, currently operates under Santa Ana Regional Board Order No. R8-2009-0030 (NPDES Permit No. CAS 618030) as amended by Order R8 - 2010-0062. The Permit, issued in May 2009 and amended in October 2010, requires the City of Orange to minimize short - and long -term impacts on receiving water quality from stormwater and non -stormwater discharges , potential impacts associated with new development and significant redevelopment to implementare reduced through the implementation of low impact development practices (LID) and other onsite retention practices to the maximum extent practicable. As part of the NPDES permit program, Orange adopted a Local Implementation Plan in 2003, which was revised and readopted in September 2011 to conform to the May 2008 permit.
The City will require all new development and modifications to existing developmentsignificant redevelopment projects to use LID and Best Management Practices (BMPs) to reduce stormwater runoff and increase on -site retention. BMPs are effective methods that prevent and control the amount of pollutants entering the storm drain system, where pollutants eventually enter the surface water system. These practices closely follow federal stormwater requirements and regulations. In addition, the Orange County Model Water Quality Management Plan, adopted in August 2011 provides BMPs for source, structural and treatment control. Source control BMPs include such techniques as site planning and landscaping, and use of pervious pavements activity restrictions . Structural BMPs include providing protection from rain, secondary containment , and other construction BMPsmessaging on catch basins to prevent illegal dumping, trash storage design, and energy dissipation for runoff. Treatment control BMPs include natural treatment options such as constructed wetlands , biofiltration planters and vegetated swales. The City will continue to support implementation of NPDES requirements on new development and significant redevelopment projects.
Energy Resources
The City will continue to promote energy conservation, both by encouraging conservation measures on the part of homeowners, the business community, and institutions , as well as by encouraging green building techniques for new construction and renovation projects.
Green Building
Green building concepts can be incorporated into site and building design to reduce energy use within the City as a whole, to improve aesthetics and comfort, and to provide a more cost-effective means of living. According to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), seven concepts of green building can help conserve energy and preserve the environment:
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▪ Location and transportation
▪ Sustainable sites
▪ Water efficiency
▪ Energy and atmosphere
▪ Materials and resources
▪ Indoor environmental quality
▪ Innovation and design process
Sustainable sites require development designs that work with existing topography, building on previously developed sites, integrating natural surroundings, using existing infrastructure, building on brownfields (sites previously used for industry) through site remediation, and selecting sites near public transportation and diverse land uses . These measures will ultimately help preserve natural habitats, reduce negative effects on water and air quality, and minimize automobile use.
Incorporating water efficiency at the time of construction will maximize water conservation through a building’s lifetime. Using non -potable water or gray water to irrigate landscaping or using xeriscape (landscaping requiring minimal water usage) to conserve water, installing water-efficient fixtures, and incorporating innovative wastewater technologies and plans will reduce water demand and limit extraction and pollution of groundwater supply.
Providing natural ventilation and effective insulation in buildings can reduce energy demand and utility bills. Natural ventilation will allow residents to cool living spaces without relying on air conditioners, and increased building insulation will sustain moderate variations to indoor temperature. Orienting buildings to invite natural light or using solar panels will reduce electricity demand. These measures will not only reduce demand for natural resources and minimize effects on climate change, but they will also increase comfort for residents and should encourage street-fronting design using more windows and detailing.
Green building incorporates site orientation, window placements, skylights, solar panels, and high insulation to improve indoor comfort and to conserve valuable natural resources. 338
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Judicious selection of materials and maximizing landscaping in parking lots, rights -of-way, and overall building sites can further provide natural indoor cooling and reduce heat island effects and glare in our urban environment. Choosing natural materials will improve indoor environmental quality by limiting toxic emissions associated with components such as adhesives and formaldehyde often found in building materials . Constant monitoring and innovation in sustainable building design will enhance the aesthetics of the built environment while improving the comfort and health of residents.
The City already practices building material waste reduction through its protection of historic building resources. These efforts, combined with construction waste management and efforts to incorporate recycled content and natural materials into new construction , will reduce the amount of waste destined for landfills and conserve non-renewable resources.
Climate Change
Climate change refers to a change in the state of the climate that persists for an extended period, due to natural processes, human -caused changes in the composition of the atmosphere, or land use changes that lead to atmospheric changes. According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1, the scientific authority on the subject of climate change, certain findings are widely accepted by the scientific community:
▪ Greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide (CO2), when introduced into the atmosphere, have a warming effect on the earth;
▪ Human activities have increased the levels of GHGs in the atmosphere since pre-industrial times; and
▪ The global climate has warmed by an average of 1.0-1.7 degrees Fahrenheit from 1906- 2005.
Greenhouse gases are gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. GHGs include CO 2, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. The human activities during which these gases are emitted include burning, manufacturing, and transportation -related combustion of fossil fuels. Livestock and solid waste emissions also contribute to the buildup of GHGs.
The effects of climate
change include increased
global average temperature,
subsequent altered
precipitation patterns,
thermal expansion of the
ocean, and loss of polar and
global sea ice extent. In
Orange, these changes
would translate to water
and energy supply issues,
increased risk of wildfire and
1 IPCC 2007; Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK. 339
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floods, and possible human health complications.
Responding to climate change requires a two-pronged approach. On one hand, the City must adapt to change and prepare for the already-foreseeable effects of global warming that have already occurred and, on the other hand, the City must coordinate with agencies, residents, and businesses to modify behavior to decrease the citywide contribution to GHG emissions and associated effects on the climate.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) was created by the state legislature to address the threat global warming poses to the state’s “economic well -being, public health, natural resources, and the environment”. The Act directs the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to “adopt a statewide GHG emissions limit equivalent to the statewide GHG emissions levels in 1990 to be achieved by 2020.” California Executive Order 03-05 (EO-S-3-05. June 2007) requires statewide GHG emissions to be reduced to a level 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. These laws require maintenance of a statewide inventory of emission levels as well as taking action to decrease emission levels . Actions needed to decrease emission levels statewide were documented in a Scoping Plan approved in 2008, and subsequently amended in 2011, and 2014 and 2017.
Senate Bill 375 (2008) requires metropolitan planning organizations (such as the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)) to include sustainable communities strategies in regional transportation plans for the purpose of reducing GHG emissions from automobiles and light tricks through integrated transportation, housing, and use and environmental planning . In compliance with SB 375, the Orange County Council of Governments (in coordination with the Orange County Transportation Authority) prepared a sub-regional Sustainable Communities Strategy for Orange County (OCSCS), which was incorporated into the Regional Transportation Plan adopted by the SCAG. However, all jurisdictions in California have a responsibility to contribute to this effort with changes in operations, technology, and policies that enable residents and businesses to follow suit. This General Plan provides a comprehensive framework for Orange’s approach to climate change and GHG emission reduction. The types of policies that deal with climate change and GHG emission are far ranging. The City has located policies and programs throughout the General Plan that have multiple outcomes. They help the City to achieve a high quality of life for its current and future residents and businesses, reduce the City’s contributions to climate change, and help residents and businesses adapt to changing circumstances.
State and local governments will play a critical role in addressing this important issue. The OCSCS identifies policies and measures that will minimize GHG emissions at a regional level.
However, the City believes that in order to achieve the emission reductions mandated in AB 32 and EO-S-3-05, each sector must do its fair share to reduce total emissions, and local action is needed to manage and measure activity within each sector as it relates to land use planning. For this reason the City is establishing a GHG emissions reduction goal of at least 15 percent of current levels by 2020.
To achieve this goal, the General Plan advocates primarily compact “infill” future development, focusing on introducing urban -scale mixed -use projects at locations near transportation corridors and transit, and creating additional retail and employment 340
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opportunities within the City that increase the range of goods and services available to residents and improve the community’s jobs -housing balance. Future “greenfield” development is limited to previously-approved entitlements in east Orange. The General Plan includes a broad spectrum of policies related to climate change . These policies have been integrated throughout the relevant General Plan elements, as detailed in Table NR-1.
Adaptation Strategies
Climate change has been recognized as a threat that could alter social, economic, and ecological conditions in the City. Concentrations of GHGs have dramatically increased in the atmosphere due to the use of fossil fuel -based energy sources. Additionally, the earth’s capacity to capture and store GHGs has been reduced due to extensive deforestation and the conversion of grasslands and other carbon rich natural communities, as well as saturation of the ocean with dissolved CO 2. Rigorous scientific analysis conducted by the IPCC, the National Research Council of the National Academies, and other agencies indicates that increased concentrations of GHGs have already begun to result in significant warming, and will lead to changes in precipitation patterns, sea level rise, and more frequent extreme weather events. Other effects could include constrained water and energy availability, more frequent flooding, health impacts related to increases in vector borne diseases, air pollution, and habitat loss.
Wildfire Hazards
Research conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory indicates that climate change will increase the frequency and size of wildfires in California.
Hotter, drier climates, aided by prolonged drought, will promote increased accumulation of fire- prone vegetation. When fires occur, stronger winds will continue to fan the flames, spreading fires faster and farther than previously experienced. This will expand the size of the urban - wildland interface, because more residential communities will be within reach of wildfire activity. An expanded urban-wildland interface will require increased resources, planning, and funding to maintain and defend.
Adaptability is important in considering how the City can protect its citizens from the negative effects of climate change. In terms of fire protection, The City will continue to adapt by regularly updating fire protection requirements, especially in transition areas between developed and undeveloped land, and by enforcing the strongest construction and design standards.
Additionally, the City will work to preserve open space where significant hazards exist.
Flooding
The California Climate Change Center, a research arm of the California Energy Commission, has found that climate change will result in new flooding concerns throughout California. Climate change will result in increased severity of winter storms, particularly in El Niño years. Such weather events will result in higher levels of seasonal flooding than those currently experienced.
This will strain dam capacity and increase floodplain areas. Policies regarding flood protection under Goal PS-2 (in the Public Safety Element) will help the City deal with existing and increased potential for flooding. The City will continue to work with the Orange County Hazard Mitigation Task Force in its planning and implementation of the Hazard Mitigation Plan, and will update its Emergency Operations Plan to identify and fund flood control improvements regularly. Public 341
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facilities must be flood -proofed, and buildings in floodplains must adhere to construction standards.
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NATURAL RESOURCES
Table NR-1
Climate Change Related Policies
Issues Topic Policies1
Community form Compact development Land Use Element
1.1: Jobs and housing balance
2.1: Mixed-use projects in older commercial and industrial areas
2.4: Mixed-use projects with compatible uses and supporting public and community facilities
2.2: Transfers of development rights for high-rise office and residential structures
2.9: Mixed-use development to include ground floor retail
Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Element
1.4 and 1.5: Alternatives to building demolition
Urban Design Element
1.4: Pedestrian-oriented places and connections
1.6: Street-oriented development, parking and commercial activities
2.1: Commercial corridors as pedestrian-friendly streets that balance mobility and accommodate compact development
2.4: Building design and orientation to promote active street life
Economic Development Element
4.3: Lot consolidation for integrated development with improved pedestrian and vehicular circulation
5.4: Redevelop and rehabilitate underutilized and vacant lands and public rights-of-way Commercial use
locations
Land Use Element
3.2: City business promotion and local patronage
3.4: Clean commerce and industry
Urban Design Element
2.1: Pedestrian-friendly commercial corridors that balance mobility and accommodate compact development
2.2: Pedestrian and transit access through commercial and mixed-use corridors
2.5: Design standards for urban parks and open spaces within mixed-use corridors
4.6: Pedestrian linkages between commercial districts and neighborhoods
6.1: Development standards for high quality building and site design integrated with infrastructure and circulation
6.2: Infill development to benefit surrounding corridors/neighborhoods and provide additional park space
Economic Development Element
4.2: Reduce land, infrastructure and environmental deficiencies within commercial corridors
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NATURAL RESOURCES
Table NR-1
Climate Change Related Policies
Issues Topic Policies1
Industrial use locations Land Use Element
4.1: Maximize industrial land resources for industrial and office uses
4.3: Protect residents and the environment from impacts of industrial operations
4.4: Mixed office, industrial, and support commercial uses in light industrial areas
4.5: Environmentally friendly business atmosphere
Live-work uses Land Use Element
5.1: Targeted development of mixed-use, transit-oriented development surrounding the Santa Fe Depot
5.2: Adaptive re-use of industrial and agricultural historic structures Access to employment
centers
Land Use Element
2.2: Transfers of development rights for high-rise office and residential structures
Circulation & Mobility Element
3.3: Transit-oriented design within commercial, employment, medium density residential, and mixed-use areas
Growth Management Element
1.8: Housing within close proximity to jobs and services
2.3: Match residents with local jobs to reduce long commutes and improve community fiscal and public health
Economic Development Element
2.1: Public-private partnerships to support business and employment growth
2.5: Retention of existing retail businesses
3.4: Higher density residential and mixed-use projects to provide community-based workforce and market
7.1: Sites appropriate for housing development for all income groups that support commercial development
7.2: Mixed-use developments providing housing close to employment hubs Open space
management
Land Use Element
1.5: Recreation, open space and visual resources in east Orange
1.7: Range of open space and park amenities to meet diverse needs
2.3: Transfers of development rights to promote creation of accessible open spaces
6.4: Open space to provide recreational opportunities, protect vistas and ridgelines, and conserve natural resources
Natural Resources Element
1.1: Public-private funding mechanisms and management strategies to conserve open space
1.2: Land recycling opportunities for new public open space
1.3: Additional open spaces and access points adjacent to waterways and planned trails
5.3: Joint recreational use of open space land and facilities 344
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NATURAL RESOURCES
Table NR-1
Climate Change Related Policies
Issues Topic Policies1
5.4: New public parks and open space resources through incentives and creative techniques
5.6: Identify areas currently underserved by open space, and develop programs to purchase land and build park amenities
5.7: Transfer of development rights to acquire and develop more publicly accessible open space
Public Safety Element
2.2: Protecting critical public and private facilities located within floodplain and inundation areas
2.4: Reduce impervious surface area within new development
Urban Design Element
4.5: Incentives to create neighborhood parks and green spaces, particularly within commercial and mixed-use corridors Wildfire safety Public Safety Element
3.1: Identification and evaluation of new potential fire hazards and fire hazard areas
3.2: Non-traditional methods of controlling vegetation in undeveloped areas
3.3: Planting and maintenance of fire-resistant slope cover, stringent site design and maintenance standards, and use of native, non-invasive plant materials
Economic adaptation to
climate change
Infrastructure Element
5.4: Disaster mitigation strategies incorporated into City infrastructure master plans City Operations City of Orange as model Natural Resources Element
2.9: City operations as model for energy efficiency and green building Low emission City
vehicles
Natural Resources Element
2.10: Replace existing City vehicles with ultra low or zero emission vehicles and purchase new low emission vehicles Other
Land Use Element
7.4: Benefits from regional transportation, land use, air quality, waste management and disposal, and habitat conservation plans
7.5: Other agencies and service providers to minimize impacts of their facilities
7.6: Joint use agreements with other agencies to share existing and future public facilities among institutions
Growth Management Element
2.1: Address regional issues and opportunities related to growth, transportation, and infrastructure Ecosystems Wildlife migration
Land Use Element
6.8: Integrate natural amenities and connections within design of urban and suburban spaces
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NATURAL RESOURCES
Table NR-1
Climate Change Related Policies
Issues Topic Policies1
Habitat management
Land Use Element
6.12: Recognize value of natural and cultural resources in undeveloped areas Natural Resources Element
2.16: Protect in-stream habitat and natural stream and channel features
4.1: Preserve and protect native and habitat-supporting plant resources
4.2: Enhance the natural qualities of Santiago Creek to protect habitat and reintroduce native plants and animals
4.3: Reduce impacts of urban development on important ecological and biological resources
4.4: Repair or improve ecological and biological conditions in site development, redevelopment, and public improvements
4.5: Protect the Santiago Creek and the Santa Ana River corridors from premature urbanization Tree protection and
planting
Land Use Element
6.9: Maximize landscaping along streetscapes and within development projects Energy Efficiency Energy efficient
technology
Infrastructure Element
3.4: Use energy-efficient street lights
4.4: Integrated and cost-effective design and technology features within new development Green Building Public education
Natural Resources Element
2.7: Ensure adequate energy supplies to meet community needs, and promote energy conservation and public education programs
Efficient infrastructure
systems
Natural Resources Element
2.6: Sustainable building and site designs for new construction and renovation projects
4.4: Integrated and cost-effective design and technology features within new development Renewable Energy Reduced fossil fuel
reliance
Natural Resources Element
2.2: Alternative transportation modes, alternative technologies, and bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods Transit Adequate transit to
employment centers
Circulation & Mobility Element
3.3: Incorporate transit-oriented design within commercial, employment, medium density residential, and mixed-use areas Systems along major
corridors
Circulation & Mobility Element
1.1: Integrated, hierarchical, and multi-modal system of roadways, pedestrian walkways, and bicycle paths Urban Design Element
2.1: Active, pedestrian-friendly streets and corridors that balance auto, transit and pedestrian mobility Expanded passenger rail
service
Circulation & Mobility
3.1: Assess City public transportation needs and ensure delivery of services when and where they are needed
3.2: Convenient and attractive transit amenities and streetscapes to encourage use of public transportation 346
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NATURAL RESOURCES
Table NR-1
Climate Change Related Policies
Issues Topic Policies1
Non-motorized
transportation
Land Use Element
2.6: Transit, bicycle, and pedestrian sidewalks, paths, paseos, and trail systems in and around mixed-use areas
2.7: High-quality architecture, landscape design, and site planning of mixed-use projects, emphasizing pedestrian orientation and safe and convenient access
Circulation & Mobility Element
1.4: Prohibit on-street parking to reduce bicycle/automobile conflicts in appropriate target areas
4.1: Comprehensive bicycle network integrated with other transportation systems, including Santiago Creek, the Santa Ana River, and the proposed Tustin Branch Trail
4.2: Racks and safe storage facilities at parking areas for City facilities
4.4: Provide adequate bikeway system signage, trail markings, and other amenities
4.5: Defensive trail design features, lighting, emergency access, and links to the roadway signal system
4.6: Abandoned rail corridors as segments of bikeway and pedestrian trail system
4.7: Accessible sidewalks and pedestrian amenities
Natural Resources Element
6.1: Multi-use trail links that serve recreational and circulation purposes
6.2: Consistent, safe, and efficient maintenance of trails, and minimal trail impacts to the environment
6.3: Pursue joint use of local rights-of-way and easements for multi-use trails
6.5: Safe trail system interface with existing development
6.6: Integrated relationship between trails and developed areas
Public Safety Element
9.1: Traffic control devices, crosswalks, and pedestrian-oriented lighting, within design of streets, sidewalks, trails, and school routes
9.2: Safe routes that encourage children to walk or bike to schools and recreational facilities
9.3: Remove barriers to pedestrian and bicycle access
Noise Element
2.3: Alternative transportation modes to minimize traffic noise
Growth Management Element
1.7: Expansion and development of alternative methods of transportation
Infrastructure Element
3.5: Preserve and improve existing on-street bike paths within rights-of-way 347
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NATURAL RESOURCES
Table NR-1
Climate Change Related Policies
Issues Topic Policies1
Transit-supporting
facilities
Circulation & Mobility Element
2.7: Use of rail corridors for the movement of freight and goods
Growth Management Element
1.9: New development incorporates non-motorized and alternative transit amenities
2.5: Provide bus shelters, shade, and other special streetscape treatments at transit stations that encourage use of regional bus and train services
Transportation Shorten travel distances
Growth Management Element
2.4: Infill development and mixed-use opportunities wherever possible as developable space becomes more limited Technical solutions Growth Management Element
1.12: Traffic reduction strategies within the City’s Transportation Demand Management Ordinance Roadway maintenance
and design
Land Use Element
5.7: Roadway improvements within Old Towne designed to promote walkability and a safe pedestrian environment
5.9: Promote attractive and safe pedestrian access between the Santa Fe Depot and the Plaza
Circulation & Mobility Element
1.3: Improve street capacity and increase safety on City arterials and neighborhood streets
Growth Management Element
1.4: Transportation impact fees for improvements within the City and within established County Growth Management Areas
2.2: Maintain and expand roadway and bikeway systems
Infrastructure Element
3.6: New developments funds fair-share costs associated with City provision of right-of-way maintenance services Air quality
Reduce vehicle
emissions
Natural Resources Element
2.1: Implement and enforce regional air quality management plans
2.2: Support alternative transportation modes, alternative technologies, and bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods GHG emission reduction
strategies
Natural Resources Element
3.1: Evaluate the potential effects of climate change on the City’s human and natural systems and prepare strategies that allow the City to appropriately respond and adapt
3.2: Develop and adopt a comprehensive strategy to reduce greenhouse gasses within Orange to at least1990 levels by 2020 Water management Water use efficiency and
reduced consumption
Natural Resources Element
2.3: Native and drought-tolerant plants, proper soil preparation, and efficient irrigation systems for landscaping 348
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NATURAL RESOURCES
Table NR-1
Climate Change Related Policies
Issues Topic Policies1
2.4: Recycled and reclaimed water for landscaping projects
2.11: Ecological integrity and health of watersheds
2.12: Protect the quantity and quality of local groundwater supplies
2.13: Control surface runoff water discharges into the stormwater conveyance system
2.14: Reduce pollutant runoff from new development through use of Best Management Practices
2.15: Minimize impervious surfaces and associated urban runoff pollutants in new development and redevelopment
Infrastructure Element
1.2: Correct deficiencies in the City’s infrastructure systems and work toward environmentally sustainable systems
1.3: Water conservation programs aimed at reducing demands
1.4: Environmentally efficient infrastructure improvements
1.5: Cost-effective methods to reduce storm water infiltration into the sewer system
1.6: New development to fund fair-share costs associated with water, sewer, and storm drain service Waste reduction
Waste management and
recycling
Natural Resources Element
2.5: Local and regional waste-reduction and diversion goals
Infrastructure Element
2.3: Programs for residents to donate or recycle surplus furniture, old electronics, clothing, and other household items
2.4: Outreach and education to all City customers regarding residential collection of household hazardous wastes Solid waste reuse Infrastructure Element
2.2: Expand outreach and education regarding recycling opportunities Note:
1 – Policies are abbreviated for presentation in this table. Please refer to the text of each policy in the identified General Plan element and corresponding Implementation Programs in the General Plan Appendix.
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The City will continue to require flood/storm control facilities for proposed development and redevelopment projects, and upgrade street storm drains to deal with potential flooding hazards. These programs not only take into account the potential flood events now, but are adaptable enough to account for a potential increase.
Water Supply
Several recent studies have shown that existing water supply systems are sensitive to climate change; however, experts are uncertain about what the overall effects will be on water supply.
Some models indicate that drier conditions will cause decreased reservoir supplies and river flows. Other models predict wetter conditions with increased reservoir inflows and storage, and increased river flows. Although there is some uncertainty, it is widely accepted that changes in water supply will occur and that water yields from reservoirs are expected to be unreliable.
Whether or not climate change is responsible, Orange must prepare for a future where competition for water resources is even greater than at the present time.
Many of the policies and programs governing water resources under Goal NR -2 will serve to prepare the City for the possible consequences of climate change on water supply. Such policies include protecting groundwater supplies, using native or drought-tolerant plants in landscaping, using recycled water in irrigation, and promoting other water conservation efforts.
Climate Action Plan
Primary among the City’s climate change planning efforts is the development and adoption of the City of Orange Climate Action Plan (CAP), as outlined in the General Plan Implementation Program Appendix. The City will develop and adopt the CAP by December 31, 2012. The CAP will address both GHG emissions from activity within Orange (residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation sectors) and the emissions specifically from City government operations. The plan will first create a GHG emissions inventory for the base year and forecast GHG emissions for the year 2020. The Plan will determine the quantity of emissions to be reduced to meet the GHG reduction target of 15 percent below current levels by 2020.
Together, the policies contained in the General Plan and additional GHG reduction measures to be developed as part of the CAP will allow Orange to respond to this critical issue. Achieving the targeted GHG reductions and successful adaptation to the effects of climate change will demand genuine and significant effort from civic leaders, residents, and businesses.
Ecological, Biological and Mineral Resources
In order to ensure preservation of plant and wildlife resources, some land must be protected from development to provide areas for native plants and wildlife to thrive. Additionally, many significant mineral resources are present within the City. The following sections describe the City’s approaches to conservation of ecological, biological, and mineral resources.
Ecological and Biological Resources
Though a large part of Orange consists of urbanized areas that generally have low habitat value for wildlife, a significant amount of land in east Orange, Santiago Oaks Regional Park, and Peters Canyon Regional Park is set aside as open space, which includes the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve 350
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(IRLR) and the Nature Reserve of Orange County (NROC) established by the Central/Coastal Orange County NCCP. These areas contain valuable ecological and biological resources.
Important vegetation communities located in these areas include coastal sage scrub, woodlands, grasslands, chaparral, and riparian habitat. Characteristic vegetation species associated with scrub habitat include coastal sage brush and various species of sage and buckwheat. Woodland communities are multilayered, non-riparian, with tree canopies that have 20 to 80 percent tree cover. Local grassland communities consist of native bunchgrasses and non-native annual grasses. Chaparral communities are characterized by sclerophyllus shrubs.
Species found in riparian habitats are associated with and dependent upon bodies of water, such as streambeds.
Sensitive wildlife, fish, amphibian, and reptile species in these Orange habitats include Santa Ana speckled dace, Western spadefoot toad, Southern pacific pond turtle, banded gecko, horned lizard, orange -throated whiptail, silvery legless lizard, coast patch -nosed snake, mountain kingsnake, two-striped garter snake, and the northern red-diamond rattlesnake. Sensitive bird species include the double-crested cormorant, osprey, white-tailed kite, northern harrier, sharp- shinned hawk, cooper’s hawk, Swainson’s hawk, Ferruginous hawk, golden eagle, Merlin, American peregrine falcon, prairie falcon, Western burrowing owl, long -eared owl, southwestern willow flycatcher, loggerhead shrike, least Bell’s vireo, California horned lark, coastal cactus wren, gnatcatcher, California yellow warbler, yellow -breasted chat, rufous - crowned sparrow, Bell’s sage sparrow, grasshopper sparrow, tricolored blackbird, and the black-chinned sparrow. Sensitive mammal species include the pallid bat, pale big -eared bat, California mastiff bat, pocketed free-tailed bat, small-footed myotis, yuma myotis, San Diego black-tailed jackrabbit, dulzura pocket mouse, northwestern San Diego pocket mouse, southern grasshopper mouse, San Diego desert woodrat, American badger, and mountain lion.
The City’s main approach to conserving the many ecological and biological resources in the planning area is participation in the Orange County NCCP. Orange lies within the Coastal subregion of the Orange County NCCP. In 1996, the County of Orange and participating jurisdictions approved the Central and Coastal Subregion NCCP and an associated Implementation Agreement. Both the City of Orange and The Irvine Company are signatories to this agreement. Three species were designated as “target species” by the NCCP to be used as umbrella species to guide the design of a permanent habitat system within the Central and Coastal Subregion. The three species are the coastal California gnatcatcher, coastal cactus wren, and the orange -throated whiptail lizard, all of which are currently on the federal list of threatened or endangered species. By providing long-term protection for habitat required by the three target species, sufficient coastal sage scrub (CSS) and other habitat would be protected to benefit a much broader range of CSS-related species.
The 37,000-acre NCCP Habitat Reserve area borders the eastern portion of the planning area on the north and south, and includes portions of Santiago Hills II and east Orange. As shown in Figure NR-3, areas designated as NCCP Habitat Reserve include areas surrounding Irvine Lake, Santiago Reservoir, Peters Canyon Reservoir, and along Cannon Street at the “El Modena Open Space Area.” Within the Habitat Reserve area, the NCCP restricts the kinds of permitted uses to protect long-term habitat values. Residential, commercial and industrial uses are prohibited, as are new active recreational uses outside already disturbed areas. However, the NCCP recognizes that some new non-habitat uses, particularly involving public infrastructure, will need to be sited in the Reserve area, and that some current uses will be maintained. New recreational facilities 351
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will be sited in locations compatible with habitat protection based on the understanding that recreational use is subordinate to habitat protection within the reserve. The Reserve area is administered by the NROC, which includes representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, participating landowners, and three public members.
Implementation of the Reserve policies will protect sensitive plant and wildlife species in accordance with the NCCP.
Substantial area is also designated as Non -Reserve Open Space located primarily in the East Orange area. Non-Reserve Open Spaces designate regional open spaces that were in public ownership prior to adoption of the NCCP. A “special linkage area” is also designated along the Southern California Edison corridor that traverses the northern portion of the City and along Santiago Canyon Road in East Orange. These open spaces are not subject to the development requirements associated with the Reserve system, but they are recognized as integral components of the overall subregional conservation strategy.
The City’s General Plan land use designations in these areas conform to the NCCP in that all areas currently proposed for urban development are areas identified as permitted for development and “take” by the Central/Coastal NCCP. All remaining areas are designated Open Space. Landowners in Orange who have properties within the boundaries of the NCCP Reserve area are classified as either “participating landowners” or “non -participating landowners.” Participating landowners have the option to develop their properties without preparing a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). The Irvine Company is the City’s only participating landowner.
The Irvine Company donated the 50,000-acre Irvine Ranch Land Reserve to the NCCP, and pays for the management of the area as part of the mitigation plan for new development in the easternmost portion of the planning area. Lands located within the Reserve must be “reserved in perpetuity as open space and for recreational purposes.” As a participating jurisdiction, the City is responsible for project review for participating landowners. The City is responsible for ensuring that non-participating landowners have paid “in-lieu” fees to the NROC for the native areas that will be removed due to development. In this case, the City is also responsible for coordinating with the NROC to make sure that the development is not in a restricted native open space area. The City will continue to ensure that all development proposals conserve the greatest amount of open space possible.
The City is committed to the protection and preservation of plant and wildlife resources, and will ensure the preservation of such resources wherever possible. The City will also encourage the use of native landscape materials in new and renovated project sites.
Mineral Resources
Mineral resource deposits in Orange are primarily limited to the sand and gravel resources contained in and along the Santa Ana River and Santiago Creek. Sand and gravel resources are referred to collectively as “aggregate.” Aggregate is the primary component of Portland cement concrete, a material widely used in the construction industry. The state requires general plan land use policy to recognize the importance of these deposits to the region’s economy. As these resource deposits are important to the region’s economy, the City will evaluate development proposals within these areas, and ensure adequate mitigation or preservation of the areas for future aggregate mining activity.
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353
NR-35 Figure NR-3 NCCP Habitat Reserve Area
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The Land Use Element provides a means to protect the aggregate resource areas from premature urbanization. Historically, Orange contributed to the gravel industry, but the City’s mineral resources have been mostly exhausted. Over the years, Orange has been characterized by numerous state-designated Mineral Resource Zones (MRZs), which identify the locations of regionally significant aggregate deposits. The MRZs have since been declassified, either as a result of completed mining activity, or as a result of urban development.
However, the Land Use Policy Map (in the Land Use Element) designates an area comprising and surrounding the two groundwater recharge pits (Bond Pits) on Santiago Canyon Road within the northeastern portion of the City as a Resource Area for the purpose of conserving mineral resources and allowing mining activities. Additionally, the approximately 18-acre site of the R.J. Noble Company, which lies within the northwestern unincorporated portion of the planning area, is another Resource Area currently used for aggregate extraction and crushing operations. Portions of Irvine Lake in East Orange that are currently designated as Open Space may be used in the future for desilting activities, with the possibility of aggregate extraction.
The Resource Area land use designation allows for only aggregate extraction or recreation uses.
Although the Open Space designation does not permit mining, it will protect areas from urbanization, making it possible to mine the areas at some future date if necessary. Areas containing mineral resources protected in this manner include the resource zones at the west end of Lincoln Avenue, areas adjacent to Santiago Creek, and the north, east, and west sides of Irvine Lake in East Orange. The mineral resource areas in East Orange would also require amendment to the NCCP before extraction could occur.
Visual and Aesthetic Resources
Preservation of ridgelines and steep hillsides is an important objective for the City, for both aesthetic and public safety reasons. To that end, Orange has adopted a hillside grading policy that prohibits grading on ridgelines designated Open Space Ridgeline on the Land Use Policy Map. Wherever hillside grading occurs, the policy requires that graded slopes must be contoured and extensively landscaped with native vegetation or other compatible plant materials.
The largely undeveloped Santiago Hills II and East Orange portions of the planning area have many scenic resources that include Irvine Lake, grassy valleys, rugged hillsides, rock outcroppings, and winding canyons. People traveling along Santiago Canyon Road have spectacular views of these abundant scenic resources. These views should be protected while still allowing development to occur. As identified on Figure NR-4, the City will work to designate Santiago Canyon Road as a City Scenic Highway, and will develop standards for appropriate treatment of the roadway and its surroundings.
In the more urbanized areas of the City, boulevard landscaping can effectively provide a sense of visual open space. The City will review and strengthen landscaping standards as necessary to provide green areas within commercial and industrial districts, consistent with strategies outlined in the Urban Design Element.
The City will also promote provision of street trees on City streets, in accordance with the Street Tree Master Plan . The City of Orange currently has over 22,000 public street trees along residential and arterial streets. The Street Tree Master Plan was adopted in 1999 in an effort to provide guidelines for all future street tree planting projects, as well as for the removal and 356
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replacement of trees and shrubs on public rights-of-way or streets. An update to the Street Tree Master Plan will be completed to emphasize aesthetics, theme, and maintenance of both trees and sidewalks. The Master Plan update will also consider safety issues posed by street tree debris and roots.
The City will also continue to enforce its Street Tree Ordinance and Tree Preservation Ordinance as part of the City of Orange Municipal Code. The Street Tree Ordinance has clear specifications and requirements for the planting, removal and maintenance of trees and shrubs. The Tree Preservation Ordinance provides protection for healthy, mature trees on private property and provides criteria under which trees may be removed. The Street Tree Master Plan, Street Tree Ordinance, and Tree Preservation Ordinance will help preserve and manage the City’s urban forest, and maintain the City’s Tree City U.S.A. status.
To reduce visual clutter along commercial corridors, the City will work with utility providers to identify existing arterial corridors that would benefit from moving overhead utilities underground and improving the placement of utility service boxes, consistent with the City’s Utility Undergrounding Master Plan. Undergrounding minimizes unsightly views of utility lines, which are currently prominent in areas such as the Lincoln Avenue corridor. The City will also encourage developers of all new infill projects to include underground utilities. Where placing utilities underground is not feasible, the City will work with utility providers and developers to relocate utilities away from arterial roadways. The City will also update and implement the sign provisions of the Zoning Ordinance to reduce visual clutter caused by signage and improper setbacks.
Parks and Recreation Plan
Parks and recreation facilities are vital resources for the City.
They provide residents with a broad range of health benefits, and the quality of these resources helps attract new residents and businesses to Orange. The City currently lacks adequate lands designated for public parks and open space to meet the recreational needs of its residents. Park facilities and recreation programs are essential to the health and economic well -being of Orange residents. The City has made improving its park system and recreational programs a high priority so that all residents can enjoy close access to a playground, a park, or a natural area. The City offers a full range of recreational programs and facilities that are heavily used by people of all ages.
This section of the Natural Resources Element establishes long -range strategies and standards for the maintenance of existing park facilities and the development of new parks and recreational programs in Orange. This plan will serve as a basis for future park facilities planning. In addition, the Element identifies standards that apply not only to the development of future parks and facilities, but also to the type and nature of sites and facilities obtained through purchase or dedication, as well as their intended role in the community.
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Source: City of Orange 2015
NR-39 Figure NR-4 Viewscape Corridors
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A number of key issues will continue to affect the City’s ability to maintain and expand recreation facilities and services in coming years. First, the easternmost portion of the City will continue to experience a substantial amount of residential development. The increased population will require a full range of services, including those related to parks and recreation. These needs are addressed by the parklands provided in the development plan for East Orange. The recreation needs of the older, well established neighborhoods in Orange will also have to be monitored, particularly in light of the combined public desire for more parkland and the expanded opportunities for mixed -use residential and commercial development advocated by the Land Use Element
Additional issues and concerns that will have a bearing on the future maintenance and development of parks and recreation facilities include the following:
▪ Orange will find it increasingly difficult to finance major capital improvements for parks.
In addition, obtaining land for new park sites in the western portion of the city is challenging because the amount of undeveloped land is limited, and costs and competing priorities for this land have increased.
▪ Orange is presently deficient in improved recreational open space, according to standards established by the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA). A number of park sites have been acquired that, when developed, will reduce the gap between the standards and available parkland. Also, school grounds, through joint use agreements with the City, will help to meet parkland needs. ▪ Orange maintains and provides a wide range of specialized facilities such as game courts, athletic fields, and community buildings in existing parks. However, additional facilities are needed to meet future demands.
▪ A number of easements, including those for flood control, rail lines, and utilities, are located in Orange and present the City with unique opportunities to expand the existing system of trails and bikeways.
▪ Recent trends in land use law will make it increasingly difficult for the City to reserve private open space lands for future recreational use.
Park Types
A Master Plan for the City’s park facilities and recreation and community services was completed in November 1999. The Master Plan for Parks Facilities establishes an organized and structured process for the development of new recreation facilities and the renovation of existing City parks and facilities. The Plan also discusses the preservation of open space and the development of new recreational programs.
The City maintains three types of park facilities: neighborhood parks, community parks, and special use recreational facilities.
Neighborhood Parks (4 to 10 acres) provide for the daily recreation needs of residents in the immediate area. Typical facilities may include landscaped picnic areas, tot lots, hard court areas, multipurpose ball fields, and limited parking.
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Community Parks (15 to 40 acres) are larger in scale and provide a greater variety of recreational opportunities and facilities. Six of the community parks (Hart, Grijalva, El Camino Real, El Modena, Handy, and Shaffer) host active organized sports leagues and have lighted sports fields. Special use recreational facilities provide a wide range of activities to serve the community. These facilities include joint -use properties and historic community assets such as Plaza Park, Pitcher Park, and Depot Park and Veterans Memorial.
Orange’s parks also provide passive recreation opportunities that include walking, hiking, and biking. Most of the parks have picnic sites, many with barbeques. Programs for seniors are available at the Orange Senior Center. The senior program is largely funded by the City and administered by a non -profit organization. Orange also provides a wide variety of recreational programs for all ages. Many of the programs are joint ventures with local nonprofits, commercial vendors or volunteer groups. The most popular activities include swimming and sports.
Parks Inventory and Acreage Standards
Figure NR -5 shows the locations of City parks and recreation facilities, and Table NR -2 provides a summary of the City’s existing parks, recreation and joint -use facilities, future planned City parks, and County regional parks.
The City owns and has developed 22 parks, which consist of about 246 acres of parkland, and also enjoys about 19 acres of additional joint-use school/City recreation facilities. Additional parkland is planned in the eastern portion of the planning area. A combination of active and passive neighborhood parks, as well as a sports park, will be developed to serve the new population in East Orange. The City may also consider the use of joint school/park facilities if the option presents itself.
The precise location and size of future parks will be defined in conjunction with the approval of specific development plans and as further elaborated on in the future preparation of planned communities or specific plans. Because of proximity in East Orange to the existing or proposed natural and/or active regional parks, along with the extent of scenic open space preserved in the immediate area, the emphasis on park planning should be on active neighborhood or sport park facilities.
Table NR-3 presents estimates of the City’s current and future ratios of parkland per 1,000 persons. Separate ratios are presented for facilities provided or planned for by the City and those provided or planned for by the County.
To calculate the parkland ratio per 1,000 residents, the acreage of currently developed City parks, City open space areas, and joint -use recreation facilities listed in Table NR -2 are combined for a total of about 2516 acres. Given the City’s estimated 202014 population of 140,06539,279, this equates to a current ratio of 1.7984 acres of current parkland per 1,000 persons, which is notably lower than the National Recreation and Park Association’s recommendation of 3 acres per 1,000 population. According to this recommendation, the City has a current park shortage of approximately 1692 acres. However, City residents also enjoy access to approximately 1,187 acres of County regional parks. If regional parks are 361
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factored into the
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NR-45 Figure NR-5 Parks Master Plan
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Table NR-2
Orange Park System Inventory
Location
Date
Acquired
(for City parks)
Acres Function
Belmont Park 4536 E. Via Escola Ave. 1994 2.50 Neighborhood Cerro Villa Park 5850 Crest de Ville 1971 26.70 Open space Eisenhower Park 2864 N. Tustin Ave. 1969 16.46 Community El Camino Real Park 400 N. Main St. 1978 18.67 Community El Modena Basin Hewes St. & Jordan Ave. 1973 7.37 Neighborhood El Modena Park 555 S. Hewes St. 1974 9.32 Neighborhood
Fred Barrera Park 8380 East Serrano Ave. 2006 3.00 Neighborhood Grijalva Park at Santiago Creek 368 N. Prospect Ave. 2003 37.00 Community Handy Park 2143 E. Oakmont Ave. 1978 7.31 Neighborhood
Hart Park 701 S. Glassell St. 1934 41.76 Community
12.00 Open space
Killefer Park 615 N. Lemon St. 1956 4.95 Neighborhood
La Veta Park 3705 E. La Veta Ave. 1956 1.62 Neighborhood
1.00 Open space
Olive Park 2841 N. Glassell St. 1975 8.02 Neighborhood
Pitcher Park 204 S. Cambridge Ave. 1992 0.50 Special use Plaza Park Plaza Circle 1886 0.72 Special use
Santiago Hills Park 8040 E. White Oak Ridge 1990 7.95 Neighborhood Serrano Park 2349 Apache Creek Dr. 2004 4.00 Neighborhood Shaffer Park 1930 Shaffer St. 1964 7.32 Neighborhood
Veterans Memorial at Depot Park 100 N. Atchison St. 1887 0.44 Special use Yorba Park 190 S. Yorba St. 1962 8.54 Neighborhood
Steve Ambriz Memorial Park 610 Riverbend Parkway 2008 10.50 Neighborhood Subtotal Current City Parks 237.65
Fred Kelly Stadium 3920 Spring St. 2.00 Joint-use (OUSD) McPherson Athletic Facility* 333 S. Prospect Ave. 1997 9.00 Joint-use (OUSD) Santiago Canyon College 8045 E. Chapman Ave. 2.58 Joint-use (RSCCD) Subtotal Current Joint-use Agreements 13.58
Irvine Company I East Orange N/A** 6.00 Neighborhood
Irvine Company II East Orange N/A** 3.00 Neighborhood
Subtotal Planned Future Parks 9.00
Subtotal City Current and Planned Future Parks and Joint-use Facilities 260.23 Irvine Regional Park East Orange N/A*** 477 Regional Park Santiago Oaks Regional Park Northeast Orange N/A*** 356 Regional Park Peters Canyon Regional Park East Orange N/A*** 354 Regional Park Subtotal County Regional Parks 1,187
Total Park Acreage 1,447.23
Sources: Orange Master Plan for Park Facilities, 1999; Community Services Department staff interview, 2015; Orange County Parks Department, 2007.
Notes:
* Although the McPherson Athletic Facility encompasses 18 acres, the City of Orange only uses the facility half of the time. Th is results in the designation of 9 acres of joint-use acreage allocation. ** Planned future parks scheduled for construction.
*** Regional parks not owned by the City.
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Table NR-3
Park Ratio Calculations
Current (202014)
Population: 140,06539,279
Future (post-2030)
Population: 178,471
Acres
Ratio (Acres/
1,000 Population) Acres
Ratio (Acres/ 1,000
Population)
City parks, open spaces and joint-use facilities 251.23 1.830 260.2360.23 1.4646 County regional parks 1,187 8.4752 1,187 6.65
Total 1,438.2343.33 10.2733 1,4479.233 8.12
Note: Population totals, City park acreages, and resulting ratios are based on the 2007 incorporated City limits. They do not inclu de the City’s sphere of influence, where parks are provided and maintained by the County of Orange.
parkland ratio, the ratio improves to approximately 10.2736 acres of parkland per 1,000 population.
If further growth occurs in accordance with policies described in the Land Use Element, Orange’s population may increase to approximately 178,471 at some point in time after 2030.
Assuming that the planned park improvements in east Orange (described in Table NR-1) are completed prior to 2030, this would result in a future ratio of 1.466 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. Approximately 275 acres of additional parkland beyond the planned parks in east Orange is required to achieve the recommended ratio of 3 acres per 1,000 population.
An additional 632 acres would be required to achieve the desired ratio of 5 acres per 1,000 persons, as stated in General Plan policy. If County regional parks are factored into the ratio, the future ratio would be approximately 8.1 acres of parkland per 1,000 population.
Strong demand and immediate need exist for more parks,
accessible open spaces, active recreational areas, and well - lit multi -use facilities in Orange. The current shortage of parkland in Orange has caused the City to develop joint -use facilities agreements, specifically with the Orange Unified School District (OUSD) and Rancho Santiago Community
College District. Although joint -use arrangements have been successful, they are sometimes difficult to implement, and result in the City being able to claim only 50 percent of the use or effectiveness of a facility toward its objectives.
New Parks and Recreation Facilities
Because City residents will benefit from additional parkland and recreation programming, Orange will work actively to acquire, build , and maintain additional parkland and park facilities. Specifically, the City will pursue adding approximately 246 acres of additional parkland beyond the inventory of current and planned facilities listed in Table NR -2, in order to achieve a minimum parkland ratio of 3 acres per 1,000 persons by 2030, working toward a desired ratio of 5 acres per 1,000 persons by 2050 . The City will evaluate progress toward achieving this goal in a report to the City Council and community every five years. 367
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As a separate, but compatible, objective , the City will work with the County to facilitate the provision of overall parkland, inclusive of both City facilities and County regional parks, at a ratio of 10 acres per 1,000 population. Achieving this objective by 2030 would require acquisition of an additional 303 acres of parkland beyond the inventory listed in Table NR -1, and this additional acreage could be provided by either the City or the County.
To support these objectives, the City will require dedication of parkland at a rate of 3 acres per 1,000 anticipated residents or payment of in -lieu fees for new residential projects.
Payment of in -lieu fees constitutes sufficient mitigation for parks impacts under California law, and new development projects cannot be required to directly mitigate existing parkland deficiencies. However, the City will utilize fees collected to the fullest extent possible to improve current park facilities and to acquire additional lands for the construction of new parks.
To increase incentives for new projects to provide
viable, active park space, and to help compensate for
current parkland deficiencies, the City will offer a
variety of development incentives, including transfer
of development rights (TDR) strategies, to
developers of residential or mixed -use projects who
are willing to provide community open space in
excess of the standard 3 acres per 1,000 persons
requirement. TDR refers to a method of transferring
development rights from one property to another or
from one part of a property to another part of the same property. In this context, a TDR would allow for conservation of open space or creation of a new community park at one location, in exchange for increased density or larger building sizes at another location.
Furthermore, the City will continue to pursue all available joint -use opportunities with school districts, community college districts, and institutions, including Chapman University, in an effort to increase the utility of spaces throughout the City that are already functioning as open space. In its reviews of mixed-use developments within the focus areas established in the Land Use Element , the City will encourage such developments to include not only required park space but also common open spaces, portions of which may be required to be accessible to the public.
Meeting the stated needs for additional recreational open space will also require the City to pursue new types of parks and open spaces, such as pocket parks, linear parks, public plazas and paseos. Provision of these spaces is strongly encouraged by land use policy supporting the development of mixed-use residential and commercial areas in the Land Use Element.
The City will also acquire land for, build, and maintain parks currently identified in the Master Plan for Parks Facilities , and will amend the Master Plan on a periodic basis to reflect current conditions. The City’s Park, Planning and Development Commission is currently working through the planning stages of several new parks throughout the City, which are identified within the Master Plan for Parks Facilities.
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Site Selection Standards for New Parks
The City of Orange and areas within the City’s sphere of influence have grown considerably in recent decades. While the rate of growth in the future is difficult to predict, thousands of new housing units will be constructed during the next several decades, both in east Orange and within the focus areas established in the Land Use Element. This in turn will require the development of new parks and facilities, and of convenient ways to access them.
A major goal of the City ’s Community Services Department is to make sure that all future park sites obtained through dedications or purchases are adequate in terms of meeting the recreational needs of the City. A “park” that is inaccessible, lacks usable open space , or is otherwise constrained has limited utility to the residents it is design ated to serve. To ensure that this does not happen, the following standards are established to apply to the acquisition of new parkland:
▪ The service area should not be divided by natural or man-made barriers such as arterial highways, railroads, freeways, and commercial or industrial areas that would render the site inaccessible or undesirable as a park.
▪ Neighborhood parks should be located adjacent to elementary schools whenever possible. The primary consideration should be whether the existing school has adequate play space to serve both its educational needs and the needs of the neighborhood for playground space.
▪ The site for a community park should be of sufficient size to include a recreation building unless adjacent school facilities can be designated to serve public uses when school is not in session.
▪ The site for a neighborhood park should have street frontage. If it is located where adjacent streets are not sufficient for parking, the site should have a parking lot.
Community park sites should have direct access to an arterial street. ▪ All neighborhood and community park sites should be accessible by foot, by bicycle, or within a short drive.
Santiago Creek and the Santa Ana River
Santiago Creek is one of a limited number of natural creeks in southern California, and provides recreational, ecological, flood control and cultural benefits to the City. Orange residents strongly identify with the Creek, and are unified in their desire to preserve the natural characteristics of the Creek, and to use it as a link that connects City parks and other gathering places. Residents also seek long-term preservation of the hydrologic and ecologic functions of the creek.
In 1999, the City applied for, and was granted, technical assistance from the National Park Service Rivers, Trails , and Conservation Assistance Program to prepare a conceptual master plan for Santiago Creek. The plan , which is under preparation, will addresses three major components: recreation trails, open space, and flood control. The City will continue to work 369
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toward completion of the Vision Plan for Santiago Creek , and will implementation of its recommendations, consistent with General Plan policies concerning the Creek.
The Santa Ana River also provides important flood control benefits and recreational opportunities for City residents. Current and planned land uses located along the Santa Ana River are among the City’s highest intensity uses, providing great opportunities to improve access to the recreational trails that follow the River. The City supports future development of highly-visible access points to the River, particularly at Chapman Avenue, Katella Avenue, and Lincoln Avenue. Also, the City seeks to partner with the City of Anaheim, resource agencies, water districts, the Orange County Flood Control District, and community organizations to complete a vision plan for the Santa Ana River, similar to efforts currently underway for Santiago Creek. A key objective of the vision plan should be achieving more flexible use of the Santa Ana River corridor as a recreational amenity.
For both Santiago Creek and the Santa Ana River, the City supports preserving undeveloped portions of the waterways to support riparian habitat areas and improve surface water quality. Such preservation would be accomplished through the use of Open Space land use designations. For portions of Santiago Creek that abut developed areas, the City desires that future commercial and residential projects respond to the presence of the creek as a community and ecological amenity to be incorporated in their site plans, building design and orientation, and landscaping.
Recreational Programs and Services
The City will also establish an ordinance to provide opportunities for funding for recreational services and facilities. Additionally, Orange will off -set and minimize impacts to the existing system caused by increased population associated with new residential development.
Comprehensive Trails Network
Trails serve important transportation and recreational needs for both City residents and visitors. They also help link the community through greater accessibility between neighborhoods, employment and retail centers, civic and cultural areas, nature areas , and schools. Pedestrian trails and bikeways enhance Orange’s community mobility, provide opportunities for recreation and exercise, and also reduce dependence on the automobile.
Orange’s warm , dry climate and generally flat landscape make it perfect for walking and bicycling amenities such as trails, walkways and bike paths.
The City experienced tremendous growth in the 1980s. During the 1989 General Plan update, the City Council identified a need for additional recreational opportunities and recognized that construction on previously undeveloped areas rendered many “open spaces” no longer usable or accessible to the public. Recognition of this need was the motivation for development of the Recreational Trails Master Plan in 1993. Master Plan objectives include :
goals for development of the trails system, a set of design standards, and an implementation and management maintenance program. Implementation of the Master Plan relies on the combination of City efforts and the efforts of a dedicated, well -informed and highly organized group of trail activists who devote their time and economic resources to 370
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preserving and enhancing current trails and to developing and maintaining new trail opportunities.
The City is pursuing strategies for the maintenance and enhancement of the following community trail assets:
▪ Over 70 miles of existing trails
▪ Numerous City and County administered parks and open spaces located throughout the City that provide natural destination points, staging areas, and rest areas ▪ Santiago Creek, which provides potential for a trail traversing the City from east to west, with connections to regional trails on each end
▪ The Santa Ana River, which provides multiple benefits, including a multi-purpose recreational trail that connects the San Bernardino Mountains to the Pacific Ocean Additionally, 104 miles of proposed future trails are planned throughout the City on land currently used for a variety of purposes, including flood control, railroad rights -of-way, and roadways.
Although the City’s trails are heavily used by residents, often trails are located in areas that are disconnected and not readily accessible from neighborhoods. For example, horse trails are located in single -family neighborhoods, and pedestrian trails are located in equestrian areas. The City will work in the future to refine the definition, purpose and use of trails, as well as appropriate links and access from neighborhoods.
The City has also put a high priority on creati ng a trail network that links the City’s open spaces, featuring the Santiago Creek Trail as the spine of the network. Orange recently completed a paved bike trail along Santiago Creek from Tustin Street to the Santa Ana City limit, at which point the trail continues on to Main Place Mall and the Discovery Science Center. Three additional segments of this bike trail are complete; they connect Tustin Street to Grijalva Park, as well as Collins Avenue along Santiago Creek, and then travel north from Walnut Avenue to Collins Avenue along the City -owned portion of the Santiago Creek Bike Trail Right -of-Way. The Santiago Creek Trail then extends through the City with a future connection to the regional Santa Ana River trail to Santiago Oaks Regional Park and wilderness areas east of Orange. The City will continue to work toward designing a comprehensive trail system that is highly accessible and safe for those who wish to use it.
Additional information, maps and policies related to Orange’s comprehensive trails system are provided in the Circulation & Mobility Element.
NATURAL RESOURCE IMPLEMENTATION
The goals, policies and plans identified in this Element are implemented through a variety of City plans, ordinances, development requirements, capital improvements, and ongoing collaborations with regional agencies and neighboring jurisdictions. Specific implementation measures for this Element are contained in the General Plan Appendix.
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INTRODUCTION AND VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Maintaining a safe living environment is one of the most important challenges cities face.
Orange prides itself on being a safe community with high quality emergency services and a high level of emergency preparedness. The Public Safety Element offers possible solutions for proactively addressing threats including natural and human -caused hazards, crime, and homeland security. Future land use decisions must be considered in the context of natural hazards, such as wildfires, earthquakes and floods. These decisions must also consider provision of public services, such as police, fire, and emergency medical services.
Orange’s Vision for the Future, presented in the General Plan Introduction, introduces a variety of objectives describing the desired quality of life of Orange residents in the future, including the following:
▪ Orange recognizes the importance of managing development in a manner that ensures adequate and timely public services and infrastructure and limits impacts on the natural environment.
▪ The City will work to improve the quality of life for all residents by providing residential, commercial, industrial, and public uses that exist in harmony with the surrounding urban and natural environments.
Sustaining and continuing to improve community safety is one of the City’s most important challenges. By implementing the Public Safety Element, the City will provide timely emergency service delivery and focus on expanding such services throughout the community. Through implementation of these policies, the City can also continue to prepare residents and businesses for disasters and plan for development of a safer community while likely increases in traffic congestion, extreme weather pattern variations , population growth , and ever - changing needs within the community continue to stretch the use of limited resources.
Purpose of the Public Safety Element
The State General Plan Guidelines direct cities to incorporate a number of required elements into their general plans, including Safety. Orange’s Public Safety Element addresses such issues as geologic and seismic activity, flood hazards, fire, hazardous materials , and aircraft operations. Other public safety issues include interjurisdictional cooperation, homeland security, urban design as a crime prevention tool, and issues related to Orange’s hillsides and waterways.
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Scope and Content of the Public Safety Element
The Public Safety Element is comprised of three sections:
(1) Introduction;
(2) Issues, Goals, and Policies; and
(3) Public Safety Plan.
The Introduction defines the purpose, scope, and content of the Public Safety element, and its relationship to other General Plan Elements. The Issues, Goals, and Policies section describes the community’s desire to address the most relevant public safety issues affecting the City.
The Public Safety Plan provides hazard maps, and establishes standards and requirements to achieve goals and implement policies. Detailed implementation programs for the Public Safety Element are listed in an Appendix to the General Plan.
Public Safety Considerations
State law requires that the General Plan address the following public safety concerns.
Natural Environmental Hazards
▪ Earthquakes and their related effects (surface rupture, liquefaction, ground shaking) ▪ Landslides, mudslides, rock falls, and soil creep
▪ Flooding due to excessive storm runoff or dam failure ▪ Wildland fires
Human-Caused Hazards Affecting Land Use Policy
▪ Hazardous materials
▪ Urban and Wildland fires
▪ Crime
▪ Homeland Security
Relationship to Other General Plan Elements
Accomplishing the goals and policies of the Public Safety Element requires coordination with other related components of the City’s General Plan. Other topics that are affected by the Public Safety Element include the Land Use, Circulation & Mobility, Infrastructure, Urban Design, Housing, and Natural Resources Elements. Also affected and coordinated within the Public Safety Element is Environmental Justice for disadvantaged communities.
Impacts of Public Safety policies and programs on the Land Use Element arise during identification of areas prone to natural hazards. For example, proposed land uses must comply with the land use compatibility standards contained in this element. Recommendations for evacuation and emergency access routes in the Public Safety Element affect the Circulation & Mobility Element. In turn, traffic calming goals and policies within the Circulation & Mobility Element have implications for emergency response. The Infrastructure Element addresses the maintenance of lifeline utility infrastructures, such as flood control facilities, that ensure 373
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protection from natural disasters. Streetscape improvements recommended in the Urban Design Element, including the addition of landscaped medians at some locations, may also affect emergency response, but could reduce the number of accidents along certain arterials.
The Public Safety Element provides policies to support housing and neighborhood safety, which contribute to the success of policies in the Housing Element to provide adequate housing. The Natural Resources Element is also linked to Public Safety , because open space zones and allowable uses are often affected by the location of the boundaries of hazard prone zones. For example, areas prone to liquefaction hazards are often coincident with riparian streams and surrounding areas preserved as open space.
Inclusion of the City of Orange Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
The City of Orange Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP), first adopted by the City Council on June 13, 2017, is adopted as part of the Public Safety Element. The LHMP establishes the City’s risk-based approach to reducing loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters.
The LHMP includes a comprehensive, long -term mitigation plan that identifies risks and vulnerabilities associated with natural disasters and facilitates City engagement in hazard mitigation planning. The LHMP includes sections on the purpose of the document, the profile of Orange, a hazard assessment, mitigation actions, and plan maintenance, implementation, and monitoring.
The Multi-Jurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) for the City of Orange planning area was developed in accordance with the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000) and followed FEMA’s Local Hazard Mitigation Plan guidance. The LHMP incorporates a process where hazards are identified and profiled, the people and facilities at risk are analyzed, and mitigation actions are developed to reduce or eliminate hazard risk. The implementation of these mitigation actions, which include both short and long-term strategies, involve planning, policy changes, programs, projects, and other activities. The LHMP can be found on the City’s website at: https://www.cityoforange.org/home/showpublisheddocument/5603.
ISSUES, GOALS AND POLICIES
The goals, policies, and implementation programs of the Public Safety Element address nine issues identified as important to the City: (1) protecting citizens from seismic hazards and other geologic constraints; (2) protecting the City from flood -related risks and hazards; (3) protecting the lives and property of Orange residents and businesses from urban and wildland fire hazards; (4) m inimizing risks to life, property, and the environment associated with producing, using, storing, or transporting hazardous materials ; (5) reducing safety hazards associated with civilian, military, and medical air traffic; (6) providing public safety services of the highest quality; (7) improving community safety and reducing opportunities for criminal activity; (8) emphasizing emergency preparedness throughout both the City organization and the community; and (9) providing safe pedestrian and bicycle environments. These nine issues include provisions for Environmental Justice to disadvantaged communities. 374
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Geologic and Seismic Hazards
The most significant environmental hazards that may affect land use in Orange are seismic and geologic hazards. Earthquakes and their related effects have the greatest potential to affect a large portion of the population. Other geologic hazards such as landslides and ground subsidence could have more localized effects. The combination of sound planning practices and continued public education will minimize risks to the community from seismic and geologic hazards, and will protect the health, safety, and welfare of Orange residents.
GOAL 1.0: Protect residents and businesses from seismic hazards and other geologic constraints.
Policy 1.1: Minimize the potential loss of life and damage to structures that may result from an earthquake.
Policy 1.2: Educate and train individuals and neighborhoods how to respond to emergency situations.
Policy 1.3: Participate in federal, State, and local earthquake preparedness and emergency response programs.
Flood Hazards
Portions of Orange are susceptible to flood events from either a major storm or a dam failure resulting from a significant earthquake. Dams are present along Santiago Creek at two locations: Villa Park Dam and Santiago Dam (Irvine Lake). Both are located in the foothills of east Orange. Peters Canyon Dam is located within Peters Canyon about two miles west of Irvine Lake. Unlike Santiago Creek, which flows generally northwest, Peters Canyon drains to the south in this area. Prado Dam is located approximately seven miles northeast of the eastern portions of the planning area in Corona. Areas below (downstream from) these dams, including large areas within the City of Oran ge, have high potential for inundation in the unlikely event of catastrophic dam failure (maps showing dam inundation areas are available for public review at the Community Development Department ). These dams and their reservoirs prevent periodic flooding that would be expected to occur in a natural setting.
Recognizing and preparing for floods allows the community to avoid associated dangers.
GOAL 2.0: Protect the City from flood-related risks and hazards.
Policy 2.1: Cooperate and work with the Orange County Flood Control District to ensure District flood control facilities are well maintained and capable of providing flood protection levels for 100-year storm flows.
Policy 2.2: Protect critical public and private facilities located within areas subject to flooding and dam inundation.
Policy 2.3: Evaluate and monitor water storage facilities to determine which facilities might pose an inundation hazard to downstream properties.
Policy 2.4: Employ strategies and design features that will reduce the amount of impervious surface (i.e. paved area) within new development projects. 375
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Policy 2.5: Provide a safety assessment for post -fire events with a plan to minimize flooding, protect water quality, limit sediment flows, and reduce risks to adjacent properties, particularly in areas prone to landslides . Restore wildfire areas by planting native vegetation cover, encouraging the re-growth of native species, or using best practices as soon as possible in advance of the rainy season to aid in control of storm water runoff and facilitate slope stabilization.
Fire Hazards
Fire and its destructive potential are safety concerns within both the urban areas of the City and the undeveloped hillsides. Wildland fires are most problematic along the developed residential fringes of the hillsides, known as the wildland-urban interface. On a seasonal basis, dry vegetation, little seasonal rain, and Santa Ana wind conditions combine with extreme weather pattern variations to increase wildfire potential. New development, particularly in the eastern portion of Orange, will result in increased fire hazards due to higher levels of interface between residential development and open grassland and vegetation along hillsides. Keeping neighborhoods buffered from both urban and wildland fire hazards reduces incidents requiring response, and minimizes damage to property when fires do occur. In addition, urban fire hazards are a continuing concern in the City’s industrial areas.
GOAL 3.0: Protect lives and property of Orange residents and businesses from urban and wildland fire hazards.
Policy 3.1: Continue to identify and evaluate new potential fire hazards and fire hazard areas.
Policy 3.2: Consider non -traditional methods of controlling vegetation in undeveloped areas.
Policy 3.3: Require defensible space maintenance agreements for new development projects and require extension of defensible space maintenance agreements to subsequent landowners. Landowners shall maintain minimum defensible space from all structures or improvements on their property and work with neighbors and the City to address defensible space within distances deemed necessary by Fire Prevention staff from structures existing on adjacent property. Planting and maintenance of fire-resistant slope cover shall improve defensible space and reduce the risk of brush fires within the wildland-urban interface areas located in the northern and eastern portions of the City and in areas adjacent to canyons, and the City shall refine and development shall implement structural hardening measures through stringent site design and maintenance standards for all areas with high wild land fire potential. To the extent possible native, non-invasive plant materials shall be used to reduce the potential for conflicts between safety and environmental goals . Fuel modification plans shall be prepared for new development projects to describe and address allowable plant materials and hardscape measures and design; defensible space distances and maintenan ce; and how fuel and vegetation around homes and roadways will be maintained and cleared.
Policy 3.4: Educate the public regarding fire safety through public outreach, and support for localized efforts to become a Firewise Community. Public outreach efforts 376
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shall also include discussions relating to benefits and purpose of defensible space and maintenance, and evacuation and emergency vehicle access routes and programs.
Policy 3.5: Continue to utilize the City’s Emergency Operation Plan (EOP) including existing Wildland Urban Interface pre-plans which among other components do the following:
• Identify low risk fire safety areas, including locations that may serve as temporary shelter during wildfire events.
• Identify fire defense zones where firefighters can control wildfire without undue risk to their lives.
• Designate and publicize areas where firefighter safety prohibits ground attack firefighting.
• Identify fuel breaks and other fire defense improvements on both public and private property.
• Provide for adequate fire suppression resources in the local responsibility area, and coordinate with CAL FIRE regarding State responsibility area and scenarios where wildfires affect both areas.
Policy 3.6: Periodically review trends and projections of future fire risk, including forecasted exasperated risk from climate change and drought, and fire risk reduction capabilities to ensure that mitigation measures are adequate.
Policy 3.7 Continue to implement fire prevention strategies and fire safe development codes.
Policy 3.8 Consistent with the Infrastructure Element, identify engineering vulnerabilities in lifeline utilities, such as overhead power lines, for exposure to or threats of wildland fire.
Policy 3.9 Obtain compliance with State Regulations , Building and Fire Codes, and City Guidelines for non-conforming properties particularly to increase resilience of existing development in high-risk areas built prior to modern fire safety codes or wildfire hazard mitigation guidance. Ensure all infill development projects within the SRA or VHFHSZ comply with all applicable State and City fire safety and defensible space regulations or standards which include using best practices for fire -resistant or fir eproof construction methods, materials and landscaping to reduce susceptibility to wildfire.
Policy 3.10 Recognize the overlap between the Natural Community Conservation Plan and the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, to achieve species and habitat protection, resource protection, water quality, carbon sequestration and storage, and wildfire hazard and risk mitigation.
Policy 3.11 Ensure public and private landowners for all existing land uses comply with all applicable State and local requirements and implement site -specific safety measures that mitigate wildfire risk down to a low category designation by preventing threats to the interface of public facilities, infrastructure, natural resources, and the urban environment.
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Policy 3.12 Prioritize infill development within the existing developed footprint to avoid future unfunded emergency vehicle access infrastructure creating repair and maintenance liabilities; and to reduce potential wildfire hazards originating from development adjacent to environmentally sensitive open space areas.
Policy 3.13 Avoid expanding new development, critical facilities, and infrastructure in areas subject to extreme threat or high risk, such as High or Very High FHSZs or areas classified by CAL FIRE as having an Extreme Threat classification on Fire Threat maps, unless all feasible risk reduction measures have been incorporated into project designs or conditions of approval. Ensure subdivisions and developments exist in concert with the natural ecosystem.
Policy 3.14 Prohibit land uses that could place occupants at unreasonable risk in high or very high fire hazard severity zones, such as areas with large events or assembly of people, health care facilities, or similar uses.
Policy 3.15 Monitor plant communities in wildland areas over time for changes in potential fire hazard severity or risks.
Policy 3.16 Plan, design, and manage urban open space facilities to reduce wildfire hazards and associated risks and to demonstrate fire-adapted landscaping.
Policy 3.17 Ensure all residences located in State responsibility or local responsibility areas comply with the fuel modification requirements of Public Resource Code Section 4291.
Policy 3-18 Provide fire safety inspections to newly owned, operated, leased, controlled, or maintained buildings located i n the high fire hazard severity zone (HFHSZ) or very high fire hazard severity zone (VHFHSZ) in accordance with AB 38. The seller of the properties within these zones must present documentation to the buyer that the property is in compliance with wildfire protection measures as dictated by the local vegetation management ordinance.
Policy 3-19 All new development and redevelopment in the VHFHSZ shall prepare fire protection plans that confirm compliance with the most current version of the California Building Codes and California Fire Code as adopted by the City . The fire protection plans shall also address long -term maintenance of fire hazard reduction projects and activities such as community fire breaks and private and public road vegetation clearances; delineate safe ingress and egress access areas and routes; describe evacuation and emergency vehicle access routes; ensure that home and street addressing shall be visible to emergency vehicles; and provide appropriate signage that show s access areas and routes for evacuation and emergency vehicles . The City shall maintain vegetation clearances along public roads. Private roads shall be maintained by the appropriate private homeowner ’s association or easement holder with abatement inspections conducted at least annually by Fire Department staff.
Policy 3-20 All new development and redevelopment in the VHFHSZ shall comply with the requirements found in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations (Natural Resources), Division 1.5 (Department of Forestry and Fire Protection), Chapter 7 (Fire Protection), Subchapter 2 (SRA Fire Safe Regulations), Article 1 (Administration), Article 2 (Emergency Access and Egress), Article 3 (Signing 378
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and Building Numbers), Article 4 (Emergency Water Standards), and Article 5 (Fuel Modification Standards); and Subchapter 3 (Fire Hazard), Article 3 ( Fire Hazard Reduction Around Buildings and Structures).
Policy 3-21 All new development and redevelopment in the VHFHSZ shall be inspected for compliance with the fire hazards policies and requirements of this Public Safety Element after large fires have occurred within the VHFHSZ.
Policy 3-22 Continue to monitor and forecast future water supply and fire flow availability and assess and ensure future fire suppression needs are satisfied.
Policy 3-23 Should new water supplies be required, the new water facilities and improvements shall be engineered and located in areas that best serve the community. These new water facilities and improvements shall be monitored annually and maintained by the appropriate agency or jurisdiction.
Hazardous Materials and Human-Caused Hazards
Manufacturing, transporting, and storing hazardous materials in the urban environment threaten the safety of persons working with such materials, as well as businesses and residences located near the hazards. The City recognizes the importance of identifying users and producers of these materials, and making land use decisions that minimize the risks associated with exposing people to hazardous materials.
GOAL 4.0: Minimize risks to life, property, and the environment associated with producing, using, storing, or transporting hazardous materials.
Policy 4.1: Assess potential risks of disposing, transporting, manufacturing and storing existing hazardous materials, and develop appropriate mitigation measures in case of accidents.
Policy 4.2: Prohibit new disposal, transport, manufacture , and storage of hazardous materials within the City without a mitigation plan in case of accidents.
Hospitals meeting current State and federal standards are exempt.
Policy 4.3: Identify hazardous materials dumpsites, and ensure that the sites are cleaned in conformance with applicable federal and State laws prior to the establishment of new uses.
Policy 4.4: Ensure that the public is protected from fires, noxious fumes, and other hazards within the City’s industrial area.
Policy 4.5 Prohibit land uses that could exacerbate the risk of ignitions in High or Very High FHSZs, such as outdoor storage of hazardous or highly flammable materials, automobile service or gas stations, or temporary fireworks sales.
Aircraft Operations
The John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, U.S. Army Airfield operations based in Los Alamitos, and helicopters serving various medical institutions in Orange generate high volumes of commercial and military aircraft traffic above the City. Potential hazards related to aircraft traffic include excessive noise and aircraft accidents. 379
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GOAL 5.0: Reduce safety hazards associated with civilian, military, and medical air traffic.
Policy 5.1: Work with the Federal Aviation Administration, the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission, California Department of Transportation , and other agencies to establish aircraft corridors which minimize the exposure of Orange residents to air traffic hazards.
Policy 5.2: Work with major medical institutions to minimize the impact of helicopter and airplane traffic on Orange residents.
Emergency Services and Safety
The safety and well being of Orange’s neighborhoods and businesses is a valued, fundamental component of quality of life in the community. Orange will continue to sustain and improve its commitment to safety through a comprehensive approach to police and fire services, including public outreach and education, proactive preparedness planning, community awareness, and partnerships with public a gencies and private businesses. Education will also be provided relative to homeland security issues. Foresight and p lanning regarding land use decisions represent proactive approaches to enhance safety in the community, especially in areas where future development may be more intense than current conditions. Potential rail hazards must also be recognized and prepared for. Industrial hazards such as noxious fumes, underground fuel lines, and other potential hazards must be evaluated and mitigated. Special attention must be given to industrial projects located near residential areas to ensure appropriate buffers and screening of industrial sites.
GOAL 6.0: Provide public safety services of the highest quality.
Policy 6.1: Provide the Police Department with adequate personnel, equipment , and state-of-the-art technology to effectively combat crime, meet existing and projected service demands, and provide crime prevention programs. These resources should be provided prior to anticipated needs.
Policy 6.2: Provide resources for additional police and fire services as needed to maintain average response times.
Policy 6.3: Provide and use up -to-date technology to improve crime prevention, fire suppression, and emergency services.
Policy 6.4: Continue to support, develop , and implement programs which improve the City’s approach to fighting crime.
Policy 6.5: Provide ongoing public information and education regarding the City’s Emergency Preparedness Program, homeland security, and other similar programs.
Policy 6.6: Utilize and update as necessary e stablished designated evacuation routes throughout the City as identified on the Police Department Website and in the Fire Department Wildland Urban Interface pre -plan documents for wildfire incidents.
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Policy 6.7: Maintain and update the City’s Emergency Operations Plan as needed, and ensure ongoing consistency between the General Plan and the Emergency Operations Plan and Fire Department Strategic Deployment Plan.
Policy 6.8: Establish and maintain optimal emergency response times for fire safety.
Require new development to ensure that City response times and service standards are maintained.
Policy 6.9: Continue to adopt and honor agreements with adjacent communities for mutual aid assistance.
Policy 6.10: Continue to train, license, and/or certify Fire Department staff.
Policy 6.11: Ensure that the Police and Fire Departments have complete and available emergency supplies, sufficient capacity, facilities, personnel, training, technology, equipment, adequate emergency vehicle access, crime fighting equipment, and fire suppression resources to meet growth needs for combating crime, providing fire protection, and providing related emergency services for all segments of the population, including vulnerable and disadvantaged communities, in all areas of the City.
Policy 6.12 Maintain and improve disaster response and recovery capabilities to protect and meet the needs of all members of the community, including the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.
Crime Prevention
Preventing crime through public outreach and education and designing new spaces to promote secure streets and public places can both improve the quality of life enjoyed by Orange residents. The Police Department works with the community to promote safety by increasing awareness of personal and property crime risks. Crime prevention also involves educating the public about personal safety, business and neighborhood watch programs, and residential and business security.
Defensible space planning is another crime prevention method. Defensible space planning uses design techniques, building orientation, and features of the built environment to deter criminal activity and positively influence human behavior. Defensible space planning is also a key element in a local comprehensive crime prevention and safety plan. Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) techniques incorporate four key considerations into site planning and architectural design: territoriality, natural surveillance, activity support, and access control.
GOAL 7:0: Improve community safety and reduce opportunities for criminal activity.
Policy 7.1: Provide crime prevention, community service, and education programs designed to prevent crime.
Policy 7.2: Promote and integrate crime -preventive characteristics and design features into all phases of the planning and development process.
Policy 7.3: Maximize natural surveillance through physical design features, including, but not limited to, visible entryways from surrounding structures and businesses; 381
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well-defined and visible walkways and gates; well -lighted driveways, walkways, and exteriors; and landscaping that preserves or enhances visibility.
Policy 7.4: Ensure that community areas and amenities such as transit stops, sidewalks, plazas, parks, trails, public parking facilities, and bike paths are appropriately lighted, free of hiding places, and frequently patrolled.
Policy 7.5: Maximize security of public spaces, recreation facilities, and new development by encouraging complementary uses that support a safe environment.
Policy 7.6: Continue to involve the Orange Police Department in the project design and review process.
Disaster/Emergency Preparedness
The City recognizes that emergency preparedness planning can reduce the impact of hazards resulting from a natural or human-caused disaster.
GOAL 8.0: Emphasize emergency preparedness throughout both the City organization and the community.
Policy 8.1: Sponsor and support public education programs for emergency preparedness and disaster response. Continue to provide a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program through the Police Department to support emergency awareness and preparedness for the Orange community , particularly for vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.
Policy 8.2: Coordinate disaster preparedness with other public and private agencies.
Policy 8.3: Coordinate emergency response and preparedness planning with other cities and public agencies in the region.
Policy 8.4: Develop and maintain a fully functioning Emergency Operations Center, and adequate and up-to-date emergency preparedness resources and plans.
Policy 8.5: Maintain the City’s mass emergency notification mechanism for the release of public information during a major event and seek methods to achieve effective notification to disadvantaged and vulnerable communities.
Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety
A walkable city is achieved by creating safe streets and travelways. Establishing a feeling of safety is key to encouraging the use of trails, pedestrian paths, sidewalks, and bikeways to move about the community.
GOAL 9.0: Provide safe pedestrian and bicycle environments.
Policy 9.1: Enhance and maintain safe pedestrian and bicycle movement through the integration of traffic control devices, crosswalks, and pedestrian -oriented lighting, into the design of streets, sidewalks, trails, and school routes throughout Orange.
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Policy 9.2: Support creation of safe routes that encourage children and adults to walk or bike to schools and recreational facilities.
Policy 9.3: Identify and attempt to remove impediments to pedestrian and bicycle access including those associated with rail, street, freeway , and waterway crossings and poorly marked or maintained pathways and sidewalks.
PUBLIC SAFETY PLAN
As in all communities, human activities and natural conditions occurring in Orange have an effect on residents’ quality of life. It is essential not only to p rovide an environment where businesses and residents can prosper and feel safe, but also to be prepared for emergency situations. The City can minimize hazards and protect public health and private property through a combination of appropriate land use planning and development review, and emergency preparedness planning.
Figure PS-1 presents graphically the City’s safety policies and plan s related to environmental and natural hazards. The Environmental and Natural Hazard Policy Map presents the locations of known seismic, geologic, flood, and landfill hazards. Figure PS-2 shows the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones in the Local and State Responsibility Areas. Figure PS-3 shows the City Wildland Urban Interface pre-plan areas. As applicable, the Public Safety Plan refers to these maps for identification of significant locations, conditions, or development requirements. 383
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Geologic and Seismic Hazards
Like many cities in Southern California, Orange faces geologic and seismic hazards, specifically earthquakes, earthquake -induced landslides, and liquefaction. The planning area encompasses two general types of terrain: an alluvial plain that underlies the central and western parts of the City, and a series of low hills (foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains) characteristic of the east side of the City and the Sphere of Influence. Generally, the alluvial plain is underlain by many thousand feet of fluvial and floodplain sediments, and certain areas of the plain adjacent to major watercourses (the Santa Ana River and Santiago Creek) are susceptible to flooding and seismically -induced liquefaction. However, the potential for landslides is low due to the limited relief of the alluvial plain. Conversely, the hilly section is underlain by bedrock (mostly late Tertiary marine and non -marine sediments); this area is generally less susceptible to liquefaction but certain areas may be prone to earthquake - induced landslides, depending upon the character of the underlying bedrock.
Earthquakes
An earthquake is a manifestation of the constant movement and shifting of the earth’s surface.
Movement occurs along fractures or faults, which represent the contact point between two or more geologic formations. Earth movement, known as seismic activity, causes pressure to build up along a fault, and the release of pressure results in the ground-shaking effects we call an earthquake.
Earthquake magnitude generally is measured on a logarithmic scale known as the Richter Scale. This scale describes a seismic event in terms of the amount of energy released by fault movement. Because the Richter Scale expresses earthquake magnitude in scientific terms, it is not readily understood by the general public. The Modified Mercalli Scale, on the other hand, describes the magnitude of an earthquake in terms of actual physical effects. Table PS -1 compares Modified Mercalli Scale intensities to Richter Magnitude Scale intensities.
Fault Rupture
The potential for fault rupture would exist along the traces of active faults. No known Alquist- Priolo fault zone is located in the Orange planning area. However, as shown on Figure PS -1, portions of the planning area are traversed by two faults: the Peral ta Hills Fault and the El Modena Fault. The Peralta Hills Fault runs from the crossing of Lincoln Avenue over the Santa Ana River on the northwest, easterly along the base of the Peralta Hills and into the City of Villa Park, then southerly into the hills west of Peters Canyon Reservoir. The El Modena Fault runs from its intersection with the Peralta Hills Fault at the base of the Peralta Hills, southeasterly to Chapman Avenue. Both the Peralta Hills Fault and the El Modena Fault are classified as possibly active by the Southern California Earthquake Data Center. Displacements along these two faults are smaller than those along the more prominent regional faults, and the maximum probable earthquake magnitudes would be much less than those along the regional faults. The City will continually update development standards and adopt the latest building construction codes to minimize seismic and related geologic hazards associated with these faults. 385
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Table PS-1
Earthquake Magnitude and Intensity Comparison
Descriptor Richter
Magnitude Modified Mercalli Index Intensity - Description Not felt Lower than 3.0 I. Not felt except by very few persons under especially favorable conditions.
Weak 3.0 - 3.9 II. Felt only by a few persons at rest, especially on upper floors of high -rise buildings.
Delicately suspended objects may swing.
III. Felt quite noticeably indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings, but many people do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing automobiles may rock slightly.
Vibrations like passing of a truck.
Light 4.0 - 4.9 IV. During the day felt indoors by many, outdoors by few. At night, some awakened.
Dishes, windows, doors disturbed; walls make creaking sound. Sensation like heavy truck striking building. Standing motor cars rocked noticeably.
Moderate V. Felt by nearly everyone; many awakened. Some dishes and windows broken; cracked plaster in a few places; unstable objects overturned. Disturbances of trees, poles, and other tall objects sometimes noticed. Pendulum clocks may stop.
Strong 5.0 - 5.9 VI. Felt by all, many frightened and run outdoors. Some heavy furniture moved, few instances of fallen plaster and damaged chimneys. Damage slight.
Very strong VII. Everybody runs outdoors. Damage negligible in buildings of good design and construction; slight to moderate in well -built ordinary structures; considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed structures; some chimneys broken. Noticed by persons driving cars.
Severe 6.0 - 6.9 VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse; great in poorly built structures. Panel walls thrown out of frame structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls.
Heavy furniture overturned. Sand and mud ejected in small amounts. Changes in well water. Persons driving cars disturbed.
Violent IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb; great in substantial buildings with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations. Ground cracked conspicuously. Underground pipes broken.
Extreme 7.0 -7.9 X. Some well -built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and frame structures destroyed; ground badly cracked. Rails bent. Landslides considerable from river banks and steep slopes. Shifted sand and mud. Water splashed, slopped over banks.
8.0 and higher XI. Few, if any (masonry) structures remain standing. Bridges destroyed. Broad fissures in ground. Underground pipelines completely out of service. Earth slumps and land slips in soft ground. Rails bent greatly.
XII. Damage total. Waves seen on ground surface. Lines of sight and level are distorted.
Objects thrown into the air.
Source: United States Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center, October 2002.
Ground Shaking
Orange is vulnerable to ground shaking caused by seismic events along large regional faults in the area. These faults include the Newport -Inglewood Fault (located approximately 15 miles southwest of Orange along the coast near Newport Beach), the Elsinore Fault (which crosses the Santa Ana River Canyon about five miles northeast of Orange), and the San Andreas Fault 386
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(which is parallel to the Elsinore, located approximately 40 miles northeast of Orange). Each of these faults has numerous branches and associated faults and, therefore, has associated fault zones. Movement along any of these fault zones has the potential to cause widespread upset in Orange. The potential for ground shaking within the City depends on the distance to the fault and the intensity of a specific seismic event along the fault. Also, areas underlain by bedrock at shallow depths (as in the eastern part of the planning area) would tend to be less affected than areas underlain by thick sequences of unconsolidated alluvium.
Figures PS-2 and PS -3 show the effects of two maximum probable events, a magnitude 8.3 earthquake along the San Andreas Fault and a magnitude 7.5 earthquake along the Newport- Inglewood Fault. The ground-shaking effects on areas within Orange are shown in terms of the Modified Mercalli scale (See Table PS -1). The maximum Mercalli intensity, IX, at the southwest corner of the city under a 7.5 magnitude Newport -Inglewood fault scenario, indicates potential for great damage to substantial buildings and damage t o underground pipes even in specially designed structures.
Landslides and Liquefaction
Landslides can occur when strong ground movement such as an earthquake shakes loose soil and causes land and debris to lose stability and slide. Liquefaction occurs when moisture - saturated soils lose stability during seismic conditions. Structures built on such soils may collapse and result in damage and loss.
Portions of the planning area most susceptible to liquefaction and landslides are identified on the Environmental and Natural Hazards Policy Map (Figure PS -1). Earthquake-induced landslides are most probable in poorly consolidated or semi -consolidated sedimentary rock, characteristic of the low hills of the northern and eastern parts of the planning area. Portions of the planning area susceptible to seismically -induced liquefaction include areas near the Santa Ana River and Santiago Creek. A smaller area of high liquefaction potential is present in the areas east of Panorama Heights, in Crawford Canyon. These alluvial plains are characterized by fluvial and loose, floodplain sediments.
To further protect the City from injury and structural damage due to geologic and seismic hazards, all new development will be required to abide by the most recently adopted City and state seismic and geotechnical requirements. All older buildings, particularly unreinforced masonry buildings, and buildings located near the Peralta Hills and El Modena Faults should be reinforced and strengthened to prevent damage to structures and loss of life in the event of an earthquake. The City will provide public education programs regarding geologic and seismic hazards and continue to cooperate with surrounding cities, regional, State, and federal government in programs designed to implement the most strategic and efficient actions to mitigate such hazards.
Flood Hazards
In Orange, flooding may result from either the overflow of watercourses due to excessive and unusual storm run-off, or from failure of dams and/or water storage reservoirs. 387
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Natural Flood Hazards
Flood hazards related to storm events generally are described in terms of the “100-year flood.” As its name implies, the 100 -year flood is the largest flood event which may be expected to occur within a 100 -year period. This flood is considered a severe flood but one which can be reasonably predicted and therefore reasonably mitigated. As shown in Figure PS -1, the 100 - year flood plains shown in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) maps indicate that the stream drainage areas along the Santa Ana River and Santiago Creek are subject to flooding by the largest storm event in 100 years or within 100 to 500 years. The floodplain may be subject to modification by manmade facilities such as flood control basins, levees , and concrete-lined stream channels.
Additionally, according to FEMA maps, a flood area determined for the 100 -year storm event (Zone A) is a reservoir water surface elevation of approximately 800 feet mean sea level (msl) as shown. Backwater into Santiago Creek, Limestone Creek, and immediat ely adjacent to Santiago Reservoir tributary drainage also reaches this elevation. As development in the hillside and basin areas progresses, runoff and absorption rates will be altered. Adequate infrastructure will be needed to ensure that the increased r unoff can be handled without increasing the risk of flooding. Appropriate flood control measures will be implemented along Santiago Creek and throughout the planning area, where necessary, to reduce the risks from localized flooding.
The National Flood Insurance Program, in which Orange participates, covers at a minimum all properties affected by the 100-year flood. To receive insurance benefits in the event of a flood, participating agencies must recognize these official flood boundar ies and establish appropriate land use policy for the flood zones.
Additional flood prevention methods such as provision of detention basins and on -site stormwater drainage will be required of developers to reduce runoff into the City’s drainage facilities and to provide adequate drainage for new developments. To minimize runoff, the City will promote developments that incorporate permeable surfaces within site design.
The City will direct development of critical public and private facilities such as medical, educational, and civic facilities to be located outside of flood zones. To mitigate flood hazards to existing structures within flood zones, the City will offer educational programs for the public and City staff regarding flood hazards.
Flood hazards can be created or heighten ed after wildland fire events. Post -fire systems are implemented on an as -needed basis following a wildland fire. Potential problem areas are identified by the City, then Orange County Public Works best practices along with National Pollution Discharge El imination Systems guidelines are implemented to mitigate potential flooding.
Dam Inundation Hazards
Failure of the Prado Dam in Corona (in Riverside County) could result in extensive flooding along the Santa Ana River. However, ongoing efforts by the Army Corps of Engineers to improve the Prado facility reduce the risk of dam failure to a very low level. 388
PS-17 Figure PS-2. Potential Groundshaking Zones – 8.3 San Andreas Earthquake 389
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PS-18 Figure PS-3. Potential Groundshaking Zones – 7.5 Newport-Inglewood Earthquake 391
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Two dams are present along Santiago Creek: Villa Park Dam and Santiago Dam (Irvine Lake).
Both are located in the foothills section of east Orange. Peters Canyon Dam is located along Peters Canyon about two miles west of Irvine Lake. Like Santiago Creek, which flows generally southwest, Peters Canyon drains in a similar direction, along Handy Creek and ultimately into Santiago Creek. The areas below (downstream from) the dams are areas of potential flood hazard in case of catastrophic dam failure, which presumably could result from a major earthquake. Maps depicting the extent of potential dam inundation within the planning area are available for public review at the Community Development Department. The areas below the dams are also zoned for flood hazard on the FEMA maps, and the areas of potential flooding are similar in width to other areas along Santiago Creek and Peters Canyon (see Figure PS-1). Should one of these facilities fail, properties along Santiago Creek and a large section of Old Towne could be flooded. Flood flows would move at rates which would allow persons to be evacuated, but significant property damage could result. However, as is the case for Prado Dam, these facilities are maintained and safety-inspected to ensure that risks are minimized.
Olive Hills Reservoir is a water tank which sits on a hilltop in Anaheim above residential development in Orange. Reservoir failure would result in the flooding of canyons and residential tracts below the reservoir.
The City will minimize flood-related risks and hazards in the event of dam or reservoir failure, protecting residences and businesses by encouraging the County’s Flood Control District to continue proper inspection of storm drains, ensure maintenance of the flood control facilities, and prevent earthquake damage. The City will also monitor water storage facilities to determine potential inundation hazards to surrounding properties.
Fire Hazards
As part of its efforts to prevent injury and loss due to fire hazards in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (VHFHSZ), Wildfire Urban Interface (WUI), undeveloped hillside , and urban areas, the City will continue to educate the public, provide up -to-date maps, and refine pre - plan WUI areas delineating areas that could face fire hazards. The City will ensure minimum road widths, clearance areas, and access to adequate fire protection services by enforcing Municipal Code provisions and City specifications, and conducting development review.
Wildfires
The Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones Map (Figure PS -4) shows Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones in the Local Responsibility Area and State Responsibility Area and also shows the boundaries of the Natural Communities Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan .
Risks associated with fire hazards at these Wildfire Urban Interfaces are reduced through fire prevention which includes, public education, development standards for new construction, annual inspections, State fire clearances, and fuel modification and weed abatement coordinated through or conducted by the Fire Department as outlined under the Emergency Services and Safety heading on the following pages.
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Development located within or adjacent to the identified Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (VHFHSZ) and Wildfire Urban Interface (WUI) in Figure PS -4 must prepare and implement a comprehensive fuel modification program in accordance with City regulations. Most of the City is developed outside of the VHF HSZ, however Figure PS-4 shows existing and proposed land uses within the VHFHSZ. Figures PS-6a and PS-6b show existing development in the VHFHSZ that has a single emergency evacuation route and also shows entitled projects that are either in or partially in the VHFHSZ. The City reviews new developments for appropriate fire services needs to ensure adequate emergency services and facilities to residents and businesses.
Coordinating with adjacent local cities, and participating in regional, State, and federal programs assist in preparing the City for wildfire emergencies and help reduce fire-related risks.
For localized wildfire incidents, the Fire Department implements the following WUI pre-plans:
• Tustin-Orange Foothills Fire Plan
• Anaheim Hills East
• Anaheim Hills West
• Cowan Lemon Heights
• East Orange-Orange Park Acres
These WUI plans are identified in Figure PS-5 and include the following:
• A risk assessment of the areas covered
• Critical information such as response safety, aviation hazards, potential choke points/entrapments
• Briefing information such as fuels, years burned, expected fire behavior, topography, access, special hazards, safety zones/temporary safe refuge areas, and water supply • Unified command information such as potential incident command post locations, unified command participants, and staging areas
• Large fire development factors such as weather and fire behavior • WUI arrangement
• Recommended strategies and tactics ( FIRESCOPE/PACE) including a primary plan (offensive), alternate plan (offensive), contingency plan (defensive – responder safety), emergency plan (defensive), and perimeter control plan • An evacuation plan including a primary evacuation plan, evacuation trigger points, and temporary evacuation assembly points for humans and animals • Population and structures at-risk by population, acreage, and structures • Structural Triage showing percent of threated/non -defensible areas, threatened/defensible areas, non-threatened areas, and areas with defensible space • Fire emergency resource needs for the first six hours including the fire ordering point; the number of engine s, strike teams, water tenders, crew, dozer s, overhead division support, and aircraft needed; and, the risk to WUI engine deployment • Law enforcement emergency resource needs for the first six hours including the law enforcement ordering point; number of officers from various agencies for evacuation, 394
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traffic control and security, traffic control points, logistics needs for emergency operation center support, and other considerations
• Maps showing topography, access, hazards such as electrical and aerial, base camps, water sources, evacuations areas and routes, fuel breaks, spotting problems, proposed dozer lines, forecast fire progression in major paths and arrival time, and other necessary information
The City participates in the county-wide Community Wildfire Protection Plan for Orange County. This plan addresses pre-suppression, suppression, and post-suppression tactics in the Natural Communities Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan areas within the City as identified on Figure PS-4. The suppression tactics identify desired actions and locations, while the post-suppression tactics identify the actions and responsibilities for fire suppression repair consistent with the Natural Communities Conse rvation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan. The plan is the conduit to discuss and develop pre-suppression and prevention activities to reduce the loss of life, property, environment, and suppression costs.
The City is also a participant in mutual aid via the SOLAR plan, the mutual aid agreement between the counties of San Bernardino, Orange, Los Angeles, and Riverside County fire agencies to provide for common radio communications and a central ordering point (dispatch center) for resources during emergencies.
Urban Fires
Although updated fire code requirements reduce urban fire risks in Orange, structures in older parts of the City, especially in Old Towne, were constructed prior to adoption of modern standards. Structures used for the transport, production, and handling of combustible equipment in the industrial areas (shown in Figure PS-1) also pose a credible urban fire threat.
The Fire Department will participate in environmental review procedures to reduce urban fire risks in these areas, and will help educate the public regarding fire prevention. 395
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Note: The Tustin-Orange Foothills Fire Plan area encompasses much of the other WUI Pre-Plan boundaries.
The map area is on file with the Fire Department.
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Hazardous Materials and Human-Caused Hazards
Hazardous materials are often found in solid, liquid, and gas forms that pose potential threats or actual harm to humans and the environment. Mishandled hazardous materials can leak into soils and water sources.
Hazardous Materials
The City follows the County’s Hazardous Materials Inspection and Enforcement Plan. To prevent accidents, and ensure proper handling, routine inspections are conducted at businesses within the City that store, use, or handle hazardous materials. The City concentrates production of hazardous materials within its industrial area, separated from residential areas, educational uses, and institutional facilities (see Figure PS-1). The City also identifies businesses transporting, manufacturing, using, and storing hazardous chemicals, and requires such businesses to exercise caution and to mitigate potential negative effects on surrounding land uses prior to obtaining businesses licenses. Periodic assessment and analysis of potential threats related to hazardous materials will result in proper response to hazardous substance emergencies. In addition, plans for residential or for mixed -use projects on industrial or commercial lands will be required to undergo proper site assessment and remediation prior to development.
Residents may dispose of hazardous materials at the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center in the City of Anaheim. Since the three landfill sites serving Orange (located in Irvine, Brea, and San Juan Capistrano) do not accept hazardous wastes, commercial hazardous wastes must be collected and disposed by private waste disposal companies.
Solid Waste Disposal Sites
Areas formerly used as landfills contain wastes that can release toxins into the air or contaminate groundwater. As indicated in Figure PS -1, the planning area includes several closed landfills.
Those landfills as named on the County website are:
• Cerro Villa, located 1/4 mile east of Cannon Street between E. Serrano Avenue and East Goldenrod Lane
• La Veta, located on the northeast corner of La Veta and Tustin Avenues. • Reeve Pit, located at the northeast corner of Villa Park Road/East Santiago Canyon Road and North Hewes Street
• Santiago Canyon, located off Santiago Canyon Road, east of the intersection of the SR 261 and SR 241, adjacent and westerly of Irvine Lake. The physical address is 3099 Santiago Canyon Road.
• Villa Park, located south of the Santiago Creek on the northeast corner of Santiago Canyon Road and Cannon Street in the City of Orange. The physical address is 5545 E. Santiago Canyon Road.
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• Yorba, located at the southwest corner of Chapman Avenue and Yorba Street in the City of Orange. The physical address is 190 S. Yorba Street.
In addition to the aforementioned closed landfills, the planning area has solid waste sites listed on the State’s Solid Waste Information System (SWIS). These sites are indicated in Figure PS -1, and consist of the following:
• Blue Ribbon Nursery & Landscape Supplies, 1425 N. Santiago Boulevard • CalTrans Orange Maintenance Station LVTO, 691 S. Tustin Street • Cerro Villa Heights Disposal Station #7, 5850 E. Crest De Ville • City of Orange Santiago Creek Landfill, 190 S. Yorba Street • City of Orange Corporate Yard LVTS Op., 637 West Struck Avenue • La Veta Station #2, 465 S. Tustin Street
• Orange City Dump #9 , North of Chapman Avenue & Yorba Street, North of Chapman Global Medical Center
• Reeve`s Pit , 19111 Villa Park Road
• Rio Santiago, 6145 E. Santiago Canyon Road
• Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Dump #1 (abandoned), East Bank of the Santa Ana River, South of Lincoln Avenue, West of River Trail Road
• Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Dump #2 (abandoned), East Bank of the Santa Ana River S Of Lincoln And Batavia
• Santiago Canyon Sanitary Landfill, 3099 Santiago Canyon Road • Villa Park (Loma Street) Landfill, Orange Co. Disp. Site No.22-Villa Park • Waste Management Of Orange, 2050 Glassell Street
• Yorba Landfill, southwest corner of Chapman Avenue and Yorba Street in the City of Orange. The physical address is 190 S. Yorba Street.
The City will require appropriate site assessment and mitigation of hazardous toxins prior to development. If areas pose hazards that cannot be adequately mitigated, they will be designated as open space.
Pipelines
Several high pressure pipelines pass through Orange, delivering natural gas, liquid petroleum, and other products to Orange and cities beyond. Hazards associated with the pipelines include gas leaks, fire, and seepage of materials into the ground. The City Fire Department maintains maps indicating the location of these facilities, and uses these maps for safety planning, incident response, and development review purposes.
Underground Storage Tanks
The City’s Fire Department has primary responsibility for managing risks associated with the presence of underground storage tanks (USTs). In addition to following the County’s Inspection and Enforcement Plan, the Fire Department is also a participating agency in the local Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) established by the California State Water Resources Control Board. The City’s Fire Department implements State requirements for USTs.
The overall purpose of the UST Program is to protect public heal th and safety and the 400
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environment from releases of petroleum and other hazardous substances from tanks. The Hazardous Materials Specialists Leak Prevention Program element includes requirements for tank installation, construction, testing, leak detection, spill containment, and overfill protection. CUPAs are the implementing agencies for the Leak Prevention program element.
Cleanup of leaking tanks often involves a soil and groundwater investigation and remediation, under the direction of a regulatory agency. Responsible parties who believe cleanup at their site is complete and are denied case closure by the regulatory agency may consider filing a closure petition.
Aircraft Operations
The planning area is not located within any airport crash zones. However, because aircraft paths cross air space between the Costa Mesa Freeway ( SR 55) and Newport Boulevard, the City is vulnerable to mid -air collisions of aircraft headed for John Wayne Airport or the U.S.
Army Airfield in Los Alamitos, and of helicopters flying to medical centers. Such accidents could result in injury and structural damage to residents , homes, employees , and businesses in Orange. To minimize the chance of such aircraft collisions, the City will work with the Federal Aviation Administration, the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission, California Department of Transportation ( Caltrans), major medical institutions, and other agencies to ensure aircraft use flight paths that minimize the City’s exposure to potential accidents.
The City will comply with the Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) for Orange County’s Heliports and Airport Environs Land Use Plan to ensure that future land uses located near helipads remain compatible. This plan requires that the construction of a new heliport or helistop complies with FAA and Caltrans permit procedures, as well as all applicable requirements of the C ity of Orange . Additionally, the plan requires that construction or alteration of structure in excess of 200 feet in height complies with federal and State law (FAR Part 77 and PUC 21676(b) , respectively) and with the requirements of the Airport Land Use Commission for Orange County, as well as all applicable requirements of the City of Orange.
The City will ensure that development proposals including the construction or alteration of a structure more than 200 feet above ground level must fully comply with procedures provided by federal and State law, with the referral requirements of the ALUC, and with all conditions of approval imposed or recommended by the FAA and ALUC including filing a Notice of Landing Area Proposal (Form 7480 -1). This requirement will be in addition to all other City development requirements.
Emergency Services and Safety
Achieving ideal law enforcement and emergency services requires coordination between the services provided by the City and the demands of the community. The City will first work with the community to identify the level of services desired. Then, the City will assess existing and future police and fire services, facilities, equipment, and personnel to determine its ability to meet current and future demands. The City’s Police and Fire Departments will continue to use public outreach and education to increase community awareness regarding hazards, the City’s Emergency Preparedness Program, and homeland security in Orange. In addition, the City will support programs that address crime and fire prevention activities . The Police and Fire 401
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Departments will continue proactive training and planning programs, and utilize state-of-the- art technology to improve response and increase public safety.
Fire Services
The main goals of the Fire Department are to prevent and minimize death and injury, environmental damage, and property loss . In addition to fighting fires, the Fire Department works to achieve these goals through public education, fire prevention, hazardous materials management, and fire investigations. Orange’s Fire Department provides fire, paramedic, and ambulance services. Paramedic teams are located at eight stations, of which four also provide ambulance service with an average response time of 4 minut es, 47 seconds; and average transport unit response times of 5 minutes, 15 seconds. The Fire Department employs fire fighters who are also trained in paramedic techniques.
The Fire Department obtained a Standards of Cover Assessment in 2015 which contains adopted written policies and procedures that determine the distribution, concentration and reliability of fixed and mobile response forces for fire, emergency medical services, hazardous materials and other technical responses and seeks to implement short and long -term steps identified in the plan to maintain optimal services to the City.
Training
Members of the Fire Department are trained in Urban Search and Rescue ( US&R). As part of the Orange County Task Force 5 US&R Team, one of 28 operational FEMA US&R teams in the United States, US&R team members provide trained urban rescue teams for regional and national emergencies. The Department also has a Swift Water Rescue Team that deploys rescue equipment during flood hazards. In addition to training for more common hazards, firefighters also train to handle incidents involving weapons of mass destruct ion, learning procedures for identification, decontamination, evacuation, and shelter-in-place.
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards are guidelines or “best practices” that the Fire Department strives to meet. NFPA standards state that the fire department shall have a training program and policy that ensure that members are trained and competency is maintained to execute all of its responsibilities. The Orange City Fire Department ’s training program provides for emergency service training to its staff members primarily through regionally offered classes. Common classes are Terroris m Liaison Officer, WebEOC, AlertOC, and EOC classes.
The Orange City Fire Department complies with Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) standards by certifying all suppression personnel with CPR, Emergency Medical Technician, and Paramedic certifications and licensures. All three of these programs are administered on an on -going basis to ensure Fire Department staff remains current. Orange maintains Emergency Medical Transport program compliance with the local EMSA (LEMSA) office (Orange County Health Care Agency).
The Joint Apprenticeship Committee is a joint effort funded by the California State Fire Marshal’s Office, and the California Professional Firefighters Association. It provides funding for each hour of training provided to apprentices in the fire service. These funds can be used 402
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to improve the quality of education and training in the fire service. The RT -130 wildland firefighting training is refresher training supported by The National Wildfire Coordinating Group. RT-130 classes are offered annually and are mandatory for all per sonnel to be eligible to respond out of County for wildfire incidents. The Orange City Fire Department provides RT- 130 training each year and tracks attendance for full compliance.
Fire Prevention
The Fire Department engages in fire prevention via public education, preplanning project review of new construction, annual inspections of facilities with potential hazards, inspecting for State Fire Clearances, and inspecting fuel modification/weed abatement.
Public Education
Public education provides members of the community with tools to increase the level of safety in their homes and workplaces by preventing fire and other emergencies. It also equips them to minimize injury and property loss in the event that an emergency does occur. The Fire Department provides public education by request, using personnel as available. The City does not currently have any Firewise communities but is available to support and assist any future efforts by interested neighborhoods.
New Construction
The Fire Department is actively involved with new development and redevelopment in the City. The Fire Plans Examiner meets with developers early on in the project planning phase, attends internal project review meetings, and coordinates plan review with contract plan reviewers on an as-needed basis. Plans are reviewed for compliance with the California Fire Code, City Fire Master Plan Guidelines, defensible space requirements in the VHFHSZ, emergency responder access, water supply, and water pressure/fire flow. The New Construction Inspector witnesses on-site testing and installation of fire protection systems, and confirms that construction conforms to approved plans.
Annual Inspections
All businesses with fire permits receive annual inspections. Moderate-hazard, non - permitted businesses receive field inspections once every three years. The Office of the State Fire Marshal requires annual inspections for apartments and high -rise buildings.
Many of the Fire Department’s occupancy inspections are conducted by the Operations Division (firefighting personnel). However, the Prevention Division conducts inspections in multi-family dwellings, high -rise structures, institutional and hazardou s occupancies, as well as other locations selected for their complexity.
State Fire Clearances
The State of California licenses various educational, institutional, and residential facilities, such as family day care homes, nursing homes, and residential care facilities for the elderly. As part of the licensing requirements, the Fire Department is responsible for issuing fire clearances after all State fire and life safety requirements have been met. 403
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Fuel Modification and Weed Abatement
Wildfire is an ever-present threat in the eastern and northern portions of the planning area. This threat is managed by proactive fuel modification and weed abatement. Fuel modification is the progressive thinning and irrigation of selected vegetation to form increasingly fire resistant vegetation as brush fires approach buildings. It is required for all developments bordering the wildland -urban interface. Compliance with weed abatement standards provides defensible space between structures and dead brush, grasses, and other vegetation. Weed abatement inspections for required clearance are performed twice a year for all vacant City-owned and private lots. Private property owners and homeowners’ associations are responsible for the continual maintenance of fuel modification installations and biannual weed abatement. The City utilizes the Vegetation Management Guideline - Technical Design for New Construction, Fuel Modification Plans, and Maintenance Program to accomplish fuel modification, weed abatement, and defensible space necessary in new development. Furthermore, Fire Department staff enforce defensible space requirements in the VHFHSZ and require adherence to development restrictions and maintenance requirements in the VHFHSZ.
Police Services
The Orange Police Department responds to emergency situations and patrols neighborhoods and commercial areas within the City to promote a safe environment. The staff maintains official criminal records, investigates crime, and , in an emergency, assesses situations and quickly dispatches appropriate emergency responses. The Police Department also directs proactive crime prevention programs. The Department’s headquarters is located on North Batavia Street and includes the City’s Emergency Operation Center. The Department operates a substation at the Outlets of Orange.
To maintain the City’s ability to serve current residents and businesses, applicants will be required to provide for adequate services and equipment to serve residents and businesses of new developments. Land uses will be evaluated and modified, if necessary, to facilitate access to emergency services, meet service standards, and ensure land use compatibility.
Orange’s partnerships with other public agencies and businesses will also improve its emergency services. For example, the City receives fire and emergency medical dispatch services from the Metro Cities Fire Authority Communications Center that serves six other cities in the County. The City participates in the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) for mutual aid and communication with other agencies during regional emergencies.
Coordination with other cities and regions, and with State and federal agencies , will help address hazards both within and beyond the City’s jurisdiction.
Crime Prevention
Reducing crime in the City enhances the living and business environment. A low crime rate attracts new businesses and gives residents a greater sense of security and community pride. 404
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Public Outreach and Education
The Police Department works with the community to promote safety by increasing awareness of personal and property crime risks. Crime prevention also involves educating the public about personal safety , business and neighborhood watch programs, and residential and business security. The Police Department connects with the community using social medial platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
The Police Department facilitates a Business Watch program that teaches business owners and employees crime prevention techniques and strategies they can use to help cut down on business-related crime. Training is conducted at a business complex with mana gers, owners, and employees to help maximize attendance. The goal of the Business Watch program is to teach businesses how not to become a target for crime. If businesses do not take a proactive approach, crime can gradually develop and affect the business environment.
The Police Department provides a Citizen’s Academy. The program allows the opportunity for the community to learn generally about police functions and to get to know Police Department personnel.
The Police Department’s Crime Prevention Bureau coordinates Neighborhood Watch programs that emphasize the importance and effectiveness of crime reporting by neighbors.
Neighborhood Watch allows neighbors to report suspicious behavior or incidents to the Police Department. The program encourages neighbors to get to know one another and keep an eye on their community, enabling the City to increase security for its residents. The program also provides public awareness and prevention seminars.
The Crime Prevention Bureau also offers several additional free crime prevention programs to the community, including security inspections of homes and businesses within the City, and electronic engraving for personal items and vehicles through the Operation Identification program. Educational presentations to community, business , and neighborhood groups are also available on topics such as child safety, identity theft prevention, personal safety, burglary prevention, and senior safety.
The City strongly supports these outreach and education activities, and the Police Department will continue to support community programs and neighborhood -level efforts toward crime prevention and education.
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
Orange values environmental design as a tool to help prevent crime . The concepts of CPTED offer non-invasive and permanent measures to prevent crime in the City. CPTED includes the following five concepts: territoriality, natural surveillance, activity support, access control, and maintenance.
▪ Territoriality: Demarcating the boundary of a property or an area through walls and fences can discourage intrusion. People tend to protect territory that they feel is their own and to respect the territory of others. Low decorative fences, artistic pavement treatments, well-designed signs, good property maintenance, and high quality landscaping express pride in ownership and identify personal space.
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▪ Natural Surveillance: Arranging populated functions or rooms in homes and businesses to face the street allows easy surveillance by residents and employees. Crime is discouraged through the design and orientation of buildings and public spaces, along with placement of physical features, activity centers, and people in ways that maximize the ability of others to see what’s going on . Conversely, barriers such as bushes, sheds, or shadows make it difficult to observe activity. Windows or doors oriented to streets and public areas, in conjunction with landscaping and lighting that promote natural surveillance from inside a home or building and from the outside by neighbors are effective means of passive crime prevention.
▪ Access Control: Circulation, site, and building access can be controlled through designating paths and placing bollards or fences to limit access.
▪ Activity Support: Supporting activities on the street attracts people and encourages natural surveillance. Encouraging legitimate activity in public spaces assists in discouraging crime. Improvements such as a basketball court in a public park and community activities such as a clean -up day, block party, or civic or cultural event bring people out, get them involved, and help discourage vagrancy and potential illegal acts. Providing a mix of land uses, types of residential development, and public or quasi -public spaces encourages diverse households and patterns of activity, increasing security due to round -the-clock activity and more eyes on the street.
▪ Maintenance: Maintenance of sidewalks, street trees, lighting, and private property discourages negative behavior such as littering and vandalism.
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) concepts enable developers and designers to incorporate crime prevention measures into building design. Territoriality can be achieved by demarcating boundaries with various surface treatments and careful design to make intrusion and suspicious activities easy to identify. Building orientations that face the street, window placements and size, and provision of lighting allow neighbors to survey their neighborhood and discourage intrusion. Pathways and ob structions such as walls and gates allow property owners and the City to control access.
Crime prevention also requires public participation. The City’s Neighborhood Watch Program relies on Orange neighbors as its most effective crime prevention tool. The program provides training to volunteers who maintain neighborhood safety by being watchful and reporting suspicious behavior in their area.
Crime prevention relies upon programs implemented by government agencies. To reduce crime, the City will emphasize the need for well-lighted community areas and the use of extra surveillance in areas susceptible to high crime rates, such as parking lots. Complementary uses within mixed-use areas will be encouraged to reduce crime. Activity support is strengthened by intentionally placing programs and activities in areas that improve the perception of safety and discourage potential offenders.
The success of CPTED depends on maintenance of all these programs. Maintaining streets, lighting, and landscaping facilitate natural surveillance and access control. Maintaining private and public properties requires participation from property owners and City departments. 406
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Continuation and monitoring of CPTED programs will promote safety in Orange neighborhoods.
Disaster and Emergency Preparedness
Being prepared and knowing what courses of action to take in case of emergencies reduces the chance of injury and damage. Educating staff and the public regarding hazards prepares them mentally and physically, leading to quick and appropriate response. The City will initiate and support practices of emergency evacuation measures at home, at work, and in schools to reduce the effects of emergencies on everyday life.
Emergency Operations Plan
In case of emergencies within Orange or originating from areas outside the municipal boundary, including foreign and domestic terrorist acts, the City will correspond with other jurisdictions, regions, and agencies to take appropriate actions. The City has an emergency plan which establishes emergency preparedness and emergency response procedures for both peacetime and wartime disasters. The plan is termed a n “Emergency Operations Plan,” prepared in accordance with the State Office of Emergency Services gu idelines for multi - hazard functional planning.
The plan consists of three parts: 1) a basic plan; 2) annexes which address specific functions and duties of response agencies; and 3) a directory of emergency response resources. Rather than focusing on specific responses for specific hazards, as contingency plans have done in the past, the City’s plan concentrates on specific agency response for any type of disaster. For example, in the event of an earthquake, flood , or industrial accident, the Orange Fire Department is responsible for fire suppression, e mergency medical care , and rescue operations.
The various annexes in the City’s Emergency Operations Plan outline emergency responsibilities by type of operation, such as “Fire and Rescue” or “Care and Shelter.” Table PS-2 summarizes emergency operation responsibilities of various City departments.
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Table PS-2
Emergency Operations Responsibilities
Alerting and Warning
Communications
Situation Analysis
Management
Public Information
Radiological
Protection Fire and Rescue
Assess Control
Law Enforcement
Medical
Public Health
Coroner
Care and Shelter
Movement
Rescue
Const. and
Engineering Supply/Procurement
Personnel
Transportation
Utilities
City Departments
Police
Fire
Public Works
Community Services
Community Development
Finance
Human Resources
Library
City Attorney
City Clerk
City Manager
Outside Agencies
County Health
Red Cross
Notes: Supporting Agency/Organization Principal Agency/Organization
In support of Disaster and Emergency Preparedness, the Police Department provides a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program to support emergency awareness and preparedness for the Orange community.
Emergency Access and Evacuation
All City arterials are recognized as primary emergency response routes. In addition, non - arterials can be secondary emergency response routes. The City’s Residential Neighborhood Traffic Management Program, which identifies traffic management and traffic c alming tools, specifies that emergency vehicle access shall be accommodated consistent with response standards with implementation of appropriate traffic management measures. Additionally, if current emergency vehicle access does not meet existing response standards, traffic calming efforts should not further degrade response times.
The City ensures that all new or substantially remodeled development or right-of-way improvements provide for emergency access and evacuation based on compliance with the most recent California Fire Code, California Building Codes, Fire Master Plan requirements, and 408
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the City’s development review process. However, there are existing residential developments within the Very High Fire Hazard Safety Zone (VHFHSZ) that do not have at least two evacuation routes. These developments are located as shown on Figure PS-6a and PS-6b. The City already applies strict target -hardening codes to construction and redevelopment in this area and will look to implement any additional evacuation routes for the area as opportunities arise.
The City’s Emergency Operations Plan utilizes evacuation routes for emergency situations and Fire Evacuation Area Maps are provided for public use on the Police Department’s website .
The City’s Wildland Urban Interface pre-plans also identify potential choke points/entrapment areas, safety zones, and a primary evacuation plan. The routes of escape from disaster - stricken areas will depend on the scale and scope of the disaster. For example, a flood occurring along the Santa Ana River would require evacuation of the City’s industrial area east toward the Costa Mesa (SR 55) Freeway. However, if a large fire occurred in the eastern portion of the industrial district, employees would evacuate to the west, toward the Santa Ana River.
Figure PS -7 provides a generalized version of the City’s evacuation corridors. Although emergency egress may vary depending on the type and scale of emergencies, it will most often take place on Chapman Avenue, Katella Avenue, Glassell Street, Lincoln Avenue, Orangewood Avenue, and Hewes Street. Most of these streets are wide, arterial roads with capacity to efficiently move residents in and out of the City. The City will continue to evaluate the viability of each of these routes to serve as evacuation corridors.
Figure PS-8 provides greater-detailed evacuation corridors for wildfire events in the easterly portions of the City that abut very high fire hazard severity zones. The Ci ty of Orange Police Department website hosts a “Know Your Way” in an emergency webpage with a prominent link to the evacuation routes and each color-coded neighborhood has a magnified evacuation route map.
Standardized Emergency Management and Mutual Aid Assistance Standard Emergency Management System (SEMS) and National Incident Management System (NIMS) are used by the City to provide a standardized approach to emergency management across all jurisdictions and disciplines. Both systems use common terminology and organizational structure to allow incident coordination, regardless of local, State, or federal government agency participation. Mutual Aid agreements (both local and master) provide for rapid sharing of resources during emergencies. Based on the principle that no single agency has enough resources to handle all potential emergencies by themselves, a cooperative sharing of resources across districts and jurisdictional boundaries does. Local Mutual Aid agreements allow for rapid sharing of nearby resources form other agen cies. Master Mutual Aid agreements provide sharing of resources form more distant jurisdictions.
The City participates in the SOLAR Plan, an agreement between t he San Bernardino, Orange, Los Angeles, and Riverside County fire agencies to provide for common radio communications and coordinated response.
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Emergency Shelters
In the event of either a natural or human -caused disaster, homes may be destroyed or be inaccessible for extended periods of time. Orange residents will require some form of temporary shelter. As Table PS -2 indicates, the Red Cross bears primary responsibi lity for providing emergency shelter to displaced residents. The Red Cross maintains a list of emergency shelters within and immediately adjacent to the planning area. Most of these emergency shelters, listed in Table PS -3, are public or private schools. The Wildland Urban Interface pre-plan temporary evacuation assembly points are consistent with Table PS-3.
Table PS-3
Emergency Shelters/Assembly Points
Primary Sites
El Modena High School 3920 Spring, Orange
Orange High School 525 N. Shaffer, Orange
Villa Park High School 10842 Taft, Villa Park
McPherson Middle School 333 S. Prospect, Orange
Peralta Middle School 2190 Canal, Orange
Santiago Middle School 515 N. Rancho Santiago, Orange
Yorba Middle School 935 N. Cambridge, Orange
Cerro Villa Middle School 17852 Serrano, Villa Park
The Outlets at Orange Shopping Center 20 City Blvd W
Secondary Sites
All Elementary Schools City-wide
Homeland Security
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the City of Orange’s emergency preparedness and response services have become an even more critical function. Since the events of 9/11, a considerable amount of information has been generated on potential vulnerabilities, protective measures, and anti -terrorism and security technologies. The Police and Fire Departments recognize the need not only to learn from the lessons of 9/11, but also to collectively address the anti -terrorism planning and policy issues that most affect Orange residents. The goals, policies, and impleme ntation programs associated with emergency preparedness also apply to readiness and response to terrorist acts.
The Police Department also offers education presentations to the community, City Staff, businesses, schools, and neighborhood groups on topics such as active killer or shooter.
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Figure PS-8. Fire Evacuation Area Map
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Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety
Providing a safe environment for pedestrians and bicyclists means designing streets that can carry vehicles, but that are also scaled for pedestrians and cyclists. Furnishing streets with bike racks, benches, lighting, and landscaping; repairing missing or dangerous sidewalks; and designating bike paths are all techniques the City can employ to reduce pedestrian and bicycle accidents. A desirable pedestrian and bic ycle environment also requires circulation improvements such as placing clear signs for cyclists and pedestrians, and providing buffers and traffic calming to tame automobile traffic around pedestrians and cyclists.
Implementation of the City’s goals and policies for pedestrian and bicycle safety will require an assessment of existing streets and of the City’s ability to expand or add improvements to accommodate the needs of pedestrians and cyclists in addition to automobiles. These policies are closely related to Circulation & Mobility Element policies that encourage vehicle safety. The City will also pay special attention to high-risk areas such as parking lots and areas surrounding schools and recreational facilities.
PUBLIC SAFETY IMPLEMENTATION
The goals, policies, and plans identified in this Element are implemented through a variety of City plans, ordinances, development requirements, capital improvements, and ongoing collaboration with regional agencies and neighboring jurisdictions. Specific implementation measures for this Element are contained in the General Plan Appendix.
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Introduction and Vision for the Future ..................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Public Safety Element ................................................................................................... 1 Scope and Content of the Public Safety Element.................................................................................. 2 Public Safety Considerations ................................................................................................................ 2 Natural Environmental Hazards ........................................................................................................ 2 Human-Caused Hazards Affecting Land Use Policy ........................................................................ 2 Relationship to Other General Plan Elements ....................................................................................... 2 Inclusion of the City of Orange Hazard Mitigation Plan ...................................................................... 3 Issues, Goals and Policies ......................................................................................................................... 3 Geologic and Seismic Hazards ............................................................................................................. 4 Flood Hazards ....................................................................................................................................... 4 Fire Hazards .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Hazardous Materials and Human-Caused Hazards ............................................................................... 8 Aircraft Operations ............................................................................................................................... 8 Emergency Services and Safety ............................................................................................................ 9 Crime Prevention ................................................................................................................................ 10 Disaster/Emergency Preparedness ...................................................................................................... 11 Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety ............................................................................................................. 11 Public Safety Plan ................................................................................................................................... 12 Figure PS-1. Environmental and Natural Hazard Policy Map ............................................................ 12 Geologic and Seismic Hazards ........................................................................................................... 13 Earthquakes ..................................................................................................................................... 13 Table PS-1 Earthquake Magnitude and Intensity Comparison ....................................................... 14 Landslides and Liquefaction ........................................................................................................... 15 Flood Hazards ..................................................................................................................................... 15 Natural Flood Hazards .................................................................................................................... 16 Dam Inundation Hazards ................................................................................................................ 16 Figure PS-2. Potential Groundshaking Zones – 8.3 San Andreas Earthquake ............................... 17 Figure PS-3. Potential Groundshaking Zones – 7.5 Newport-Inglewood Earthquake ................... 19 Fire Hazards ........................................................................................................................................ 19 Wildfires… ..................................................................................................................................... 19 Figure PS-4. Very high fire hazard Severity Zones Map ................................................................ 20 Urban Fires ...................................................................................................................................... 22 Figure PS-5. Wildand Urban Interface (WUI) Pre-Plan Map ......................................................... 23 Figure PS-6a. Residential Development in a Fire Hazard Zone with a Single Emergency Evacuation Route and Development Planned in a VHFHSZ map .................................................. 24 Figure PS-6b. Detail of Residential Development in a Fire Hazard Zone with a Single Emergency Evacuation Route and Development Planned in a VHFHSZ map .................................................. 25 Hazardous Materials and Human-Caused Hazards ............................................................................. 26 Hazardous Materials ....................................................................................................................... 26 Solid Waste Disposal Sites ............................................................................................................. 26 Pipelines ........................................................................................................................................ 27 Underground Storage Tanks ........................................................................................................... 27 Aircraft Operations ............................................................................................................................. 28 Emergency Services and Safety .......................................................................................................... 28 Fire Services .................................................................................................................................... 29 Training ........................................................................................................................................ 29 Fire Prevention ................................................................................................................................ 30 Police Services ................................................................................................................................ 31 Crime Prevention ............................................................................................................................ 31 415
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Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design ......................................................................... 32 Disaster and Emergency Preparedness................................................................................................ 34 Emergency Operations Plan ............................................................................................................ 34 Table PS-2 Emergency Operations Responsibilities ....................................................................... 35 Emergency Access and Evacuation ................................................................................................ 35 Standardized Emergency Management and Mutual Aid Assistance .............................................. 36 Emergency Shelters ........................................................................................................................ 37 Table PS-3 Emergency Shelters/Assembly Points .......................................................................... 37 Homeland Security .......................................................................................................................... 37 Figure PS-7. Generalized Evacuation Corridors ............................................................................. 38 Figure PS-8. Fire Evacuation Area Map................................................................................................ 39 Public Safety Implementation ................................................................................................................. 40
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REV. GPA NO. 2014-0001 (12/2015)
INTRODUCTION AND VISION FOR THE FUTURE
The urban environment contains a variety of noise sources that can affect the way people live and work. Some types of noise are only short -term irritants, like the pounding of a jackhammer or the whine of a leaf blower. These noise sources can generally be controlled through City noise regulations, including noise ordinances. However, certain noises, such as freeway, road, aircraft, and train noise, may be permanent fixtures in the community, diminishing its quality of life. In Orange, because of its location, transportation corridors are the major source of noise.
Orange’s Vision for the Future, presented in the General Plan introduction, includes the following objective related to the Noise Element:
▪ The City will work to improve the quality of life for all residents by providing residential, commercial, industrial, and public uses that exist in harmony with the surrounding urban and natural environments.
The Noise Element is a mandatory General Plan element, required by California’s Health and Safety Code Section 46050.01. The goal of the Noise Element is to identify problems and noise sources threatening community safety and comfort and to establish policies and programs that will limit the community’s exposure to excessive noise levels. It addresses both existing and foreseeable future noise abatement issues.
Purpose of the Noise Element
Recognizing that excessive or unusual noise can have significant adverse impacts on human health and welfare, the state has developed definitive guidelines for determining community noise levels and for establishing programs aimed at reducing community exposure to noise levels defined to be adverse. Policies, plans, and programs outlined within the Noise Element are designed to minimize the effects of human-caused noise in the community, and to improve residents’ quality of life by regulating and reducing noise, particularly within residential areas and near such noise -sensitive land uses as residences, hospitals, convalescent and day care facilities, schools, and libraries. The Element provides direction regarding best practices and strategies to protect City residents and businesses from severe noise levels.
The Noise Element recognizes that multiple noise environments exist within the City, including rural, suburban , and urban environments. As Orange evolved from a rural agricultural town to a bustling suburban community in the middle to late 20th century, the noise environment similarly changed . Rural roads were replaced by the arterials and 417
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freeways present in Orange today. Relatively quiet suburban residential noise levels became the norm for most City residents. At the outset of the 21st century, Orange still has semi-rural areas in the eastern portions of the City, in addition to the suburban noise environment found in most of its residential neighborhoods and commercial areas . However, a noisier, more urban environment is now emerging in Uptown, and Land Use Element policies promote reinvention of certain City commercial corridors into mixed -use activity centers . At these mixed -use activity centers, residents, shoppers, and businesspeople alike may be exposed to higher noise levels due to traffic and human activity.
Scope and Content of the Noise Element
The Noise Element consists of three sections:
(1) Introduction;
(2) Issues, Goals, and Policies; and
(3) Noise Plan.
This Introduction summarizes the general purpose of the Noise Element. The Issues, Goals, and Policies section outlines the most relevant noise issues affecting the City. The goals are a statement of the general direction and broad ideals that capture the desire of the community. The policies provide potential solutions for decreasing noise. The Noise Plan defines noise standards, presents noise contour maps, and recommends strategies to achieve goals and implement policies. Implementation programs for the Noise Element are provided in an Appendix to the General Plan.
The Noise Element addresses noise concerns that influence the comfort and quality of life of Orange residents. Excessive noise may originate from many sources, including vehicle traffic on freeways and arterial roadways, construction activities and machinery in industrial areas, railroads, and aircraft. Beyond direct mitigation strategies to address these sources of noise, the City is also committed to establishing and upholding guidelines for noise levels compatible with various types of land use activity.
Mixed-use residential and commercial development presents unique noise reduction challenges. Although located in commercial environments, the residential portions of mixed- use projects are nonetheless subject to residential noise standards and guidelines established by the state. Strategies to address noise in these environments focus on incorporation of noise reducing measures in project design.
Relationship to Other General Plan Elements
Accomplishing the goals and policies of the Noise Element requires coordination with other related components of the City’s General Plan. Other topics that are affected by the Noise Element include the Land Use, Circulation & Mobility, and Housing Elements.
Impacts of noise policies and programs on the Land Use Element arise during identification of noise sources and noise -sensitive uses. The noise contours and land use compatibility standards contained in the Noise Element should be used when making planning and development decisions.
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The contents of the Noise Element are also related to the Circulation & Mobility and Housing Elements, because Orange’s primary noise sources include freeways, arterial roadways , railways, and aircraft. In turn, Noise Element policies are intended to mitigate excessive noise along transportation routes and direct housing to appropriate sites away from sources of excessive noise.
ISSUES, GOALS AND POLICIES
Certain areas of Orange are subject to high levels of noise from one or more of the following sources: freeways and arterial roadways, construction activities and machinery in industrial areas, railroads, aircraft, and fireworks noise from nearby Disneyland and Angel Stadium. All of these noise sources reduce the quality of life within the City. Considering noise sources in the planning process , identifying the noise impacts of potential development projects , and planning accordingly are effective methods of minimizing the impacts of noise on residents.
The goals, policies, and implementation programs of the Noise Element address seven issues:
(1) noise and land use compatibility; (2) vehicular traffic noise; (3) train noise; (4) aircraft noise; (5) noise associated with mixed -use development; (6) industrial noise; and (7) construction, maintenance, and nuisance noise.
Noise and Land Use Compatibility
Land use directly affects noise compatibility , because higher noise levels often associated with industrial, commercial, and mixed commercial and residential development can encroach upon more noise-sensitive land uses. Noise -sensitive land uses include: residences, hospitals, convalescent and day care facilities, schools, and libraries. Noise producing and noise-sensitive land uses should be either sufficiently separated or sufficiently buffered from one another to ensure that sensitive uses are not exposed to unacceptable noise levels.
Proposed land uses should be compatible with existing and forecasted future noise levels.
Incompatible land use noise exposures should incorporate noise attenuation and/or control measures within project design to reduce the noise to an acceptable interior level of 45 A- weighted decibels ( dBA) community noise equivalent level ( CNEL) or lower, as required by state regulations (CCR Title 24) for residential uses. (For an explanation of these terms and the relative noise levels of common noise -producing activities, see the discussion accompanying Table N-2 in the “Measuring Noise” section that follows.) GOAL 1.0: Promote a pattern of land uses compatible with current and future noise levels.
Policy 1.1: Consider potential excessive noise levels when making land use planning decisions.
Policy 1.2: Encourage new development projects to provide sufficient spatial buffers to separate excessive noise generating land uses and noise-sensitive land uses.
Policy 1.3: Incorporate design features into residential and mixed -use projects that can be used to shield residents from excessive noise.
Policy 1.4: Ensure that acceptable noise levels are maintained near noise-sensitive uses.
Policy 1.5: Reduce impacts of high-noise activity centers located near residential areas. 419
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Policy 1.6: Require an acoustical study for proposed developments in areas where the existing and projected noise level exceeds or would exceed the maximum allowable levels identified in Table N -3. The acoustical study shall be performed in accordance with the requirements set forth within this Noise Element.
Vehicular Traffic Noise
Vehicular traffic is the most common source of noise experienced throughout the City.
Primary sources of traffic noise include: the Interstate 5 and State Route (SR) -22, -55, -57, and -91 Freeways which surround and traverse the City ; the SR-241/261 Foothill Transportation Corridor; and City arterial roadways. Arterials such as State College Boulevard/The City Drive, Chapman Avenue, La Veta Avenue, Batavia Street, Glassell Street, Tustin Street, Katella Avenue, and Jamboree Road are all high traffic volume roadways that generate traffic noise levels well above 65 dBA CNEL. Traffic noise is dependent on vehicle volume, speed, flow, and fleet mix, as well as distance from the roadway to the receptor.
GOAL 2.0: Minimize vehicular traffic noise in residential areas and near noise -sensitive land uses.
Policy 2.1: Encourage noise -compatible land uses along existing and future roadways, highways, and freeways.
Policy 2.2: Encourage coordinated site planning and traffic control measures that minimize traffic noise in noise-sensitive land use areas.
Policy 2.3: Encourage the use of alternative transportation modes such as walking, bicycling, mass transit, and alternative fuel vehicles to minimize traffic noise.
Policy 2.4: Continue to work with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Orange County Transit Authority (OCTA), and Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) to install, maintain, and update freeway and highway rights-of-way buffers and soundwalls.
Policy 2.5: Work toward understanding and reducing traffic noise in residential neighborhoods with a focus on analyzing the effects of traffic noise exposure throughout the City.
Train Noise
Train noise currently experienced within the City results from the locomotive engines and warning horns associated with rail operations. These daily operations tend to produce high short-term noise levels that can be a source of annoyance to nearby sensitive uses.
Depending on the number of daily movements, train operations also have the potential to generate noise levels that exceed 65 dBA CNEL along the rail corridors.
GOAL 3.0: Minimize train noise in residential areas and near noise-sensitive land uses.
Policy 3.1: Encourage noise-compatible land uses and incorporate noise-reducing design features within transit oriented, mixed-use development near rail corridors. 420
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Aircraft Noise
Although no airports or airfields are located in Orange, noise generated by aircraft overflights can be noticeable throughout the City. Aircraft operations associated with John Wayne Airport, Long Beach Airport, and even Los Alamitos Army Airfield use the airspace above the City in arrival and departure operations. The general noise environment in the City also includes h elicopter noise from private, police , emergency medical , and news/traffic monitoring helicopters.
GOAL 4.0: Minimize aircraft related noise in residential areas and near noise -sensitive land uses.
Policy 4.1: Continue to provide input to the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission as appropriate to minimize airport noise.
Policy 4.2: Continue to work with regional, state, and federal agencies, including officials at John Wayne Airport and Long Beach Airport , to implement noise-reducing measures and to monitor and reduce noise associated with aircraft.
Policy 4.3: Continue to coordinate with the Federal Aviation Administration, Caltrans Division of Aeronautics, and the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission regarding the siting and operation of heliports and helistops in order to minimize excessive helicopter noise.
Mixed-use Development
Mixed-use development projects often include both residential uses located above or in close proximity to commercial uses and stand-alone multi-family residential uses, especially in areas served by rail and bus transit , along major roadways and the railroad corridor. Noise generated by commercial uses can include mechanical equipment operations, maintenance activities, public address systems, vehicles, entertainment, parking lots, loading operations, and trash collection, as well as pedestrian and business patron noise. A unique challenge presented by mixed -use development is that on one hand, such uses desire locations along busy street corridors and within activity centers, and on the other hand, state-mandated interior noise requirements for residential uses must be met within the residential portions of such use.
GOAL 5.0: Minimize commercial activity noise in residential portions of mixed -use areas where residential units are located above commercial uses or within the same development.
Policy 5.1: Encourage the design and construction of mixed -use structures to minimize commercial noise within the residential components of the development.
Policy 5.2: Encourage new mixed-use development to locate the residential component of the development away from noise-generating sources such as mechanical equipment, entertainment facilities, gathering places, loading bays, parking lots, driveways, and trash enclosures.
Policy 5.3: Encourage residential developments within mixed -use developments and located adjacent to commercial or retail and entertainment related uses to notify potential residents that they may be affected by noise from these uses. 421
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Industrial Noise
Industrial land uses have the potential to generate noise that can be considered intrusive to sensitive land uses. Depending on the type of industrial operation, noise sources could involve mechanical equipment, loading and unloading of vehicles and trucks, as well as amplified or unamplified communications. The level and intrusiveness of the noise generated also vary depending on the size of the facility, type of business, hours of operation , and location relative to sensitive land uses.
GOAL 6.0: Minimize industrial activity noise in residential areas and near noise - sensitive land uses.
Policy 6.1: Encourage the design and construction of industrial uses to minimize excessive noise through project design features that include noise control.
Policy 6.2: Encourage industrial uses to locate vehicular traffic and operations away from abutting residential zones as much as possible.
Construction, Maintenance, and Nuisance Noise
Construction operations and maintenance vehicles such as refuse trucks and parking lot sweepers generate noise throughout the City. Although these types of noise sources tend to be short term, temporary, and limited, they can be a source of annoyance , especially during the late night or early morning hours.
GOAL 7.0: Minimize construction, maintenance vehicle , and nuisance noise in residential areas and near noise-sensitive land uses.
Policy 7.1: Schedule City maintenance and construction projects so that they generate noise during less sensitive hours.
Policy 7.2: Require developers and contractors to employ noise minimizing techniques during construction and maintenance operations.
Policy 7.3: Limit the hours of construction and maintenance operations located adjacent to noise-sensitive land uses.
Policy 7.4: Encourage limitations on the hours of operations and deliveries for commercial, mixed-use, and industrial uses abutting residential zones.
NOISE PLAN
Noise is most often defined as unwanted sound. Potential noise problem areas are considered to be those areas where ambient noise levels exceed established noise standards, and areas where sensitive land uses are exposed to excessive ambient noise levels. Excessive noise is viewed as a disturbance, especially to residential communities and other noise- sensitive uses. Noise sources in Orange fall into two categories: transportation oriented and non-transportation oriented. Examples of transportation oriented noise include noise generated by vehicles, airplanes, and rail cars operating within the City. Examples of non - transportation noise include noise generated from mechanical or industrial processes and lawn equipment.
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The most prevalent noise source within the City is vehicular traffic on highways, freeways, toll roads, and arterials —specifically, the I -5, SR -55, SR -57, SR -91 and SR -22 freeways that surround and pass through the City ; the SR-241 toll road that crosses the eastern portion of the City; and the many arterial roadways that traverse almost all areas of the community.
Other noise sources include passenger and freight rail operations, industrial facilities, loading docks and mechanical equipment at retail centers . Periodic sources of noise include train traffic (Amtrak, Metrolink, and freight trains); aircraft overflights into and out of John Wayne Airport, Long Beach Airport, and Los Alamitos Army Air Station ; helicopter traffic along the Main Street and Katella Avenue corridors and over residential neighborhoods ; sporting and exhibition events and fireworks shows in the City of Anaheim ; and operation of trucks and machinery throughout Orange’s industrial areas.
Measuring Noise
Although sound can be easily measured, the perception of noise levels is subjective and the physical response to sound complicates the analysis of its effects on people. People judge the relative magnitude of sound sensation in subjective terms such as noisiness or loudness.
Sound pressure magnitude is measured and quantified using a logarithmic ratio of pressures, the scale of which gives the level of sound in decibels (dB). Table N-1 presents the subjective effect of changes in sound pressure levels.
Table N-1
Changes in Sound Pressure Levels, dB
dB Change Change in Apparent Loudness
+/- 3 dB Threshold of human perceptibility
+/- 5 dB Clearly noticeable change in noise level
+/-10 dB Half or twice as loud
+/-20 dB Much quieter or louder
Source: Engineering Noise Control, Bies and Hansen (1988).
To account for the pitch of sounds and an average human ear’s response to such sounds, a unit of measure called an A -weighted sound pressure level (dBA) is used. To provide some perspective on the relative loudness of various types of noise, Table N -2 lists common sources of noise and their approximate noise levels.
Many metrics have been developed to account for the way humans perceive sound. The most common of these descriptors are the average “equivalent” noise level (Leq), the Day Night noise level (Ldn), and the Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL). Leq represents a measure of the average noise level at a given location over a specified period of time. Ldn and CNEL are based on a 24 -hour Leq which applies offsets to evening and nighttime noise levels to account for the increased sensitivity of people to noise occurring at night. The Ldn is a 24-hour average sound level (similar to a 24 -hour Leq) in which a 10 dB penalty is added to any sound occurring between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m . CNEL is similar to Ldn, except that a five dB penalty is also added for noise occurring during evening hours from 423
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7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Therefore, both the Ldn and CNEL noise metrics provide 24 -hour averages of noise level exposure at a particular location, with temporal adjustments that reflect the increased sensitivity to noise during the evening and nighttime hours 1. CNEL is the noise level descriptor, consistent with state guidelines, applied by the City throughout this Noise Element to describe the current and future noise environment affected by transportation-generated noise.
Table N-2
Typical Noise Levels of Common Outdoor and Indoor Activities Common Outdoor Activities Noise Level (dBA) Common Indoor Activities 110 Rock Band
Jet Fly-over at 1,000 feet 100
90 Diesel Truck at 50 feet, at 50 mph Food Blender at three feet 80 Garbage Disposal at three feet
Noisy Urban Area, Daytime
Gas Lawn Mower at three feet 70 Vacuum Cleaner at 10 feet Commercial Area Normal speech at three feet
Heavy Traffic at 300 feet 60
Large Business Office
Quiet Urban Daytime 50 Dishwasher Next Room
Quiet Urban Nighttime 40 Theater, Large Conference Room (background)
Quiet Suburban Nighttime
30 Library
Quiet Rural Nighttime Bedroom at Night, Concert Hall (background) 20 Broadcast/Recording Studio
10 Lowest Threshold of Human Hearing 0 Lowest Threshold of Human Hearing Source: Table N -2136.2 of California Department of Transportation’s Technical Noise Supplement to the Traffic Noise Analysis Protocol (October 1998).
Noise Standards and Land Use Compatibility
Orange has developed its own land use compatibility standards, based on recommended parameters from the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research , that rate compatibility in terms of normally acceptable, conditionally acceptable, normally unacceptable, and clearly unacceptable. Using these land use compatibility guidelines, the City has established interior and exterior noise standards.
1 In practical implementation CNEL and Ldn could be used interchangeably for traffic generated noise as the difference between these two descriptors for urban / suburban noise levels is less than one dB. 424
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The City’s compatibility standards provide only for normally acceptable conditions, based on state recommendations and City land use designation s. The City ’s Land Use Compatibility standards are presented in Table N -3. These standards, which use the CNEL noise descriptor, are intended to be applicable for land use designations exposed to noise levels generated by transportation related sources. Land use compatibility noise exposure limits are generally established as 65 dBA CNEL for a majority of land use designations throughout the City .
Higher exterior noise levels are permitted for multiple -family housing and housing in mixed - use contexts than for single -family houses . This is because multiple-family complexes are generally located in transitional areas between single -family and commercial districts or in proximity to major arterials served by transit, and a more integrated mix of residential and commercial activity (accompanied by higher noise levels) is often desired in mixed -use areas close to transit routes. These standards establish maximum interior noise levels for new residential development, requiring that sufficient insulation be provided to reduce interior ambient noise levels to 45 dBA CNEL.
The City’s land use compatibility standards are based first on the General Plan land use designation of the property, and secondly on the use of the property . For example, within the Urban Mixed -use designation, a multiple-family use exposed to transportation related noise would have an exterior noise standard of 65 dBA CNEL, and an interior noise standard of 45 dBA CNEL. Noise standards for multiple -family and mixed -use land use designations shown in Table N-3 are higher than those for rural or single-family residential areas, reflecting the gradually changing character of Orange and a more urban environment planned for certain areas of the City. The standards shown in Table N-3 are purposefully general in nature, and not every specific land use which could be accommodated within each General Plan designation is identified. Application of the standards will vary on a case -by-case basis according to location, development type, and associated noise sources.
When non-transportation (stationary) noise is the primary noise source, and to ensure that noise producers do not adversely affect noise -sensitive land uses, the City applies a second set of standards when planning and making development decisions. These hourly and maximum performance standards (expressed in Leq) for non -transportation or stationary noise sources are designed to protect noise sensitive land uses adjacent to stationary sources from excessive noise. Table N -4 summarizes City stationary source noise standards for various land use types. These standards represent the acceptable exterior noise levels at the sensitive receptor.
For City analysis of noise impacts and determining appropriate mitigation under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), in addition to the maximum allowable noise level standards outlined in Tables N-3 and N-4, an increase in ambient noise levels is assumed to be a significant noise impact if a project causes ambient noise levels to exceed the following:
▪ Where the existing ambient noise level is less than 65 dBA, a project related permanent increase in ambient noise levels of 5 dBA CNEL or greater. ▪ Where the existing ambient noise level is greater than 65 dBA, a project related permanent increase in ambient noise levels of 3 dBA CNEL or greater. 425
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Table N-3
Maximum Allowable Noise Exposure—Transportation Sources Land Use CNEL (dBA)
Designations
(as shown on Figure LU-5) Uses Interior1,3 Exterior2
Estate Low Density Residential
Low Density Residential
Low Medium Density Residential
Single-family, duplex, and multiple-family 45 65
Mobile home park N/A 65
Medium Density Residential Neighborhood
Mixed-use
Neighborhood Office Professional
Old Towne Mixed-use
General Commercial
Yorba Commercial Overlay
Urban Mixed-use
Urban Office Professional
Single-family 45 65
Mobile home park N/A 65
Multiple-family, mixed-use 45 654,5
Transient lodging—motels, hotels 45 65
Sports arenas, outdoor spectator sports N/A N/A
Auditoriums, concert halls, amphitheaters 45 N/A
Office buildings, business, commercial and
professional
50 N/A
Light Industrial
Industrial
Manufacturing, utilities, agriculture N/A N/A
Public Facilities and Institutions Schools, nursing homes, day care facilities, hospitals, convalescent facilities,
dormitories
45 65
Government Facilities—offices, fire
stations, community buildings
45 N/A
Places of Worship, Churches 45 N/A
Libraries 45 N/A
Utilities N/A
N/A
Cemeteries N/A N/A
Recreation Commercial
Open Space
Open Space—Park
Open Space—Ridgeline
Resource Area
Playgrounds, neighborhood parks N/A 70
Golf courses, riding stables, water
recreation, cemeteries
N/A N/A
Notes:
(1) Interior habitable environment excludes bathrooms, closets and corridors. (2) Exterior noise level standard to be applied at outdoor activity areas; such as private yards, private patio or balcony of a m ulti-family residence. Where the location of an outdoor activity area is unknown or not applicable, the noise standard shall be applied i nside the property line of the receiving land use.
(3) Interior noise standards shall be satisfied with windows in the closed position. Mechanical ventilation shall be provided per Uniform Building Code (UBC) requirements.
(4) Within the Urban Mixed -Use, Neighborhood Mixed -Use, Old Towne Mixed -use, and Medium Density Residential land use designations, exterior space standards apply only to common outdoor recreational areas. (5) Within Urban Mixed-Use and Medium Density Residential land use designations, exterior noise levels on private patios or balconies located within 250 feet of freeways (I -5, SR-57, SR-55, SR-22, or SR -241) and Smart Streets and Principal Arterials identified in the Circulation & Mobility Element that exceed 70 dB should provide additional common open space.
N/A=Not Applicable to specified land use category or designation Source: Alliance Acoustical Consultants, modified by EDAW, 2008
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Table N-4
Maximum Allowable Noise Exposure—Stationary Noise Sources Noise Level Descriptor Daytime (7 a.m. to 10 p.m.) Nighttime (10 p.m. to 7 a.m.) Hourly Equivalent Level (Leq), dBA 55 45
Maximum Level (Lmax), dBA 70 65
Notes:
(1) These standards apply to new or existing noise sensitive land uses affected by new or existing non -transportation noise sources, as determined at the outdoor activity area of the receiving land use. However, these noise level standards do not apply to resid ential units established in conjunction with industrial or commercial uses (e.g., caretaker dwellings). (2) Each of the noise levels specified above should be lowered by five dB for simple tone noises, noises consisting primarily of speech or music, or for recurring impulsive noises. Such noises are generally considered by residents to be particularly annoying and a re a primary source of noise complaints. These noise level standards do not apply to residential units established in conjunction with industrial or commercial uses (e.g. caretaker dwellings). (3) No standards have been included for interior noise levels. Standard construction practices that comply with the exterior nois e levels identified in this table generally result in acceptable interior noise levels. (4) The City may impose noise level standards which are more or less restrictive than those specified above based upon determination of existing low or high ambient noise levels. If the existing ambient noise level exceeds the standards listed in Table N-4, then the noise level standards shall be increased at 3 dB increments to encompass the ambient environment. Noise level standards incorporati ng adjustments for existing ambient noise levels shall not exceed a maximum of 70 dB Leq.
Noise Contours and Impact Areas
The community noise environment can be described using contours derived from monitoring major sources of noise. Noise contours define areas of equal noise exposure. Future noise contours have been estimated using information about both current and projected future land use development and traffic volumes. The contours assist in setting policies for distribution of land uses and establishing development standards.
A study of baseline noise sources and levels was completed by Alliance Acoustical Consultants in November 2004. Noise level measurements were collected during a typical weekday at 28 locations throughout Orange. Criteria for site selection included geographical distribution, land uses suspected of noisy activities, proximity to transportation facilities, and noise-sensitive land uses. The primary purpose of noise monitoring was to establish a noise profile for the planning area that could be used to estimate levels of current and future noise.
Measurements represent motor vehicle noise emanating from freeways, the local roadway network, and industrial land uses. Typical noise sources measured during the short -term survey included vehicular traffic, aircraft, trains, emergency sirens, industry, mechanical equipment, sporting events, firework shows, children playing, motorcycles, car alarms, and car audio systems. Of all these sources, traffic noise was determined to be the predominant noise source.
Figure N -1 identifies noise contours for baseline year 2004. Major arterials and the railroad and freeway network represent the major sources of noise. A number of areas are exposed to traffic noise from arterials in excess of 65 dBA CNEL, including areas near State College Boulevard/The City Drive, Chapman Avenue, La Veta Avenue, Batavia Street, Glassell Street, Tustin Street, Katella Avenue, and Jamboree Road.
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The Land Use Element indicates that the planning area will accommodate additional future growth, accompanied by an increase in citywide traffic volumes. Traffic volume increases represent the major anticipated measurable new noise sources in the community over the long term. Potential future ambient noise levels can be estimated by modeling. Figure N -2 displays projected year 2030 noise contours based upon future traffic levels.
Figure N-2 indicates that noise levels may be expected to rise in areas where roadways will experience the greatest increase in traffic volumes over time. Specifically, these areas include Tustin Street, State College Boulevard/The City Drive, Chapman Avenue, Jamboree Road, Santiago Canyon Road, Glassell Street, Main Street, I -5, SR -57, SR -22, SR -55, SR -241, SR -261, the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Railroad, and throughout the City’s industrial area, Identification of Noise Problem Areas
Potential noise problem areas are considered to be those areas where ambient noise levels exceed established noise standards and areas where sensitive land uses are exposed to ambient noise levels in excess of standards identified in Tables N -3 and N -4. For the most part, these problem areas lie along freeways, toll roads, and arterial and secondary roadways where noise barriers have not been installed.
Beneath the landing pattern for aircraft approaching John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, Long Beach Airport, and Los Alamitos Army Air Station, some residents in the area find the aircraft noise disturbing. The aircraft noise may be considered an intermittent, recurring noise problem. Helicopter noise from private, police, emergency medical, and news and traffic monitoring helicopters also contributes to the general noise environment in the City, particularly approaching University of California Irvine (UCI) Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC).
An additional noise problem cited by residents citywide is noise associated with the operation of hand -held, motorized leaf blowers. Gasoline powered blowers, which are generally used to clear debris from driveways, sidewalks, and landscaped areas generate noise levels in the range of 60 to 85 dBA L eq (measured 50 feet from the source). This noise level may exceed the standard established for stationary noise sources during both daytime and nighttime hours.
Noise Control Techniques
The most efficient and effective means of controlling noise is to reduce noise at the source.
However, regarding noise generated from transportation systems, the City has no direct control over noise produced by trucks, cars, and trains, because state and federal noise regulations preempt local laws. Given that the City cannot control transportation noise at the source, City noise programs and standards focus on reducing transportation noise along freeways, arterial roadways, and rail corridors, through noise reduction methods that interrupt the path of the noise or directly shield the receiver. The emphasis of such noise reduction methods should be placed on site planning and design. Such reduction measures may include building orientation, spatial buffers, landscaping, and noise barriers. The use of noise barriers, such as sound walls, should be considered as a means of achieving the noise
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standards only after all other practical design -related noise reduction measures have been integrated into the project.
Sound walls may not be desirable in some cases, such as intersections in commercial areas where visibility and access are important. Additionally, effective acoustical design features in new development can provide additional interior noise reduction. Regarding stationary and non-transportation generated noise, noise levels are to be addressed at the source as a primary focus. For mixed -use development in particular, acoustical design should be applied that isolates residential portions of mixed -use development from both commercial portions and external noise sources. When it is not feasible to address stationary noise at the source, the aforementioned noise reduction methods will be employed to reduce noise exposure to the levels presented in Table N-5.
Table N-5
Sample Interior Noise Control Measures
Noise
Exposure
Level
Exterior to Interior
Noise Level Reduction
(NLR) Required to
Achieve 45 dBA CNEL
Noise Control Measures and Façade Upgrades
> ≤60 dBA
CNEL
15 dBA Normal construction practices consistent with the Uniform Building Code are typically sufficient.
60 dBA to
65 dBA
CNEL
20 dBA Normal construction practices consistent with the Uniform Building Code are sufficient with the addition of the following specifications:
• Air conditioning or mechanical ventilation systems are installed so that windows and doors may remain closed.
• Windows and sliding glass doors are mounted in low air infiltration rated frames (0.5 cfm or less).
• Exterior doors are solid core with perimeter weather-stripping and threshold seals.
65 dBA to
70 dBA
CNEL
25 dBA Normal construction practices consistent with the Uniform Building Code are sufficient with the addition of the following specifications:
• Air conditioning or mechanical ventilation systems are installed so that windows and doors may remain closed.
• Windows and sliding glass doors are mounted in low air infiltration rated frames (0.5 cfm or less).
• Exterior doors are solid core with perimeter weather-stripping and threshold seals.
• Glass in both windows and exterior doors should have a Sound Transmission Classification (STC) rating of at least 30. • Roof or attic vents facing the noise source of concern should be boxed, or provided with baffling.
Notes:
(1) The information listed in this table is sample guidance for interior noise control recommendations and is not intended for application to individual development projects, renovations, or retrofits. Noise-sensitive land uses located in areas with noise level exposures exceeding 60 dBA CNEL should have a detailed acoustical analysis performed on a case by case basis.
The most common and feasible method to control exterior-to-interior noise levels is achieved through improvements to the building structure and use of wall/façade treatments that reduce noise levels. Buildings constructed consistent with the Uniform Building Code (UBC) typically provide approximately 15 dBA of exterior-to-interior noise level reduction (NLR) with 433
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windows open, and 25 dBA of NLR with windows closed. Therefore, special consideration must be given to reducing interior noise levels to the required 45 dBA CNEL at noise-sensitive land uses exposed to noise levels in excess of 60 dBA. The NLR of a wall element or building façade can be calculated by first assuming a generalized A -weighted noise frequency spectrum for roadway traffic noise. Then, the composite transmission loss of the various wall materials and the wall’s structural design is considered in determining the resulting noise level in the receiving room. After correcting for room absorption, the overall noise level in the room is calculated. The ability to perform these calculations requires detailed floor plans and façade construction details. Calculation of required NLR and resultant interior noise levels should be conducted by a qualified acoustical consultant. Table N -5 provides an example of varying levels of building façade improvements that may be required to achieve compliance with the interior noise level standard of 45 dBA CNEL for land uses exposed to three different noise levels: 60 dBA CNEL, 65 dBA CNEL, and 70 dBA CNEL.
City Noise Control Ordinance
The primary tool used to implement noise policy will be the City’s noise control ordinance (Title 8 Health and Safety, Chapter 8.24, Orange Municipal Code). The ordinance gives the City authority to regulate noise at its source and thereby protect noise -sensitive land uses. It also establishes exterior and interior noise standards for all residential properties. The ordinance specifies permitted days and times for construction, repair, remodeling, or grading of real property, and exemptions to the ordinance.
The City will continue to apply provisions of the noise control ordinance, and will modify the noise ordinance as needed to respond to policy direction within this Element, including the noise standards specified in Table N -4, and policies addressing noise in mixed -use land use districts.
State Noise Standards
The City will continue to enforce state laws which set forth requirements for the insulation of residential dwelling units from excessive and potentially harmful noise. Title 25, Section 1092 of the California Administrative Code establishes exterior and interior noise standards for multi-family residential development. Units established in areas where ambient noise levels exceed 65 dBA CNEL must incorporate noise reduction features into project design and construction. To reduce exterior noise levels, open space and other outdoor private areas should be shielded from the primary noise source (e.g., a freeway or railroad track).
Insulation must be provided to reduce interior ambient noise levels to 45 dBA CNEL or lower, pursuant to Title 24 requirements. The City will continue to enforce these regulations.
Particular challenges arise in the application of standards to mixed -use areas. Residential portions of mixed -use projects must meet the 45 dBA CNEL Title 24 interior noise requirements while located on busy commercial corridors. This obligation can be met by incorporating design features that insulate residential uses from commercial portions of the project.
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Sound Walls Along Toll Roads, Arterials, and Secondary
Roadways
The City will encourage Caltrans and the TCA to abide by Section 215.5 of the State Streets and Highway Code, which establishes a priority system for constructing noise barriers in the form of sound walls along freeways, to minimize exposure of residential or other noise- sensitive land uses to excessive freeway noise. Furthermore, all new residential development proposed adjacent to toll roads, arterials, and secondary roadways will be required to buffer itself by providing sound walls or a combination of berms and walls designed to achieve the noise and land use compatibility standards indicated in Table N -3 within common open spaces. In the event that sound walls are used, the analysis should include evaluation of multiple reflections between parallel noise barriers (e.g., large structures, noise barriers on each side of the highway) which could reduce the acoustical performance of individual barriers or result in unintended impacts to other parts of the community.
Land Use Policy and Design of Residential Projects
To mitigate non -transportation-related noise, the City will require site plan adjustments, higher insulation performance, spatial buffers, and other mitigation measures to absorb and block sound as needed. Design features incorporated into residential projects can be used to shield residents from excessive noise. For example, bedrooms, balconies and open space areas can be located away from streets and focused toward the interior of a project. The City will develop guidelines to assist developers to design structures that respond to noise concerns.
Acoustical Studies
Under certain conditions , the City may require acoustical studies to be prepared as part of the development review process to ensure adequate analysis of proposed development projects. Acoustical studies will be required for all discretionary projects where any of the following apply:
▪ The project includes a noise-sensitive land use that is located within the existing or future 65 dBA CNEL contour for transportation noise sources.
▪ The project will cause future traffic volumes to increase by 25 percent or more on any roadway that fronts a sensitive land use.
▪ The project will expose a noise-sensitive land use to a stationary noise source or vibration source exceeding the standards outlined in Table N-4. Such stationary sources may include mechanical equipment operations, entertainment venues, and industrial facilities. ▪ The project includes a noise-sensitive land use in the vicinity of existing or proposed commercial and industrial areas.
▪ The project is a mixed-use development that includes a residential component. The focus of this type of acoustical study is to determine likely interior and exterior noise levels and to recommend appropriate design features to reduce noise. 435
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An acoustical analysis prepared in accordance with this Noise Element shall:
▪ be the financial responsibility of the applicant seeking City approval of a project; ▪ be prepared by a qualified person experienced in the fields of environmental noise assessment and architectural acoustics;
▪ include representative noise level measurements with sufficient sampling periods and locations to adequately describe local conditions and predominant noise sources; ▪ estimate existing and projected cumulative noise in terms of CNEL or Leq, and compare those noise levels to the adopted standards and policies of the Noise Element; ▪ recommend appropriate mitigation to achieve compliance with the adopted policies and standards of the Noise Element. Where the noise source in question consists of intermittent single events, the report must address the effects of maximum noise levels in sleeping rooms in terms of possible sleep disturbance; and ▪ estimate noise exposure after the prescribed mitigation measures have been implemented.
Truck Routes
Truck traffic generates noise that can disturb people in residential and other noise -sensitive land uses. Heavy trucks will not be permitted to drive through residential neighborhoods.
Truck routes in Orange are located mostly in the general industrial area in the western part of the City, as well as on the higher capacity roadways that traverse the planning area. Truck routes are identified for such purposes as noise reduction, safety, roadway maintenance, and traffic operations. The Orange Municipal Code identifies trucks as motor vehicles designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property and having an unladen weight of six thousand pounds or more.
Air Traffic Noise
To lessen the impacts of noise associated with air traffic into and out of John Wayne Airport, Long Beach Airport, and Los Alamitos Army Air Station , the City will participate in regional efforts to require airlines to use quieter aircraft. Also, the City will work with airport officials and surrounding jurisdictions to restore instrument approach patterns (as opposed to visual approach) at John Wayne Airport . Finally, the City will continue to register noise complaints with the airport’s Noise Abatement Office to ensure airport officials are made aware of any noise problems.
A limited number of heliports and helistops are located throughout the City, with the most active locations being UCI Medical Center and Childrens’ Hospital of Orange County.
Helicopter operations at these facilities are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration, Caltrans Division of Aeronautics , and the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission. The City will work with these parties to ensure compliance with all state and federal laws pertaining to helicopter operations.
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Rail Traffic Noise
The City has established a “quiet zone” along portions of the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Railroad corridor. Federal Railroad Administration regulations allow cities to delineate zones where trains are not allowed to blow warning horns. Without a formally established “quiet zone”, trains approaching all railroad crossings that intersect public streets are required to blow a warning horn at the intersection to warn motorists and pedestrians. “Quiet zones” may reduce noise impacts at these crossings, and will continue to be supported so long as they do not increase traffic and pedestrian hazards.
NOISE IMPLEMENTATION
The goals, policies, and plans identified in this Element are implemented through a variety of City plans, ordinances, development requirements, capital improvements, and ongoing collaboration with regional agencies and neighboring jurisdictions. Specific implementation measures for this Element are contained in the General Plan Appendix. 437
CULTURAL RESOURCES &
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
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INTRODUCTION AND VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Orange’s sense of place and strong community identity can be attributed, in large part, to efforts by the City and community members to recognize and preserve the traditions and physical features that are manifestations of its culture and history. Special efforts have been made by the City through the preservation of catalogued historic maps, directories, photos, documents, and other assorted memorabilia in the City’s Local History collection at the Orange Public Library & History Center . In addition, careful planning and adoption of protective regulations have encouraged retention of significant physical features, such as buildings, parks, signage, and landscape elements, that communicate the City’s cultural, historical, and architectural past.
Orange’s Vision for the Future , described in the General Plan Introduction, recognizes the City’s historical and cultural resources, and includes the following objectives related to Orange’s cultural resources:
▪ The City will build upon existing assets to create a living, active , and diverse environment that complements all lifestyles and enhances neighborhoods, without compromising the valued resources that make Orange unique.
▪ The City will c ontinue efforts to protect and enhance its historic core. This same type of care and attention will be applied throughout the rest of the City. ▪ We will c ontinue to protect our critical watersheds, such as Santiago Creek, and other significant natural, open space, and cultural resources.
This Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Element of the General Plan is an outgrowth of previous actions taken to recognize historic resources within the City. Such actions include undertaking surveys of historic resources, adopting the City’s first Historic Preservation element in 1982, and designating the local Old Towne Historic District. This Element is also an effort to expand the City’s historic preservation program to ensure recognition and preservation of the City’s diverse cultural resources. By identifying and sustaining historically or culturally significant places, the City of Orange strengthens community identity and enriches lives, providing not only a constant reminder of the culture and history of the local community, but also a valuable educational resource to residents and visitors alike. This Element also addresses the City’s continuing commitment to support the educational and informational resources provided through its public libraries, which also serve as community gathering places.
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Purpose of the Cultural Resources & Historic
Preservation Element
The Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Element is not a state-mandated element of the General Plan , but it is important because it provides guidelines to preserve those resources that represent the history and culture of Orange. Specifically, its purpose is to provide guidance in developing and implementing programs that ensure the identification, designation, and protection of cultural resources in the City’s planning, development, and permitting process. The Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Element also identifies ways in which the City can encourage and coordinate with private property owners in support of historic preservation.
Scope and Content of the Cultural Resources & Historic
Preservation Element
The content of the Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Element is organized into three sections:
1.) Introduction;
2.) Issues, Goals, and Policies; and
3.) The Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Plan.
The Introduction sets the stage by defining the purpose of the Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Element and outlining the legal framework and historical context for Orange’s cultural preservation issues. The Issues, Goals, and Policies section describes the City’s intent to protect and preserve its historic and cultural resources, and provides guidelines and direction on how to accomplish the related goals. The Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Plan shows how these goals and policies will be achieved and implemented.
Detailed descriptions of the various implementation programs recommended within this Element can be found in the Appendix to the General Plan.
Relationship to Other General Plan Elements
The Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Element is most closely tied to the Land Use , Urban Design , and Housing Elements. Protection and promotion of the City’s historic and cultural resources affect the Land Use Element by designating certain neighborhoods and resources as valuable reminders of the City’s cultural past and placing certain restriction s on land uses and development. The Urban Design Element is influenced by the history of the City in particular because design and physical guidelines also help to visually integrate references to the City’s past in the appearance of streetscape enhancements and building design. Policies in this Element that encourage adaptive re -use of historic structures for housing affect how the City will accommodate the housing development described in the Housing Element.
Legal Framework for Cultural Resource Protection
This section describes the various elements that constitute the legal framework of cultural resource protection at the federal, state, and local levels. 439
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National Historic Preservation Act
Enacted in 1966, the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) established the National Register of Historic
Places (N RHP) program under the Secretary of the
Interior, authorized funding for state programs with
provisions for pass-through funding and participation by local governments, created the Advisory Council on
Historic Preservation, and established the Section 106
review process for protecting historic resources affected by federal undertakings . As part of this process, the
Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring and Preserving Historic Buildings (Secretary’s Standards) were developed to provide guidance to federal agencies in reviewing potential impacts to historic resources.
NHPA requires that all states and U.S.
territories have a historic preservation office
and State Historic Preservation Officer. Each
state receives federal funding for the
preservation program, and 10 percent of the
funding must be passed through to Certified
Local Governments (CLGs).
The N RHP is the nation’s official list of
historic and cultural resources. Generally,
resources must be more than 50 years old
prior to listing on the N RHP. Properties that
have not attained 50 years of age may be
listed if they are of “exceptional
importance.” Resources may be eligible for
the NRHP if they:
▪ are associated with events that have
made a significant contribution to the
broad patterns of our history; or
▪ are associated with the lives of significant
persons in our past; or
▪ embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or represent the work of a master, or possess high artistic values, or represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or ▪ have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in history or prehistory.
A resource that meets one of the above -referenced criteria must also possess integrity.
Integrity refers to the ability of a property to convey its significance. The NRHP recognizes seven aspects or qualities of integrity: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, The Secretary of the Interior's
Standards for the Treatment of
Historic Properties are basic
principles created to help preserve
the distinctive character of a
historic building and its site, while
accommodating change to meet
new needs.
The Certified Local Government (CLG) program
is a partnership among local, state and federal
governments. The program encourages the
direct participation of local governments in the
identification, evaluation, registration, and
preservation of historic properties and
promotes the integration of local preservation
interests and concerns into local planning and
decision-making processes. To be eligible for
CLG status, local governments must:
▪ enforce state and local laws and regulations
for the designation and protection of
historic properties,
▪ establish an historic preservation review
commission by local ordinance,
▪ maintain a system for the survey and
inventory of historic properties,
▪ provide for public participation in the local
preservation program, and
▪ satisfactorily perform responsibilities
delegated to it by the state.
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feeling, and association. To retain integrity, a property must possess several, and usually most, of these aspects.
California Register of Historical Resources
The Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) administers the California Register of Historical Resources (C RHR). The CRHR was established to serve as an authoritative guide to the state’s significant historical and archaeological resources ( California Public Resources Code [PRC] Section 5024.1). State law provides that in order for a property to be considered eligible for listing in the CRHR, it must be found by the State Historical Resources Commission to be significant under any of the following four criteria (which are almost identical to the national criteria) that consider if the resource:
▪ is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of California’s history and cultural heritage;
▪ is associated with the lives of persons important in our past; ▪ embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, or represents the work of an important creative individual or possesses high artistic values; and/or
▪ has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
The CRHR also includes properties that: have been formally determined eligible for listing in, or are listed in , the N RHP; are registered State Historical Landmark number 770 1, and all consecutively numbered landmarks above number 770; are points of historical interest that have been reviewed and recommended to the State Historical Resources Commission for listing; or are city- or county-designated landmarks or districts (if criteria for designation are determined by OHP to be consistent with CRHR criteria). A resource identified as significant in an historical resource survey may be listed in the CRHR if the survey meets all of the following criteria:
▪ The survey has been or will be included in the State Historical Resources Inventory. ▪ The survey and the survey documentation were prepared in accordance with OHP procedures and requirements.
▪ The resource is evaluated and determined by the office to have a significance rating of category 1-5 on Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) form 523. ▪ If the survey is five or more years old at the time of its nomination for inclusion in the CRHR, the survey is updated to identify historical resources which have become eligible or ineligible due to changed circumstances or further documentation and those which have been demolished or altered in a manner that substantially diminishes the significance of the resource.
While CRHR criteria are essentially identical to those of the NRHP, not all properties eligible for listing in the California Register are eligible for listing in the National Register. Besides the
1 State Historical Landmarks below number 770 were designated as landmarks prior to implementation of the CRHR. 441
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difference in nomenclature ( NRHP criteria labeled A-D), the primary difference between the two registers is that the N RHP imposes a 50 -year age requirement whereas the C RHR employs no age requirement. The other major difference between the two registers is the manner in which they weigh physical integrity.
In addition to meeting one of the four criteria, C RHR-eligible properties must also retain sufficient integrity to convey historic significance. CRHR regulations provide for the possibility that historical resources may not retain sufficient integrity to meet the criteria for listing in the N RHP but may still be eligible for listing in the CRHR. OHP has consistently interpreted this to mean that a property eligible for listing in the CRHR must retain substantial integrity.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
When a proposed project is expected to cause
substantial adverse change to an historical
resource, the environmental clearance for the
project usually requires mitigation measures to
reduce negative impacts. Substantial adverse
change in the significance of an historical
resource means the physical demolition,
destruction, relocation, or alteration of the
resource or its immediate surroundings such
that the significance of an historical resource
would be materially impaired. Material
impairment occurs when a project:
▪ demolishes or materially alters in an adverse manner those physical characteristics of an historical resource that convey its historical significance and that justify its inclusion in, or eligibility for, inclusion in the California Register; or ▪ demolishes or materially alters in an adverse manner those physical characteristics that account for its inclusion in a local register, or its identification in an historical resources survey, unless the public agency reviewing the effects of the project establishes by a preponderance of evidence that the resource is not historically or culturally significant; or ▪ demolishes or materially alters those physical characteristics of an historical resource that convey its historical significance and that justify its inclusion in, or eligibility for inclusion in the CRHR, as determined by a lead agency for the purposes of CEQA.
The City has adopted Local CEQA Guidelines (Guidelines), amended April 11, 2006 in 2020 to provide the City, and anyone intending to carry out a project, with the requirements of the environmental review process established according to state law, local ordinance, and City practices. The Guidelines contain a section pertaining specifically to historical resources. This section establishes the existing Historic Building Survey (1982 with update s from 1992 and 2005) as a recognized list of historical resources within the City pursuant to PRC 5020.1(k) .
The section authorizes use of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation , the Guidelines for Rehabilitation , and the Old Town Design Standards Historic Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne (adopted 1993 and updated in 1997 and 2017 ), for design review According to the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) Statutes Section 21084.1,
an historical resource is a resource listed in, or
determined eligible for listing in, the CRHR.
Historical resources included in a local register
of historical resources are presumed to be
historically or culturally significant for
purposes of this section, unless the
preponderance of the evidence demonstrates
that the resource is not historically or
culturally significant.
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purposes. It provides thresholds for substantial adverse change and identifies local categorical exemptions and cumulative impacts analysis.
City of Orange Historic Preservation Program
The City’s historic preservation program has its roots in community interest and outreach during the late -1970s. Spurred by citizen interest in the historic downtown and surrounding residential neighborhoods, the City Council formed the official Old Towne Steering Committee in 1979 to assess and direct the special planning needs for the square mile of old Orange. Other groups with an interest in Orange history and historic preservation that formed during this period include the Orange Community Historical Society (organized in 1973), Preservation Orange (organized in 1982 —no longer extant), and the Old Towne Preservation Association (OTPA) (organized in 1986).
Soon after its establishment, the Old Towne Steering Committee took action to recognize the unique characteristics of the downtown commercial core, and joined with the Orange Community Historical Society and City officials to nominate the four -block commercial area to the National Register of Historic Places. This area, now known as the Plaza Historic District, was officially listed on the N RHP in 1982 (see Figure CR -1). Also in 1982, the City initiated its first historic resources survey to evaluate all pre -1940 homes and buildings in the City of Orange with a primary emphasis on Old Towne. The survey provided guidance in the establishment of the first Historic Preservation Element of the City’s General Plan, which was adopted in 1983. Soon after, the Old Towne Orange local historic district was established (see Figure CR -1). In 1993, Old Town e Design StandardsHistoric Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne (amended 1997 and 2017) were adopted to provide design guidelines for proposed alterations and/or demolitions in Old Towne to be reviewed by Planning staff in the Community Development Department and the Design Review Committee (DRC).
In 1997, a more concentrated version of Old Towne was listed on the NRHP as the Old Towne Orange Historic District (see Figure CR -1). This National Register district was recognized for its significant cultural history related to the City’s founding and early history and its concentration of early-period buildings.
An update of the historic resources survey was conducted in 1992. This survey served as the basis for the establishment of the local Old Towne Historic District. The survey update was received by City Council and its findings were added to those of the 1982 survey. The survey was, again, updated in 2010 to include the Fairhaven, Fairhills, and Fairmeadow Eichler Home Tracts and was adopted by the City Council. The combined survey is known as the Historic Building Survey pursuant to the City of Orange Local CEQA Guidelines.
The City’s Zoning Ordinance permits the establishment of historic districts through a zone change process (O range Municipal Code 17.06..020 and 17.17 Historic Districts). The City’s Community Development Department oversees application of the City’s Historic Preservation Program including the Mills Act program (discussed in the Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Plan section below) , provision of educational materials, project application review, and permit processes.
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Figure CR-1
Designated Historic Resources
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The full text of the Historic
Context Statement for the
City of Orange, including
citations, photographs and
maps, is provided in the
Cultural Resources Technical
Report, which accompanies
the General Plan EIR.
Historic and Cultural Context
Patterns of Development and Architecture
In order to prepare for the future, it is often worthwhile to look to the past for inspiration. A review of Orange’s dynamic history covers six important phases: colonization, early settlement, agriculture and industry, immigration and ethnic diversity, interwar development , and postwar development .
The following paragraphs, which are taken from the Historic Context Statement prepared in conjunction with this General Plan, describe significant events within each of these eras, as well as a summary of physical features and characteristics that remain within the community today.
Colonization (circa 1800-1870)
The first landowner in the Orange area was Juan Pablo Grijalva, a retired Spanish soldier. His land extended from the Santa Ana River and the foothills above Villa Park to the ocean at Newport Beach. Along with his son -in-law, Jose Antonio Yorba, he began a cattle ranch and built the first irrigation ditches to carry water from the Santa Ana River. After Grijalva’s death, Yorba and his nephew, Juan Pablo Peralta, received title to the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana land grant with a total of 78,941 acres.
After California became a state in 1848, one member of the extended family that owned the Rancho—Leonardo Cota —borrowed money from Abel Stearns, who was the largest landowner in Southern California. Cota put up his share of the Rancho as collateral. When Cota defaulted on the loan in 1866, Stearns filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court to demand a partition of the land so that Stearns could claim Cota’s section. As a result , the Rancho was subdivided into 1,000 units parceled out to the heirs and the claimants in the lawsuit.
Very little above -ground evidence remains from this early period of colonization of the Orange area, although any locations identified as related to the colonization period may yield archaeological evidence. A total of 33 adobes are thought to have been present on three ranchos within the City. Today, the northwest corner of the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Orange-Olive Road in Olive is known as the site of the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana headquarters. Past excavations in this area revealed the remains of two adobes, including wall remnants, tile floors and associated artifacts. The Grijalva Adobe site at the corner of Hewes Avenue and Santiago Canyon Road is marked by a plaque. This site included at least one adobe and some associated outbuildings. Francisco Rodriquez’s property, generally bound by present day Main Street, Walnut Street, the Atchison Topeka Railroad and Collins Avenue, also contained adobes and is associated with this early period.
Early Settlement (circa 1870-1920)
The early roots of the Orange we recognize today had their origins in the partitioning of the original Rancho. Two of the most important historic areas within the City—Old Towne and El Modena—were established at this time.
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Old Towne
When Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana was subdivided in the late 1860s, a Los Angeles lawyer, Alfred B. Chapman, represented several parties in the partition suit. As payment for his fees, Chapman acquired approximately 4,000 acres. In 1870, Chapman hired another lawyer, William T. Glassell, to survey and subdivide his land holdings into farm lots ranging in size from 10 to 40 acres.
With an eye to the future, the founders set aside eight lots in the center of the newly subdivided blocks of land, to be used as a public square. This public amenity is now known as Plaza Square, or simply the Plaza. In honor of the founders, the two main streets, which intersected at the public square, were named Chapman Avenue (running east -west) and Glassell Street (north-south).
Orange grew rapidly during the Great Boom of the 1880s. New settlers flocked to the region due to the cross-country expansion, inexpensive rail fares, and the balmy Southern California climate. Many of the new settlers entered Orange via the Santa Fe Railroad (later called the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe) Depot four blocks west of the Plaza (currently the site of Orange Metrolink Station , Depot Park , and Veterans Memorial). Much of the real estate boom of the 1880s was driven by landowners subdividing their ranches in order to sell individual lots, which were often bought by speculators. By 1887, dozens of new subdivisions and four new townsites were laid out. Connecting these new communities were two horse - drawn streetcar systems: the Orange, McPherson and Modena; and the Santa Ana, Orange and Tustin lines.
By the late 1870s and early 1880s, the population of Orange was large enough to support the construction of civic buildings and gathering places such as churches, schools, and public parks. As the city continued to grow and lots were further subdivided, the new residents named the streets after the towns they came from in the East, such as Batavia and Palmyra.
The settlement first tried to incorporate in 1873 under the name Richland. The post office rejected this application because there was another settlement by th at name in Sacramento County. The name was changed several years later and Orange was incorporated on April 6, 1888. At the time of incorporation, Orange was about three square miles, with 600 people who predominantly lived on small family ranches surrounding the town. Although most residents lived on working farms, some homes —generally for the town ’s doctors, lawyers, and merchants—were built on the small lots surrounding the Plaza.
After the boom of the 1880s, major construction in Orange lay dormant for over ten years.
With the new century came growth in the town’s citrus industry and an increase in economic prosperity. The Plaza soon became the commercial and social hub of Orange and the principal banks, newspapers, stores, and public institutions were built around its edges along Chapman Avenue and Glassell Street. Residential development, which increased to meet growing demand, occurred on the secondary streets beyond the Plaza and commercial center.
Many commercial, residential, civic, and religious buildings from Orange’s early settlement years remain today, in addition to the Plaza developed in the 1880s. Early brick commercial buildings in the Plaza area include the C.M. Woodruff store (1885), D.C. Pixley store (1886), and Wells Fargo (originally Bank of Orange) building (1886). Existing religious buildings 446
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include the First Baptist Church (1893), St. John’s Lutheran Church (1914), and Trinity Episcopal Church (1908). Later buildings in the Plaza Square area include Watson’s Drug Store (1900), the former First National Bank (1928), and the W.O. Hart Post Office (1926).
Early homes were built in the Victorian or Queen Anne style, characterized by a vertical emphasis with simple, jigsawn ornamentation, particularly around the porch, windows , and entry. During the years before World War I, residential styles evolved to include Classical Revival and Craftsman homes.
El Modena
Paralleling the early settlement of Old Towne was the establishment of another town located approximately three miles to the east. Known as El Modena, this small enclave evolved from a Quaker village into a citrus -farming Mexican-American barrio over the course of its nearly 120-year history.
San Francisco millionaire and philanthropist David Hewes became one of the primary developers in the area when he bought hundreds of acres around 1885. By 1886, there were 400 people living in El Modena. In 1888, a horse drawn streetcar connected El Modena to Orange. By 1889, the building boom was over and the population declined. The area re - established itself as a fruit growing area and became known for its mild climate and rich capacity for farming.
A number of relatively unaltered, small, wood-framed bungalows are scattered throughout El Modena, including an eight-building bungalow court on Hewes Street at Montgomery Place.
Friends Church, the anchor of the original settlement of El Modena, still exists on Chapman Avenue at Earlham Street, although it has been converted into a restaurant. The footprint of Hewes Park remains at the intersection of La Veta Avenue and Esplanade Street, although the park has since been sold as private lots. Small expanses of unaltered open space still exist to the south and east of El Modena, although almost all of the former agricultural areas have been developed.
Agriculture and Industry (circa 1880-1950)
Water became the critical element for ongoing prosperity. In 1871, the A.B. Chapman canal began bringing water from the Santa Ana River to the townsite, with ranchers digging lateral ditches to their farms. By 1873, settlers began to develop wells, tapping into a water table only 18 feet below ground. A drought in 1877 motivated local ranchers to buy out the water company and form the Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Company (SAVI).
As a cooperative water venture, SAVI was vital to the agricultural development of the arid Southern California region. Beginning in the 1880s, the transcontinental railroad system granted growers in Orange County access to markets across the nation. The introduction of reliable irrigation and transportation systems was accompanied by a surge in agricultural production and productivity in Orange County. This was particularly true in Orange, where from 1880 to 1950 , citrus and other agricultural industries were the predominant influences on the economic, political, and cultural development of the City.
By 1893, citrus had become so dominant that the Orange County Fruit Exchange (now known as Sunkist) was organized and incorporated. This organization constructed its headquarters building at the northeast corner of Glassell Street and Almond Avenue. 447
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The citrus industry continued to grow until the Great Depression. Between 1933 and 1935 , unemployment in Orange County grew to 15 percent. This led to labor issues that culminated in a farm workers strike in 1936.
Another blow to the citrus industry occurred in the 1950s with the spread of “Quick Decline” disease, which resulted in reduced crops and loss of trees. This, combined with the strong demand for housing after World War II and the need for developable real estate, began to diminish the once -powerful role of the citrus industry. By the late 1990s, the citrus packing industry had steadily moved out of Orange County.
Three historic packinghouse complexes survive within Old Towne. The oldest existing packinghouse is the former Red Fox Orchards packinghouse, built in 1909, a Pueblo Revival, wood frame building at 128 South Cypress Street. The Villa Park Orchard Association ’s packinghouse complex, built in 1919, is located at 350 North Cypress Street. This former Santiago Orange Growers Association packing plant was built to take advantage of the Santa Fe Railway on the west side and the Pacific Electric on the east. The Villa Park Orchards Association’s offices are located one block north of the packinghouse at 544 North Cypress Street. This building was formerly the segregated Cypress Street School, built in 1931 to educate the Mexican and Mexican-American children of Cypress Street Barrio and El Modena.
SAVI’s 1931 headquarters are located at 154 North Glassell Street. Another building of agricultural importance is the Orange County Fruit Exchange, or Sunkist Building, located at 195 South Glassell Street. From the late 1920s through the 1940s, the Orange Mutual Citrus Association operated a packinghouse at 426 West Almond Avenue adjacent to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe tracks. In later years, the Orange Cooperative Citrus Association occupied the building.
Numerous other industrial buildings remain throughout Orange, concentrated around the railroad tracks running north -south parallel to Cypress Street. In 1927, the Western Cordage Company, a rope manufacturer established in 1923, moved into what had been the Richland Walnut Association Building at 501 West Palm Street. In 1928, the California Wire Company (renamed the Anaconda Wire Company in 1930) built a complex of industrial buildings adjacent to the rail line between Palm Avenue and Maple Avenue at 200 -296 North Cypress Street. The Chapman University Film School currently occupies a portion of the original complex. The buildings feature industrial steel windows and skylights to light the interior work areas. In 1914, the Orange Contracting and Milling Company built their yard and mill at 225 North Lemon Street. The false front industrial building consists of a wood frame sheathed with corrugated sheet metal panels. Another false front industrial building within the district is the structure at 145 North Lemon Street , which features pressed metal panels on the wall of the street façade.
Residential construction associated with industry in Orange centered on bungalows, which became popular , affordable housing for workers . Imitating large, high -style Craftsman homes, these homes were decidedly smaller, usually one story, and were less expensive to construct. Storekeepers, bakers, contractors, packinghouse operators, teachers, carpenters, and laborers occupied many of the bungalows that remain throughout Old Towne.
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Immigration and Ethnic Diversity (circa 1910-1980)
Two international events had significant effects on El Modena and Orange in the 1910s: the Mexican Revolution and World War I. Beginning around 1910, many Mexican families came to the U.S., seeking refuge from the chaos sparked by the Mexican Revolution. When the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, men across the country were drafted into the war effort. As a result, the fruit harvesting workforce dwindled, creating employment opportunities for these new immigrants. The increased demand for workers and the influx of Mexicans supported two vibrant communities: the Cypress Street Barrio and El Modena.
El Modena
By the 1920s, El Modena began to take on a distinctly Mexican character. Many Mexican - American El Modena families worked in packinghouses and orchards. The area was surrounded by fruit tree groves, isolating it from the rest of Orange.
Isolation and segregation from white residents of Orange were facets of life for the residents of El Modena and the Cypress Street Barrio . Many popular recreational activities were segregated, including movie theaters. Mexican -Americans were restricted from playing ball in public parks and their use of the community pool was limited to Mondays, because the pool was drained on Monday night. The impact was felt even at the schools, where Mexican - American student enrollment was restricted to “La Caballeriza” (“The Barn”), a two -room wooden schoolhouse behind the Lemon Street School.
The breakthrough came in 1947 when the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled in favor of League of United
Latin American Citizens in the case Mendez v.
Westminster, ordering that “school districts not
segregate on the basis of national origin.” In the
wake of Mendez came the landmark Brown v.
Board of Education decision in 1954. As integration
slowly commenced, many disgruntled Anglo
families moved away, settling in newly drawn
school districts that were often “re”-segregated.
Some of the small bungalows from this period still
exist in largely modified forms, typically with
clapboard siding, gabled roofs, and small entry
porches. The most significant commercial building from this period is “La Morenita,” a market that still exists on the corner of Washington Avenue and Earlham Street. Around 1929, the Moreno family, one of the oldest families in El Modena, constructed the small , western false-front building.
Cypress Street Barrio
Mexican citrus workers settled on Cypress Street beginning in 1893 when a packinghouse was built on the 300 block of North Cypress. Growers realized that having an easily accessible, stable, and permanently housed workforce assured a lessened chance of labor problems. Residents of the Cypress Street Barrio were a tight -knit group with many new Mendez v. Westminster sought a court
injunction that would order integration of
schools in the Westminster, Santa Ana,
Garden Grove, and El Modena school
districts. Basis for the suit was provided by
conditions in El Modena where the
segregated Lincoln and Roosevelt schools
sat side-by-side on Chapman Avenue,
making an easy comparison of separate
and unequal educational opportunities for
Mexican-American children. The original
site of these two schools has since been
redeveloped.
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residents coming from the same villages in Mexico. Today, some residents can trace their family’s neighborhood roots back four generations.
To support this population, Cypress Street Barrio’s small businesses included grocery stores, bakeries, tortillerias, restaurants, bathhouses, automobile shops, barbershops, and pool halls. The Friendly Center, Inc., one of the oldest non -profit family resource centers in Southern California, offered “Americanization” courses, homemaking classes, health clinics, and childcare services to Cypress Street Barrio residents. In addition, the popular jamaicas, or church street fairs, were held in front of the Friendly Center during the late 1940s.
The Cypress Street Barrio still retains some of its original early 20th -century character in the form of small bungalows, commercial buildings, and packinghouses. The Mission Revival style Friendly Center, Inc. building was built at 424 North Cypress in 1922; the original structure has been remodeled for commercial and residential use. Among the long -standing businesses along North Cypress Street were the Cayatano “Pete” Cruz grocery store (440 North Cypress), Filiberto Paredes/Simon Luna/Emilia Luna’s grocery store (418 North Cypress) and Pete’s Pool Hall (405 North Cypress).
Very little physical evidence remains of Orange’s segregation history. The most prominent example is the formerly segregated Cypress Street School at 544 North Cypress Street, which today houses Chapman University’s Human Resources Development Research Program . The Colonial Theatre, located at 138 South Glassell Street, which was one of the few movie houses in Orange County where attendees of all races could sit side -by-side, still exists in a highly modified form.
Interwar Development (circa 1920-1941)
As the citrus economy continued to flourish into the 1920s, the demand for housing grew and residential styles evolved. The California -oriented Craftsman houses were followed by European-influenced Tudor, Provincial, Mediterranean, and Norman Revival styles. The Mediterranean Revival style was by far the most popular in Orange, and houses in this style that remain exist primarily on the outskirts of the Old Towne boundaries. Beginning in the 1930s, Ranch and Minimal Traditional style homes became dominant due to the economic constraints created by the Great Depression. Minimal Traditional homes tend to be boxy , with flat wall surfaces and little ornamentation or other detailing; they often feature simplified features of Tudor and Colonial Revival styles. Ranch homes became the most predominant type of housing built in the United States between the 1930s and the 1960s.
In addition to many existing homes in the Old Towne area, a number of Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects were built in Orange during this period. The State Emergency Relief Agency (SERA) and the WPA sponsored the construction of several structures, including the Bandshell and Bath House/Plunge in Hart Park (1933 -1935), the downtown post office at Chapman Avenue and Lemon Street (1934 -35), a new fire station at 153 South Olive Street, a $45,000 stadium at Orange Union High School (1935), and new bridges on both the Santa Ana River and Santiago Creek. The Orange-Olive school buildings at 3030 N. Magnolia Street (also known as Olive Community Center) were also constructed by the WPA in the late 1920s. Of these structures, the fire station and bridges no longer remain. 450
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Postwar Development (circa 1945-1975)
World War II brought prosperity to Southern California’s economy and ended the ravages caused by the Great Depression, which had devastated fruit prices. After World War II, returning soldiers and a massive influx of new residents to the state changed the face of California forever. Orange was no exception ; its remaining open and agricultural space attracted developers of bedroom communities.
By the 1950s, many ranchers readily sold their acreage; orange groves were succumbing to the “Quick Decline” disease and the demand for real estate for housing construction soared.
Orange’s explosive suburban residential growth began in 1953 and peaked in 1962 , when thousands of acres of land were sold for development. Between 1950 and 1960, the local population swelled from 10,000 to 26,000 as former orchards were torn out and replaced with subdivisions of single-family homes. Most of the larger tracts (50 -100 homes) were built by outside developers, though a few local developers worked on a smaller scale. One of the more notable developers working in Orange during this period was Joseph Eichler, who built three tracts to the north and east of Old Towne. These Eichler developments brought distinct elegance, originality, and modern design principles to suburban homes.
Eichler Homes
Between 1949 and 1974, Joseph Eichler built about 11,000 homes in California, including 575 in Southern California, of which 305 339 are in Orange. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian building principles, which included integration with the natural landscape, the use of indigenous materials, and an aesthetic to appeal to the “common man ,” gave Eichler ideas for his own suburban tract housing. Eichler hired a series of progressive firms , including Anshen & Allen, Jones & Emmons, and Claude Oakland Associates , to design innovative, modern, and affordable homes for California’s growing middle class consumers. For over two decades, Eichler Homes would utilize streamlined production methods, specialized construction materials, an innovative marketing campaign, and one of the first non -discriminatory suburban housing policies in the country to change the shape of California’s suburbs.
Chapman University
Chapman College was founded in 1861 as Hesperian College in Woodland, California by the Disciples of Christ. By 1920, Hesperian College merged with the new Los Angeles -based California Christian College. The major benefactor to California Christian College was Fullerton citrus rancher Charles Clarke Chapman, and in 1934 the college was renamed Chapman College.
After World War II, as returning veterans with G.I. Bill funding filled college classrooms across the nation, Chapman College required a larger campus to accommodate the increased student population. When the Orange Unified School District proposed building a new high school, Chapman College purchased the old Orange Union High School campus at Glassell Avenue and Palm Street. Chapman College moved to this site in 1954 and became the first four-year, accredited college in Orange County.
Over the years, Chapman has continued to expand its education programs, enrollment, and campus facilities. In 1977, a School of Business and Management (now known as the George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics) was established. The Law School was added in 451
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1995. As a result of its academic development, Chapman College became Chapman University in 1991. Throughout the 1990s, enrollment grew by more than 40 percent and the University has constructed new facilities, including a building for the new College of Film and Media Studies and an athletic complex.
Physical Development
The surge in Orange’s population in the 1950s and 1960s created a need for new government buildings to replace the early City Hall, Fire Station, and Carnegie Library. The Orange Public Library (then addressed as 101 North Center Street, but now as 407 East Chapman Avenue) was completed in 1961 , replacing the original 1910 Carnegie Library. Welton Becket and Associates designed a new civic center completed in 1963 on the site of the 1921 City Hall .
Several fire stations were constructed during the 1960s, including new headquarters on South Grand Street in 1969. A new main post office was constructed on Tustin Street in 1971.
New business districts were also created during the mid -1950s, diminishing downtown Orange’s importance as the city’s major commercial center. Major shopping centers opened on the corners of Tustin Street, Chapman Avenue, Collins Avenue, Glassell Street, North Batavia Street, East Katella Avenue, Meats Avenue, Main Street, and La Veta Avenue, attracting supermarkets, restaurants, hardware stores, banks and gas stations . Shopping centers built during the 1960s and 1970s include Town and Country Village Shopping Center, the Mall of Orange (now the Village at Orange), and The City Shopping Center (now the Block Outlets at Orange).
In the 1960s and 1970s, the ever -growing City of Orange annexed surrounding areas and towns, including portions of El Modena.
The majority of construction from the postwar period remains largely intact, including the three Eichler tracts, Chapman University, City Orange Civic Center, and numerous other commercial, residential, and civic buildings.
1975–Present
During the postwar suburban construction boom, the most desirable land for subdivisions was the flat coastal plain where cities such as Garden Grove, Westminster, and Costa Mesa developed. By the late 1960s, construction slowed. Further development stalled with the energy crisis of 1973. By the 1980s, however, the foothills to the east of El Modena became prime real estate. Orange Park Acres, which lies between Chapman Avenue and Santiago Canyon Road, was first subdivided in 1928, but most of the area was annexed by the City of Orange during the 1990s. In 1989, the City of Orange and the Irvine Company adopted the East Orange General Plan, a proposal that encouraged a mix of residential, commercial, and recreational uses for the area east of Orange Park Acres towards Irvine Park and Peters Canyon. The Orange campus of Rancho Santiago Community College was constructed in 1985 and became Santiago Canyon College in 1997. Most construction from this period remains intact.
Once the flatlands were fully developed, the remaining undeveloped lands that were previously thought to be too expensive or complicated to develop, including the hillsides, became much more desirable. In 2005, the City approved a development proposal for the remaining undeveloped hillsides to the east of Orange and within its sphere of influence 452
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The full text of the Archeological Historic Context
Statement for the City of Orange, including
citations and maps indicating portions of the
planning area with potential for prehistoric and
historic archeological resources, is provided in the
Cultural Resources Technical Report, which
accompanies the General Plan EIR.
(SOI). This new development, consisting of approximately 4,000 homes, is known as Santiago Hills II and East Orange. The development area is located adjacent to the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve, and has significantly expanded the boundaries of Orange towards the east.
Archaeological Resources
The context statement for archaeological
resources in the City of Orange represents
a synthesis of over 50 years of surveys,
excavations, and analysis of material
culture, written documents and records,
and oral histories undertaken by
archaeologists at federal, state, and local
agencies and in the private sector. To date,
over 50 surveys have been conducted within the City or its surrounding unincorporated areas. Most of these have been small in size (less than 10 acres), although a few have investigated hundreds or thousands of acres. These larger projects have been confined to relatively undeveloped areas, such as Burruel Point, Santiago Creek , or the unincorporated east Orange hills within the City’s sphere of influence ( SOI). These surveys have resulted in the recording of only 25 or so sites within the City, although others have been documented along the coast or in other portions of Orange County.
Prehistoric Setting
Orange County falls within the San Diego sub -region of the southern coast archaeological region of California. The history of the archaeology of this period in Southern California reads like a novel , with accounts of nationalism and competition between ambitious institutional collectors (e.g., museums, universities, public institutions) . Intense and competitive, but unsystematic institutional collecting persisted in the region into the twentieth century.
An initial framework of regional prehistory was in place by the 1950s. This framework is not specific to Orange County; however, elements of it are derived from work at Newport and Laguna Beaches. The generally accepted framework recognizes four broad temporal periods or cultural horizons. These are the Paleo -coastal or Early Man Period dating to more than 10,000 years ago; the Millingstone Period, falling between 10,000 years ago and 3,000 years ago; the Intermediate Period from 3,000 years to 1,350 years ago ; and, the Late Prehistoric Period from 1,350 to 650 years ago.
Paleo-coastal Tradition
Initial occupation is thought to have occurred more than 10,000 years ago in Southern California. The view is that e arly occupants were mobile foragers primarily dependent on hunting terrestrial game. Recent archaeological evidence from some coastal sites indicates the systematic and intensive use of marine resources, including shellfish, during this period.
One immensely important find was the partial remains of a woman on Santa Rosa Island (Channel Islands) in 1959. Now known as the Arlington Springs Woman, the find consisted of two femurs recovered at a depth of approximately 30 feet. The discovery was excavated in a block and transported to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. In 1989, samples of 453
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the bone were submitted for chemical and radiocarbon analysis. The resulting estimate of the age of the remains suggests the individual was buried approximately 13,000 years ago, making the Arlington Springs Woman one of the oldest finds of human remains in the Americas.
Millingstone Period
Sites dating from around 8,000 years before present (B.P.) are far more common than those from the Paleo-coastal Tradition period. They typically include groundstone assemblages, indicating a probable dependence on hard seeds. At coastal sites, there is continued evidence of a wide variety of marine resource exploitation, most commonly shellfish. Some archeologists believe that terrestrial game still provided the foundation of the diet. Others note that the abundance of Millingstone Horizon sites suggests a sedentary settlement system, rather than a mobile foraging pattern . Under the sedentary settlement system, central settlements would be supplied from special purpose camps and task sites. Sites of this time period typically yield large numbers of metates and manos, as well as unique artifacts of unknown use, called cogged stones or discoidals.
The Intermediate Period
At about 3,000 years B.P., important changes began to occur in settlement, technology , and subsistence intensification caused by a growing population . Changes included increased use of acorns, elaborate fishing technology, and a diverse arsenal of hunting tools. The apparent disuse of the Newport Coast area during this period is thought to have indicated the arrival of Shoshonean-speaking groups from the deserts to the east. Archaeologists believe these people were proto-Gabrieleno and Luiseño who were not yet familiar with marine resources.
Late Prehistoric Period
By t he Late Prehistoric Period, beginning approximately 1,350 years B.P., high population densities and complex political, social, technological, and religious systems existed throughout the Los Angeles Basin. Economic systems, based primarily around growing marine fisheries, became more diverse and intensive. The growing geographic complexity of trade networks is reflected in shell -bead currency and a variety of materials traded to or acquired from remote locations. Technological improvements are apparent in the appearance of the bow and arrow, the plank canoe in coastal sites, and evidence of a broad variety of marine resources , including mammals and fish taken in deep sea environments.
Settlements became permanent towns supported by temporary camps set up at resource procurement sites. Archaeological evidence of this time period includes the presence of arrowheads, soapstone bowls, callus shell beads, steatite effigies , and cremations. This period ended abruptly when Spanish colonists began establishing missions along the California coast.
Ethnographic Setting
The planning area is situated within the ethnographic territory of the Gabrielino Indians of California. Gabrielino lands included most of present -day Los Angeles and Orange Counties, and several offshore islands. The Gabrielino spoke a Cupan language in the Takic family, which in turn is a member of the Uto -Aztecan linguistic stock. The Gabrielino people lived in 454
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either permanent or semi -permanent villages. Known settlement locations seem to have favored two different locales; coastal estuaries and major inland watercourses. Villages are thought to have been the focus of family life, with each individual group linked to others by paternal kinship relations. Coastal Gabrielino exploited bay and kelp -bed fish, shellfish, and occasionally sea mammals. Inland groups collected and processed plants and hunted deer, bear, quail, and other terrestrial game.
Gabrielino culture was heavily affected by colonial Spanish missionary efforts long before systematic ethnographic studies could be conducted, indeed before there was such a discipline as ethnography. Disease and forced participation in the mission system disrupted most traditional cultural ways of life and resulted in a catastrophic reduction of the native population. Information about their material culture and lifeways is very limited and derived largely from historical sources, such as the diaries and records of early missionaries, soldiers , and explorers. While traveling through the area in 1769, Father Juan Crespi, a missionary, noted the presence of a large village, Hotuuknga, upstream from present day Olive on the north side of the Santa Ana River. Crespi wrote that 52 Indians came to greet them and accepted blankets, beads , and other goods. When he returned two years later , the group was hostile and the Spaniards quickly continued on their way. As late as the 1870s, a small “Indian camp” was visible on the north side of Santiago Creek just west of the Glassell Street crossing.
What little ethnographic information is available suggests that the Late Prehistoric Gabrielino settlement pattern may have been characterized by a complex of central villages occupied by family lineages and smaller special -purpose sites where specific resources were extracted or where food or other resources were collected for transportation back to central villages.
Such a pattern is consistent with the "collector" economic model for complex hunter - gatherer societies such as the Gabrielino.
Historical Setting
As mentioned previously, major themes and eras in Orange’s history include colonization, early settlement , agriculture and industry, immigration and ethnic diversity , interwar development, and postwar development . Considered in light of these themes and eras , places of particular archaeological interest include rancho sites, Old Towne, El Modena, McPherson, and Olive. Physical developments of particular interest include the railroad, packinghouses, private homes, and civic buildings. Social developments of particular interest include ethnic settlement, labor issues, and segregation.
Orange’s early settlers, commercial enterprises , and public facilities had no modern -day waste disposal facilities. Typically, outdoor sanitation facilities (privies or outhouses) were placed within private property at the rear of the properties, close to alleys. Household trash items (discarded bottles and dishes, food remains, and broken objects) were often disposed of by spreading across the back or side yards and then covering with dirt (creating horizontal layers of discarded refuse) or by digging pits to hold garbage and then covering with dirt.
According to City sanitation records (these records do not extend to El Modena, Olive, etc.), sewer lines were installed in the streets and into parcels within Orange and the general area of the Cypress Street Barrio between 1911 and 1914 (after 1915, almost all new development in Orange included provision of sewer lines). While the City provided the pipes necessary for 455
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individual hook ups into the system, it was up to the landowner to install flushing toilets and sinks, and some residents continued to use outhouses for many years after the main sewer line was installed. As outhouses were abandoned , they were often filled in with discarded household debris, creating sealed deposits. These 19th century refuse deposits often contain information on household demographics, cultural heritage traditions, economic status , and other research topics that is not available through written documentation. In Orange, deposits associated with early Hispanic communities, Chinese settlers, German immigrants, religious organizations , and other heritage or belief groups have the potential to provide glimpses of the daily lives of Orange’s early settlers. In Cypress Street Barrio’s and El Modena’s early settlement period, deposits associated with Quakers can provide artifacts and other organic material useful in interpreting the influence of religious beliefs on material culture, the everyday practice of a religious philosophy, status, the role of women and children in the household, and other topics not always addressed in the written record.
Archaeological deposits associated with warehouses, ditches, and workers ’ camps are potentially present at any 19th and early 20th century packinghouse location within the City.
As with residential areas, industrial work sites established outhouses, waste disposal areas , and residential areas for workers. Often, large organizations employed on-site blacksmiths to maintain freight wagons and shoe stock, and fix machinery and tools. Analysis of functional use areas can aid in reconstructions of 19th-century technology, industrial design and layout, and technological changes, innovations , or modifications made at individual company sites.
Household debris discarded at workers’ camps allow s a comparison of the economic and social status of foremen, managers, owners, and laborers (as interpreted through the material culture) . Such debris also allows insights into division of labor camps based on cultural heritage, comparisons of conditions at camps owned by different companies, and other research topics that can enrich the known history and interpretation of Orange’s important agricultural and industrial development.
New developments and existing urban areas of the City continued to tie into the City’s ever - expanding sewer system in the Interwar Development period, eliminating the potential for hollow-filled significant archaeological deposits associated with individual households. Rural areas, however, relied on outhouses or septic systems and were often responsible for disposal of their own household trash. Deposits associated with farmhouses, small scale orange growers, and agricultural enterprises have the potential to allow interpretation of individual farm and household response to the Depression, adaptations in diet and material culture in light of reduced economic status, changes in farm technology or equipment in light of the Depression, and other topics related to interpreting this era of Orange history.
The explosive growth of Orange and establishment of planned subdivisions in the Postwar Development period is unlikely to have resulted in significant archaeological deposits. By the end of World War II , new developments included installation of sewer, water, and electrical utilities. New homeowners and tenants were provided with garbage collection services , and the likelihood of encountering significant archaeological deposits associated with this period is considered low.
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Orange’s Public Library System
Orange’s Public Library was founded prior to incorporation in 1885, making it one of the oldest public libraries in Orange County. Postmaster Robert E. Tener donated his collection of about 300 books and ran the library as a private organization, using dues from the members to build and maintain the collection. The library itself was housed in the Post Office Building on South Glassell Street. It remained as a private organization until 1894 when it was turned over to the newly-formed City.
In 1905, the collection needed a new building and was granted a Carnegie building to house the library on the corner of Center Street and Chapman Avenue, where the Main LibraryOrange Public Library & History Center is still located today. In 1961, the original Carnegie building was demolished and a 17,000 square foot building was erected, increasing in size to provide service to an anticipated population of 40,000.
An expanded new Orange Public Library & History Center reopened on April 21, in 2007. At 45,000 square feet, the new library building includes a Children's Library, Teen Zone, Homework Center and a History Center.
ISSUES, GOALS, AND POLICIES
The goals and policies of the Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Element address five issues: (1) identifying and protecting historic resources , (2) protecting neighborhood character, (3) providing incentives and expanding education efforts for historic preservation , (4) recognizing and protecting archeological and cultural resources within the planning area , and (5) meeting life-longing learning needs of residents through provision of library services .
Implementation programs related to these goals and policies are contained in the General Plan appendix.
Architecture and Community Character
One of the most distinguishing features of Orange is the community’s dedication to recognizing, acknowledging, and preserving its past. The N RHP-listed Old Towne Historic District has the largest number of resources of any historic district is one of the largest historic districts in California, and provides a strong sense of place in the City and a unique identity within Orange County as a whole. The City recognizes that the architectural strength of Old Towne results from the contextual environment of historic structures, and further recognizes that in some cases , individual structures are best appreciated in a neighborhood context. The City also realizes that some individual structures worthy of protection may not be located within an intact historic neighborhood (for example, historic farmhouses located throughout the City or La Morenita market in El Modena).
Historic preservation in Old Towne has been a significant factor in the revitalization and economic vitality of downtown Orange, resulting in increased property values and low vacancy rates . Old Towne preservation has created a potential serves as a model for other locations within the City. Three mid-century modern Eichler Homes Tracts designated as local historic districts have a distinctive identity and sense of place of their own . As with Old Towne, these neighborhoods have enjoyed strong property values and steward ship, and 457
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further enrich the collection of historic resources in Orange. However, efforts to identify and protect resources beyond Old Towne ha ve been limited. The City seeks to build upon the successes of Old Towne , the Eichl er Homes Tracts, and the existing historic preservation program, to use new techniques and technologies to assist in historic preservation, and to prepare for a future wherein an increasing number of resources will qualify as potentially historic.
GOAL 1.0: Identify and preserve potential and listed historic resources, including buildings, structures, objects, sites, districts , and archaeological resources citywide.
Policy 1.1: Maintain an accessible inventory of designated and potential historic resources.
Policy 1.2: Promote community education and awareness of the significance of Orange’s potential and listed historic resources.
Policy 1.3: Provide long term assurance that potential and listed historic resources will be used, maintained , and rehabilitated in conformance with Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring and Preserving Historic Buildings (Secretary’s Standards).
Policy 1.4: Encourage alternatives to demolition such as architecturally -compatible rehabilitation, adaptive re-use, new construction, and relocation.
Policy 1.5: Require that no permit for alteration or demolition of properties identified in the Orange Historic Resources Inventory as potential historic resources shall be issued until alternatives to demolition have been duly considered.
Policy 1.6: Promote the preservation of cultural and historical resources controlled by governmental agencies, including those related to City, School District, and other agencies.
Preserving Historic Neighborhood Character
Historic preservation goes beyond protecting a select number of buildings. The overall goal of historic preservation is to link current residents to the City’s rich heritage, create a sense of place, and protect architectural context and diversity. Preservation efforts should enhance neighborhoods by rehabilitating individual structures and addressing neighborhood character in areas that are rich in history but that may not retain enough integrity to qualify as local, state, or national historic districts. While they may not have high integrity, these neighborhoods are culturally, historically, and architecturally significant and feature distinct physical and/or architectural characteristics.
GOAL 2.0 Identify and preserve neighborhoods that are culturally and historically significant but do not retain sufficient integrity for eligibility as a local, state, or national district.
Policy 2.1: Encourage identification and listing of Neighborhood Character Areas within the El Modena, Cypress Street Barrio, Railroad/Packinghouse Corridor , and Orange Park Acres neighborhoods.
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Policy 2.2: Promote community and visitor awareness and education concerning the unique and special history and architecture found in Neighborhood Character Areas.
Policy 2.3: Ensure that those qualities that contribute to the historic character of designated Neighborhood Character Areas are retained through application of design guidelines consistent with the local context and key physical attributes of each neighborhood.
Incentives and Education
Historic resources throughout the City provide opportunities for both rehabilitation and adaptive reuse as commercial, residential, or office spaces. Encouragement and incentives to achieve long -term preservation and context -sensitive reuse of historic buildings will be provided through financial, planning, and zoning tools that assist property owners seeking to rehabilitate and preserve their homes and buildings. Many of these resources also provide opportunities to promote community awareness and support for historic preservation through public education.
GOAL 3.0: Provide incentives and expand education efforts for historic preservation.
Policy 3.1: Expand education efforts to facilitate and encourage historic preservation and recognition of the City’s historic resources.
Policy 3.2: Provide incentives to encourage and support historic preservation.
Policy 3.3: Actively seek funding for historic preservation activities.
Policy 3.4: Leverage recognition of the City’s historic preservation program, participate directly in federal and state historic preservation programs, and gain access to designated historic preservation funding.
Policy 3.5: Explore additional funding sources for maintenance and rehabilitation of historic resources.
Archaeological and Cultural Resources
Orange County is rich in human history, with a record of occupation by many cultures. The City recognizes the importance of preserving archaeological resources and making them accessible for educational purposes as a means of understanding our cultural heritage.
GOAL 4.0: Identify and preserve archaeological and cultural resources.
Policy 4.1: Identify, designate, and protect historically and culturally significant archaeological resources or sites.
Policy 4.2: Recognize the importance of Santiago Creek as an archaeological resource.
Policy 4.3: Encourage curation of any cultural resources and artifacts recovered in the City for public education and appreciation.
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Policy 4.4: Celebrate the cultural history of the community by increasing community awareness through the design features of public projects and facilities such as parks, plazas, and community buildings.
Policy 4.5: Encourage private development to celebrate the cultural history of the community through project design.
Policy 4.6: Provide additional resources and promotion for the Orange Public Library Local History Collection.
Library Services
The Orange Public Library has been providing library services to residents since 1885. The Library has always played a central role in the development of civic life in Orange, and continues to do so today and in the future through its presence as both a formal and informal community gathering place. This role will become increasingly important as the population of Orange continues to grow and diversify.
GOAL 5.0: Meet the educational, cultural, civic, information, recreation, business, and life-long learning needs of residents through the provision of library resources.
Policy 5.1: Continue to expand, coordinate and modernize the City’s public library system, ensuring that it becomes the premier information and learning resource for the City to meet the needs of Orange’s growing and diverse population.
Policy 5.2: Support the strategies and recommendations of the Orange Public Library Facilities Master Plan 2002-2020, and continue to explore new strategies that make the library accessible to all members of the community.
Policy 5.3: Work with the community to assess, select, organize, and maintain desired collections of library materials and information sources and make these materials available to the public free of charge to promote information literacy.
Policy 5.4: Promote collaborations among community groups, educational institutions and the Public Library to enhance sharing of information, resources and financial support for library facilities, services and programs.
Policy 5.5: Provide friendly and welcoming library facilities that support the creation of both formal and informal neighborhood commons.
CULTURAL RESOURCES & HISTORIC PRESERVATION PLAN
Orange has traditionally focused its historic preservation efforts primarily on Old Towne.
Since 1982, when the City of Orange undertook its first historic resources survey, enacted its first historic preservation element, and established the Old Towne Historic District through a zoning overlay, historic preservation has been a significant factor in the revitalization and economic vitality of Orange’s historic downtown. The current process of establishing an historic district is through a zoning overlay as outlined in the Zoning Ordinance; the City does 460
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not have a Historic Preservation Ordinance. By combining historic district designation with design standards, design review, and preservation incentives, the historic character of Old Towne has been maintained and preserved. As part of this effort, the City has developed public programs that provide City residents with a variety of informational tools advertising different options for historic preservation. The City actively promotes the Old Towne Design StandardsHistoric Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne, educates the public regarding architectural styles found in Old Towne, and provides public information on the Mills Act program, which provides incentives that may reduce property taxes on historic buildings in exchange for rehabilitation and maintenance of the owner’s historic resource. City HallThe Community Development Department makes all of this information available, in addition to preservation maps and brochures, and City staff includes experts who work on historic preservation projects throughout the City. A Design Review Committee reviews building projects throughout Old Towne.
Achievements of the Old Towne preservation program have been recognized by the community, and throughout the region. However, other potential historic districts and individual resources within the City do not receive the same attention. The City has a unique opportunity to examine and learn from the Old Towne experience, and to redefine the goals of its preservation program. This Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Element includes issues, goals, and policies directed at facilitating a comprehensive preservation program.
Figure CR -2 presents additional resources recommended for designation within the City.
Subsequent portions of the Plan describe intended programs and objectives associated with these resources.
Architecture and Community Character
The City’s original Preservation Element and current historic preservation program focus on preservation of neighborhoods, specifically Old Towne. This approach, which has been extremely successful, does not address the full extent or quality of architectural resources in Orange. The City of Orange, which has evolved and developed over the course of more than 100 years, contains significant concentrations of properties that reflect a variety of architectural styles, patterns of development, and important cultural history.
Old Towne Orange
Old Towne Orange, comprising the central Plaza, surrounding commercial buildings, and four adjacent residential quadrants, represents the period of development when the City evolved from pioneer settlement into thriving center of the Orange County citrus industry. Originally settled in the mid - to late -1800s, after the dissolution of Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, Orange emerged as a robust industrial and commercial center between 1888 and 1940. Citrus and construction -related materials yards, packinghouses, and shipping and receiving businesses all flourished within the three short blocks between the Plaza and Santa Fe rail lines. Development over this 50 -year period is represented by distinct styles of architecture, methods of construction, and details of craftsmanship, examples of which have been substantially retained over the ensuing years.
Many commercial, residential, civic, and religious buildings from Orange’s early settlement years remain today, in addition to Plaza Square, developed in the 1880s. Early homes were built in the Victorian or Queen Anne style, characterized by a vertical emphasis with simple, 461
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jigsawn ornamentation, particularly around the porch, windows and entry. Prior to World War I, residential styles evolved to include Classical Revival, Craftsman and Bungalow, and Mediterranean Revival examples.
Eichler Homes
Between 1949 and 1974, Joseph Eichler built about 11,000 homes in California, including 575 in Southern California, of which 305 339 are in Orange. Once a successful butter -and-egg wholesaler in New York, Eichler drew inspiration for his change in profession from his time renting Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bazett House. Wright’s Usonian building principles, which included integration with the natural landscape, the use of indigenous materials, and an aesthetic to appeal to the “common man,” inspired Eichler to incorporate similar principles into his suburban tract homes. For over two decades, Eichler Homes would employ streamlined production methods, specialized construction materials, an innovative marketing campaign, and one of the first non-discriminatory suburban housing policies in the country to change the shape of America’s suburbs.
The 305 339 Eichler homes in Orange provide a unique opportunity for the City to recognize some of its lesser known historic neighborhoods. The three Eichler tracts (see Figure CR -2) include Fairhaven, constructed in southeast Orange from 1960 -1962; Fairmeadow, constructed in north Orange in 1963; and Fairhills, constructed in east Orange from 1963 - 1964. They typify the eclectic mix of Eichler’s California -modern aesthetic, and his affinity for high-quality, architect -designed “modernism for the masses.” The residences in all three tracts remain largely unaltered and are a source of great pride for residents. Orange’s Eichlers attest to the high quality of
materials and craftsmanship used in Eichler
homes, and serve as a reminder of early
suburban integration in Southern California.
Due to their architectural significance and
integrity, these three tracts appear to be
eligible for listing as historic districts in local,
state, and national registers. The City has an
opportunity to recognize a significant part
of its post -WWII development history. In
2018, City Council designated the three
tracts as local historic districts.
Individual Resources
Certain resources are worthy of protection
as individual resources. These properties
may be significant because of their relative
rarity, notable architecture, links to cultural history, or their association with significant people. Two examples are discussed below.
Farmhouses
In its early years, Orange flourished as a farming community. The Plaza and downtown were dwarfed by surrounding expanses of citrus groves. Many residents lived on farms that stretched in all directions. With modernization and growth, most of the area’s citrus groves California and Local Register Criteria
1) The resource is associated with events that
have made a significant contribution to
broad patters of local or regional history or
the cultural heritage of California or the
United States.
2) The resource is associated with the lives of
persons important to local, California or
national history.
3) The resource embodies the distinctive
characteristics of a type, period, region, or
method of construction or represents the
work of a master or possesses high artistic
value.
4) The resource has yielded, or has the
potential to yield, information important to
the prehistory or history of the local area,
California or the nation.
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and associated farms have been subdivided and redeveloped for residential or industrial uses. According to previous historic resource surveys, several late 19th century farmhouses still exist in areas that would have been the outskirts of the original City core and in dispersed locations throughout Orange. These farmhouses, and any original outbuildings that remain on each property, are among the only tangible resources that remain to denote Orange’s significant history as an agricultural community. While the City has surveyed many of the individual farmhouses, regulations tailored to preservation of these resources are needed to ensure that these remnants of Orange’s early citrus history retain their integrity and receive appropriate community recognition
La Morenita
Around 1929, a small western false -front market was constructed by the Moreno family, one of the oldest families currently living in El Modena. The market, called La Morenita, still exists on the corner of Washington Avenue and Earlham Street. The building was constructed at a time when many Mexican -American El Modena families worked in packinghouses and orchards in the nearby neighborhoods of Villa Park, Placentia, and Orange. A market like La Morenita provided necessary household and personal items for the surrounding Mexican - American community. As an important symbol of El Modena’s Mexican-American heritage, La Morenita is also eligible for listing on a local register.
Preservation Tools
A variety of preservation tools are available to assist the City in identifying and preserving potential and listed historic resources.
Orange Inventory
The City will continue to maintain an accessible and periodically updated inventory of potential historic resources. All surveyed properties will be included in the City’s Inventory of Historic Resources (Orange Inventory), and the Orange Inventory will be a valuable planning tool to be used in evaluating possible impacts a proposed project might have on previously evaluated potential and identified historic resources. Properties to be included in the Orange Inventory include those that have been surveyed, but that may not have complete documentation as to their historical, cultural, or architectural significance.
The City will formally recognize the architectural and archaeological reconnaissance survey prepared in conjunction with the Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Element, and will incorporate the findings into the existing Inventory. The Orange Inventory serves as a valuable resource for consideration of potential historically significant resources when undertaking environmental review for projects.
Historic Context Statement
Historic context statements have been prepared for the City, as well as for several individual neighborhoods within Orange, in tandem with this General Plan update 2. Historic context
2 These historic context statements are on file in the Community Development Department and are available on the Historic Preservation page of the City website.
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statements document themes significant to community history and culture, and can be used both to educate the community regarding the significance of places and times in Orange’s past and to identify, document, and evaluate the significance of historic resources.
The City will formally recognize the historic context statement prepared in conjunction with the Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Element, and will use the statement as a tool to evaluate potential historical resources. The City will also update the statement on an ongoing basis through collaborative partnerships with local organizations and universities. 464
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Note: Information about individual resources is available in the City of Orange 2010 Historic Resources Inventory at the Community Development Department CR-31 Figure CR-2. Resources Recommended for Designation
(This Page Left Intentionally Blank)
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Orange Register of Historic Resources
The City will create a Local Register of Historic Resources (Historic Register) which will serve as a local register of historical resources under CEQA. The criteria for listing in the Historic Register will be the same as for listing in the CRHR, as such criteria may be updated from time to time by the State of California. To be listed in the Historic Register, a property or district must demonstrate eligibility under one or more of four basic significance criteria, be representative of at least one theme identified in the Historic Context Statement, and retain substantial integrity.
Upon establishing the Historic Register, all previously evaluated resources that have been designated or officially determined eligible for listing in the NRHP and/or CRHR will be automatically listed in the Historic Register. The Historic Register will include all contributors to NRHP- and/or CRHR-listed historic districts , as well as individual resources listed on the Historic Register and contributors to listed local historic districts. Notwithstanding the foregoing, “historical resource” for the purposes of CEQA mean s “historic district” in the case of a contributor to an historic district.
The City will expand upon existing procedures for designation of local resources to expressly include separate or individual resources, structures, objects, sites, as well as districts and archaeological resources. Resources identified as potentially eligible in the Orange Inventory may be listed in the Historic Register if they meet the criteria noted above. Specifically, the City intends to pursue Historic Register listing for the three Eichler Tracts as historic districts and the approximately 60 potential individually eligible resources identified in the reconnaissance survey accompanying the General Plan update and shown on Figure CR-2.
The City will also expand upon the existing procedure for designation of local historic districts. The procedure for designation of such districts should be interactive with property owners, should encourage participation in the listing process, and should include at least one mailing to property owners of record inviting them to public workshops to discuss proposed Historic Register listing.
Alterations to or new construction on sites with listed historic resources shall be subject to City staff and/or DRC review and approval as outlined in Section 17.10.090 (Demolition Review) of the Municipal Code, in the Old Towne Design StandardsHistoric Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne (updated 20171999), the Eichler Design Standards (adopted 2018), in the City’s Local CEQA Guidelines (updated 20062020), or in other adopted design standards.
Until such time as an Historic Register is established, the City will use the Orange Inventory only to the extent that potential historic resources surveyed, listed in , or eligible for listing in the CRHR have been identified. Once the Historic Register is established, the City will use the Historic Register to identify historic resources for purposes of CEQA, NHPA , and National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) review of proposed projects. Historic resources listed in the Historic Register shall have a presumption of significance pursuant to CEQA S ection 21084.1 and shall be treated as historic resources under CEQA.
Historic Resource Management
The City will expand DRC and Community Development Department staff authority to administer the Orange Inventory survey, Historic Register listings, design review procedures , 470
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and demolition permits. To increase awareness of historic resources and reduce potential harm to such resources, the City will establish a system to ensure that review and approval by Community Development Department staff and/or the DRC must take place before the whole or partial demoli tion of certain types of buildings. Such buildings would include those surveyed as potential historic resource s in the Orange Inventory, those listed in the Historic Register, or those previously unevaluated properties within a designated historic district or Neighborhood Character Area that are more than 45 years old. Current ordinances may require amendment to incorporate preservation goals.
Maintenance and Rehabilitation
The City will work with property owners to ensure that potential historic resources in the Orange Inventory and listed historic resources in the Historic Register are maintained in good repair and that property owners take steps to prevent severe deterioration or demolition caused by neglect. Incentives for maintenance and rehabilitation may include grants and low interest loans, property tax relief, and other benefits to owners of listed historic resources to encourage affirmative, active maintenance . The Mills Act program will be expanded to include listed historic resources in the Historic Register, Eichler tracts, and other potential historic resources when those properties are designated.
The City will also develop disincentives for not maintaining inventoried potential historic resources or listed historic resources , including penalties and fines for lack of maintenance upon serving of notice. Additional provisions may also be made for vacant and vandalized inventoried potential historic resources or listed historic resources . S uch provisions may include barricading and protection.
The City supports contemporary uses that require minimal change to defining physical characteristics of potential or listed historic resources, especially adaptive reuse projects that meet contemporary needs, including housing or commercial uses.
To achieve these objectives, the City will prepare, implement , and update design guidelines and/or standards for districts containing potential or listed historic resources . The City will identify smaller character areas where concentrations of potential or listed historic resources reflect unique senses of time and place . In some instances this character may be manifested in utilitarian or decorative features , such as agricultural irrigation implements, decorative curbing, and stone neighborhood monuments . The City will develop guidelines for preservation of that character in buildings, structures, landscape, and other site features. The City will also continue to maintain publicly-owned potential and listed historic resources.
Alternatives to Demolition
The City will work with local preservation organizations and property owners wishing to demolish potential or listed historic resources to identify potential alternatives to demolition, and will explore alternatives, including building relocation and sale or transfer of ownership, prior to demolition of privately - or publicly-owned historic resources. Furthermore, the City will consider updates to current demolition ordinance s to protect potential or listed historic resources.
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Preserving Historic Neighborhood Character
The City contains, in addition to Old Towne, a number of groupings of homes, businesses, and public buildings in dispersed locations that have a unique neighborhood character important to Orange history. Many of these areas c ontain buildings individually eligible for listing on a local, state, or national register and surroundings that retain physical characteristics that reflect the valuable historic context of the neighborhood. This physical character may be expressed as generally as streetscapes, historic street grid patterns, setbacks, or use categories; or as specifically as the predominance of a building type, prevalence of certain building materials or architectural styles, or characteristic building heights and/or sizes. Without regulation, this physical context will dissolve and eventually disappear into surrounding, incompatible modern development.
Neighborhood Character Areas
As uses and occupants change, one potential me ans of
preserving the physical characteristics that survive in the City’s older neighborhoods is through designation
of one or more areas as Neighborhood Character Areas
(NCAs). Applied as an overlay zone, an NCA can ensure
that development and alterations within the
designated area are consistent with, and reinforce, the historic context of the neighborhood. With a number of
properties serving as anchors and the use of
appropriate design guidelines, an NCA could encourage
preservation of the historic physical qualities and
context of these neighborhoods , while still allowing
both changes in use and new development.
To qualify as an NCA, an area must be culturally or
historically significant under at least one of the themes identified in the City’s Historic Context Statement; must contain several individual buildings, structures, objects , or sites that are individual potential or listed historic resources; and must retain physical characteristics that contribute to a unique neighborhood character. The Orange Inventory, surveys, and Historic Context Statement all identify potential or listed historic resources that may serve as anchors for NCAs. Individual properties identified as anchors to an NCA are also to be listed on the Historic Register.
Establishment of an NCA overlay zone requires the following:
▪ Identification of criteria and theme(s) for which the proposed NCA is significant. ▪ Identification of those physical architectural and/or design characteristics (e.g., building scale, story height, materials, relationship to street, width of streets, depth of setbacks) that are unique to the NCA being designated or that help convey its significant historic context and that should be preserved.
A Neighborhood Character Area
(NCA) is a form of Conservation
District. According to the National
Park Service, conservation districts
are “usually designated as an
overlay on a basic land-use
category or geographically over a
neighborhood. It provides less
stringent design restrictions than a
historic district. The focus is on
maintaining the basic character of
the area, but not the specific
historic details of buildings. For
example, a conservation district
may simply ask that all buildings
maintain a front yard, with garages
being set behind the main
building, to maintain the
established pattern of front
yards.”
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▪ Proposed design guidelines for each NCA that seek to preserve the unique physical architectural and/or design characteristics of the neighborhood.
Initially, the City intends to designate El Modena, Cypress Street Barrio, the Railroad/Packinghouse Corridor, and Orange Park Acres as NCAs, as shown on Figure CR-2. In the future, other neighborhoods that meet the criteria listed above may qualify for such status, and the City will actively promote such future designations.
NCAs are considered important only as a sum of their parts. Unlike properties in designated historic districts, properties located within an identified and listed NCA are not to be considered potential or listed historic resources when undertaking environmental review for projects. Within an NCA, only those properties identified as potential or listed individual historic resources on the Orange Inventory or Historic Register have a presumption of significance pursuant to CEQA S ection 21084.1. Such properties should be treated as historical resources under CEQA only if they are listed in or eligible for listing in the CRHR for CEQA or the NRHP for NHPA and NEPA.
The City will promote community awareness and education concerning the unique and special history and architecture found in NCAs by developing educational brochures and interpretive displays describing the NCA program.
The City will also ensure that qualities contributing to the historic character of designated NCAs are retained through application of design guidelines consistent with the local context and key physical characteristics of each neighborhood. To ensure that the historic and cultural integrity of NCAs are maintained, the City will also provide educational materials and technical assistance for property owners.
Incentives and Education
Given Orange’s numerous historic resources and active local preservation organizations such as OTPA, the Orange Public Library & History Center, the Orange Community Historical Society, and the Orange Barrio Historic Society, a wealth of interest and material is available to promote educational opportunities related to the City’s architectural and cultural history.
A citywide historic interpretation program compris ing written histories, photographs, artifacts, and signage would promote community awareness and education in historic preservation.
Certified Local Government Program
Another significant opportunity to advance local preservation efforts is the C ertified Local Government (CLG) program. A CLG is a local government certified under federal law by the California Office of Historic Preservation for the purpose of more direct participation in federal and state historic preservation programs. Orange has a definite opportunity to become a CLG given the City’s well -established regulation of Old Towne. Local governments become certified by demonstrating their ability to enforce preservation laws and provide for adequate public participation. In addition, a CLG must have a qualified historic preservation review commission, and must maintain a comprehensive historic inventory. For Orange, certification as a CLG would be relatively simple because the City has already instituted many of the required elements, including design review, a design commission, a historic resources inventory, and an established method of public participation. Primary benefits of CLG status 473
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include recognition of a local government preservation program, direct participation in federal and state preservation programs, and access to designated preservation funding.
Development and Preservation Incentives
Although the City already provides for use of the Mills Act program and application of the State Historical Building Code, additional incentives are available and should be considered.
Adopting additional incentives could encourage responsible historic preservation and lessen the associated restrictions or burdens that may be felt by property owners.
The City will continue to allow use of the State Historical Building Code for qualified historic buildings and properties, and will continue to administer the Mills Act Program, which can provide a property tax reduction for owners of historic resources.
Future incentives may include potential fee reductions or waivers for building permits and business licenses, streamlined development permit review and issuance for projects involving listed historic resources and contributors to listed historic districts, and/or development transfers and bonuses. The City could also consider developing a voluntary conservation easement program in coordination with local preservation organizations that would provide a potential tax benefit to property owners and preserve listed historic resources and contributors to listed historic districts.
Public Education
To expand education efforts , the City will continue to develop and promote existing educational programs and materials relating to historic preservation and the City’s historic resources. Educational programs and materials will address:
▪ significance of the City’s cultural and historical resources; ▪ methods of conducting historic research;
▪ criteria for historic designation;
▪ historic resource design review processes;
▪ building permit requirements; and
▪ methods and incentives for rehabilitating and preserving historic and cultural resources.
The City will utilize resources available through the Orange Public Library & History Center and establish partnerships with local preservation organizations to develop and present educational programs and materials relating to historic preservation, historic resources, and City history. Promoting an understanding and appreciation of the importance of historic preservation within City departments, boards, commissions, and elected officials also remains an important objective.
Funding Historic Preservation
Although many sources are available, funding historic preservation efforts remains a challenge. The City will take steps to improve access to historic preservation funding, including allocating or prioritizing a portion or percentage of the City’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to projects involving listed historic resources.
Proposed work on listed historic resources using CDBG resources must be consistent with applicable design standards. The City will also explore facilitating zero - or low-interest loans 474
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for maintenance and rehabilitation work, consistent with design standards , for listed historic resources and contributors to listed historic districts.
Archaeological Resources
Potential and identified archaeological resources (or sites) in the City consist of a range of sites from both the prehistoric period and the historic period. Archaeological sites in Orange have significant interest to the California Native American community, and to the public.
Such sites have the potential to provide data to support ongoing research and education.
Prehistoric archaeological sites provide traces of direct ancestr y for California Native Americans. Prehistoric archaeological remains may include cemeteries containing the physical remains. Considerate and humane attitudes, as well as state and federal laws, demand that such remains be treated with courtesy and respect and appropriately protected.
Archaeological prehistoric and historic remains are also of great interest to the general public, and the manner in which they are treated can enhance or detract from Orange’s image nationally and internationally. Archaeological and prehistoric data can enhance and expand student learning opportunities, and can be used to train students in scientific and critical thinking. Historic archaeological sites may include residential, industrial , and occupational specific deposits and features associated with Orange’s history and growth. They reflect the ethnic diversity of the City , and show how different national and cultural groups have contributed to our history and development. Historic archaeological remains also have an important educational advantage in that they are often far more accessible, recognizable, and understandable than prehistoric materials. Archaeological evidence of this period may include household trash (discarded bottles and dishes, food remains, and broken items), industrial waste, architectural remains, evidence of industrial processes, and evidence of agricultural practices.
Assessing Archaeological Resources in Project Design and Approval
Demonstrating a strong commitment to the
preservation of arch aeological resources, the
City will pursue all available measures to avoid
development on sensitive archaeological sites.
Such measures may include project redesign
and obtaining archaeological easements. The
City will formally recognize the archaeological
resources survey and resource sensitivity maps
prepared in conjunction with the General Plan
update and will use these documents to
evaluate potential historical resources when
reviewing proposed projects involving ground
disturbing activities.
The City will also establish procedures for
listing archaeological resources , such as
CEQA Section 21083.2(g), defines a “Unique
Archaeological Resource” as:
“An archaeological artifact, object, or site
about which it can clearly be demonstrated
that, without merely adding to the current
body of knowledge, there is a high
probability that it meets any of the
following:
1) Contains information needed to answer
important scientific research questions
and that there is a demonstrable public
interest in that information.
2) Has a special and particular quality such
as being the oldest of its type or the
best available example of its type.
3) Is directly associated with a scientifically
recognized important prehistoric or
historic event or person.”
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prehistoric settlements and adobe sites , in the Historic Register . The City will employ appropriate criteria for evaluating the potential significance of historical resources and will encourage voluntary listing of eligible resources. The historical significance of an archaeological historic resource is evaluated using the criteria of Public Resource Code Section 5024.1 and CEQA Guidelines Sections 15064.5 et seq. The City will also establish procedures for evaluating potential “unique archaeological resources” pursuant to CEQA Sections 21083.2 et seq.
The City will require cultural resource inventories of all new development projects in areas identified on resource sensitivity maps with medium or high potential for archaeological or cultural resources (prehistoric occupation, special task and ritual sites , or historic settlement areas such as adobe sites, etc.). Reports shall be prepared in a standard format (Archaeological Resources Management Report format) by a Registered Professional Archaeologist knowledgeable in Native American cultures and/or historical archaeology (qualified archaeologist). Where a preliminary site survey finds the potential for substantial archaeological remains, the City shall require a mitigation plan to protect the resource(s) before issuance of permits. In addition, the City will require Community Development Department staff review of cultural resource inventories and surveys and will expand staff authority to recommend designation and/or identify potential or listed archaeological historical resources for CEQA purposes. Community Development Department staff will also review site survey reports and mitigation plans for compliance with CEQA.
Consultation with Native American Groups
The City seeks to encourage participation of interested Native American groups in establishing guidelines for resource assessments and mitigation. These guidelines will include consultation and participation of the Native American community during archaeological excavation and construction on potential or identified prehistoric or Native American sites. If construction of a proposed project will unavoidably affect Native American traditional properties, cemeteries, or sacred sites, the City will request a list of contacts from the California Native American Heritage Commission and consult with interested Native American parties to establish a mutually agreeable resolution. Such a resolution may include such steps as recovery and museum curation of archaeological resources , or relocation and re -interment of human remains and of associated grave goods.
Preserving Sacred Sites
The City inten ds to ensure the protection of archaeological sites that may be culturally significant to Native Americans if the sites have religious or intrinsic value , even if the sites have compromised scientific or archaeological integrity due to disturbance. If a significant or unique archaeological resource cannot be left intact, then its character, nature, and unique features should be documented and preserved for the future.
Native American traditional cultural properties including historical, cultural , and sacred sites and cemeteries on public land are explicitly protected by California Public Resources Code Section 5097.9. Similar protection is provided to such sites on both public and private land by California Public Resources Code Section 5097.993-5097.994, with criminal and civil penalties for acts of theft, deliberate destruction, or vandalism. 476
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Preservation Incentives
Project applicants that avoid and preserve listed archaeological and cultural resources through site planning of open space, development of parks, and other similar conservation techniques may receive incentives related to density, parking requirements, grants and low interest loans, tax relief, and other benefits. The City will encourage voluntary contribution of conservation easements for listed archaeological resources, which may provide tax relief to the property owner.
Celebrating our Cultural History
The City will work toward recognizing the importance of Santiago Creek as an archeological resource, and incorporating appropriate elements of the Creek’s cultural history in design of public spaces and recreational features surrounding the Creek. Beyond Santiago Creek, the City will strive to incorporate historical and cultural motifs significant in Orange history into the design of public projects and facilities such as parks, plazas, and community buildings.
Materials recovered from archaeological excavations may be employed in interpretive displays in public buildings and may be used to enrich museum or archive holdings and exhibits.
In addition, the City will encourage curation of cultural resources and artifacts for public education, appreciation, and interpretive programs. The City will assist in the preparation of short videos, pamphlets, books , and other media presentations documenting archeological excavations within the City. These resources can provide valuable additions to the Orange Public Library’s Local History Collection.
Library Services
The Orange Public Library functions as an independent City department. The library system consists of three facilities: the Orange Public Library & History Center (Main Library), the Taft Branch Library, and the El Modena Branch Library. The City’s role and preferred future strategies for providing library services are outlined in the City’s Public Library Facilities Master Plan, which was adopted in October 2002 and extends to 2020 . The objective for the Master Plan was to “address future facility needs of the Orange Public Library necessary to support the delivery of materials and services that the community needs, now and in the future.” The Plan focuses on:
▪ identifying the libraries’ existing strengths as well as opportunities; ▪ ensuring that all residents of Orange have reasonably convenient access to high quality library services; and
▪ exploring how existing and proposed facilities can expand their role as neighborhood civic places.
The General Plan defers to the Library Master Plan to establish service standards, prioritize future system improvements, and secure financing for needed improvements. Goals and policies of this Element focus on broad strategies to guide future library services. The Library Master Plan will be updated in future years to be consistent with the policies and growth projections established in this General Plan.
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The Main Library was greatly expanded in 2007, but the two branches are currently too small to adequately serve the City’s growing population. The City will work to achieve the California State Library recommended standard of four volumes and 0.7 square feet of library space per capita. The City also plans to upgrade the two library branches to help improve services, library materials and programs. In order to improve community access to library services, and to better support library services and programs, the City will explore building a new library branch in east Orange and/or expanding the El Modena BranchGrijalva Park.
The City’s library services will maintain the vision of service as a resource for education, enrichment, imagination, safety, and community-building. Through various programs and the use of library facilities, library services will also continue to be a resource in collaborative partnering with community organizations and businesses.
CULTURAL RESOURCE & HISTORIC PRESERVATION IMPLEMENTATION The goals, policies, and plans identified in this Element are implemented through a variety of City plans, ordinances, development requirements, and capital improvements, and through ongoing collaboration and consultation with State and regional agencies, Native American groups, and neighboring jurisdictions. Specific implementation measures for this Element are contained in the General Plan Appendix.
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REV. GPA NO. 2014-0001 (12/2015)
INTRODUCTION AND VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Orange residents, businesses and visitors rely on public infrastructure to carry out their daily duties. Population growth and new development continues to increase demand for infrastructure services. The Infrastructure Element includes guidelines and policies that address this demand for the community’s existing and future needs for public utilities and infrastructure. Infrastructure services discussed in this Element include water, sewer, and storm drain systems, and solid waste services. The Element also addresses “dry” utilities such as natural gas, electrical, telephone, data, and cable television services. Further, the Element discusses lifeline infrastructures, which connect Orange to outside services during an emergency.
Availability of infrastructure determines growth patterns, density, and intensity of land use.
Roadways are a critical part of the City’s infrastructure system, providing for the movement of goods and services that support the local economy. The City maintains the local roadway system and supports efforts of the County, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) to maintain regional roadways serving the City. The Circulation & Mobility Element provides policies and plans for future maintenance and enhancement of the roadway circulation system. Infrastructure also provides water and roadways that support emergency fire, police, and medical response. The Public Safety Element provides policies and plans addressing these topics.
Water, and access to water, has always been integral to the development of Orange. It is not by accident that the City is located at the intersection of the Santa Ana River and Santiago Creek. The City was incorporated in 1888 and the water system was privately owned until 1904, when it was purchased by the City. At that time, the domestic water supply came exclusively from wells or canals leading from the Santa Ana River. The water was used to irrigate the surrounding citrus groves and various agricultural crops.
After World War II , growing residential, commercial, and industrial development forced the City to look elsewhere for an adequate water supply. In 1951, the City joined with five other water agencies to form the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC), which led to annexation to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Metropolitan). The first pipeline of imported water was activated in 1954.
The City’s Water Division, a part of the Department of Public Works (DPW), is responsible for providing clean, safe water to the City of Orange and for designing and constructing the system that supplies City residents and businesses with water. The City is a member agency of MWDOC, which in turn is a member agency of Metropolitan. This entitles the City to 479
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receive water from available Metropolitan sources. The City has a number of service connection agreements with MWDOC whereby MWDOC will deliver water to the City as it receives water from Metropolitan in the amount requested by the City, subject to Metropolitan water availability.
To meet its infrastructure needs, the Water Division collaborates with other jurisdictions, agencies, and service providers , including MWDOC, Metropolitan, Orange County Water District, Irvine Ranch Water District, Golden State Water Company, Serrano Water District, and East Orange County Water District . Water delivery requires a large number of sources and substantial coordination between agencies. The Lower Santa Ana River groundwater basin provides the main source of water for Orange, and is maintained by the Orange County Water District.
The Infrastructure Element also addresses wastewater systems. Cities throughout Orange County, including the City of Orange, rely on the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) for the regional collection and treatment of domestic, commercial, and industrial sewage.
Although OCSD operates a comprehensive regional system of collection mains and treatment plants, individual cities are responsible for installing and maintaining local collection facilities.
The City also collaborates with other agencies in the development and maintenance of infrastructure facilities, including working with the Public Works Department of the County of Orange to maintain the Santa Ana River, Santiago Creek, and other flood control facilities not owned by the City.
The City’s DPW collaborates with private contractors for some services, such as the collection of solid waste, recyclable , and green waste materials and the disposal of household hazardous waste. “Dry” utilities, such as natural gas, telephone and data services, electricity , and cable television are serviced by contracted private agencies, including Southern California Edison Company, Southern California Gas Company, AT&T, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications Orange County.
Orange’s Vision for the Future , described in the General Plan Introduction, recognizes the City’s infrastructure as a key component, and includes the following objectives:
▪ Orange recognizes the importance of managing development in a manner that ensures adequate and timely public services and infrastructure and limits impacts on the natural environment.
▪ We will continue to protect our critical watersheds, such as Santiago Creek, and other significant natural and open space resources.
Purpose of the Infrastructure Element
Although the State does not require preparation of an Infrastructure Element, the City places high importance on its ability to meet infrastructure demands. The Infrastructure Element identifies and assesses existing and future needs of the City’s growing population and of future proposed development within Orange. The intent of the Infrastructure Element is to consider the various infrastructure resources provided by public agencies and private 480
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purveyors, and to provide guidelines for current and future development to best utilize and improve infrastructure.
Scope and Content of the Infrastructure Element
The Infrastructure Element is comprised of three sections:
1) Introduction;
2) Issues, Goals, and Policies; and
3) Infrastructure Plan.
The Issues, Goals, and Policies section provides guidance for the City to address current and future infrastructure needs of the community. The goals express general and broad statements describing the community’s desires regarding infrastructure. The policies provide guidelines for local agencies to provide efficient, affordable, and adequate infrastructure to serve Orange. The Plan explains how the goals and policies will be achieved and implemented.
Relationship to Other General Plan Elements
Proposed infrastructure goals, policies and plans must be consistent with all other elements of the General Plan. The issues addressed in the Infrastructure Element relate most closely to the contents of the Land Use, Growth Management, and Housing Elements.
The Land Use Element directs the location of current and future development that relies on available infrastructure. Furthermore, the Land Use Element establishes standards for use intensity, population density, and types of land uses that influence the design, layout , and funding sources for infrastructure.
The Growth Management Element contains policies to ensure that growth is accompanied by needed capital facilities to properly address infrastructure needs concurrently with development. Growth Management Element policies ensure that new growth is managed in a way that does not overwhelm current infrastructure, or diminish the level and quality of services provided to current residents. The growth patterns and level of growth included in the Growth Management Element must be consistent with those of the Infrastructure Element. Similarly, the Housing Element relies on available infrastructure to guide new housing to suitable sites.
ISSUES, GOALS, AND POLICIES
The goals and policies of the Infrastructure Element address five key issues: (1) maintenance of the City’s aging water, sewer , and storm drain infrastructure in the face of increased growth pressures; (2) provi sion of high-quality solid waste collection services and encouragement of recycling; (3) mai ntenance of right -of-way areas; (4 ) provi sion of adequate electricity, natural gas, telephone and data ser vices, and other “dry” utilities; and (5) protection of lifeline infrastructure systems that meet the public health and safety needs of the City.
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Water, Sewer, and Storm Drain Systems
Protection and proper management of the storm drain infrastructure system is essential to prevent pollution of rivers, lakes, and the ocean by contaminants from urban runoff. A detailed discussion of water resource issues is provided in the Natural Resources Element.
Infrastructure (including sewer, storm drain , and water lines , and solid waste collection and disposal services) must be sufficient to accommodate the present and future needs of the community. As infrastructure ages, or growth outpaces capacity, isolated failures represent a real problem. One of the most critical issues facing the City is how to improve and maintain infrastructure to protect water quality and supplies, ensuring that residents fully enjoy the health, economic, and social benefits that sound infrastructure systems provide.
GOAL 1.0: Ensure water, sewer , and storm drain systems that meet the needs of residents and businesses.
Policy 1.1: Provide sufficient levels of water, sewer, and storm drain service throughout the community.
Policy 1.2: Correct known deficiencies in the City’s sewer, storm drain , and water systems and work toward environmentally sustainable systems.
Policy 1.3: Promote water conservation programs aimed at reducing demands.
Policy 1.4: Explore environmentally efficient infrastructure improvements such as the use of reclaimed water, maximizing percolation, and similar technologies.
Policy 1.5: Investigate and carry out cost -effective methods to reduce storm water infiltration into the sewer system.
Policy 1.6: Require that new developments fund fair -share costs associated with City provision of water, sewer, and storm drain service and are consistent with City and service provider plans to complete needed improvements and funding capacity for such improvements.
Solid Waste
Nearly everything we do leaves behind some kind of waste. Households create ordinary garbage, industrial and manufacturing processes create solid and hazardous waste, and construction activities create large chunks of debris and inorganic materials.
Orange contracts with a private sector provider to collect solid waste, green waste, and recyclables. By actively recycling, reducing , and reusing waste, residents and businesses reduce the need for new landfills and incinerators, prevent the emission of many greenhouse gases and water pollutants, supply valuable raw materials to industry, and conserve land and natural resources.
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GOAL 2.0: Reduce the amount of waste material entering regional landfills with an efficient and innovative waste management program.
Policy 2.1: Provide sufficient levels of solid waste service throughout the community.
Policy 2.2: Expand outreach and education regarding recycling opportunities to all City customers.
Policy 2.3: Develop programs that encourage residents to donate or recycle surplus furniture, old electronics, clothing, and other household items rather than disposing of such materials in landfills.
Policy 2.4: Expand outreach and education to all City customers regarding residential collection of household hazardous wastes including paint containers, electronics, household chemicals, motor oils, and pesticides.
Public Rights-of-Way
Maintaining safe, clean right s-of-way is important for promoting circulation and the public health and safety of Orange’s residents. Through the DPW, the City provides street sweeping, tree trimming, graffiti removal, and installation and maintenance of street lights on public right s-of-way. The DPW also provides maintenance of and repair services for all public rights-of-way, including roadways, sidewalks, alleys , and other public property within Orange.
GOAL 3.0: Ensure adequate maintenance of public rights-of-way to enhance public safety and improve circulation.
Policy 3.1: Continue to maintain and repair sidewalks and pavement surfaces on public rights-of-way.
Policy 3.2: Provide sufficient levels of street sweeping, landscaping, graffiti abatement, shopping cart and bulk item removal from streets, sidewalks alleys, and other public rights-of-way.
Policy 3.3: Continue to design, install , and maintain signals, signage, street lights , and traffic control devices within rights-of-way.
Policy 3.4: Investigate the feasibility of using energy -efficient street lights to conserve energy.
Policy 3.5: Preserve and improve existing on-street bike paths within rights-of-way.
Policy 3.6: Require that new developments fund fair -share costs associated with City provision of right -of-way maintenance services and are consistent with City and service provider plans to complete needed improvements and funding capacity for such improvements.
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Dry Utilities
Dry utility services , such as electricity, natural gas, telephone and data services , and cable television both meet basic needs and enhance quality of life for Orange residents. These services are provided by independent entities that set their own service standards and facility improvement strategies. Demand for services and ability to serve new developments are generally determined on a case-by-case basis. The City works with service providers to ensure that City goals and service expectations are met for both current and future development.
GOAL 4.0: Ensure adequate provision of electricity, natural gas, telephone and data services and cable television.
Policy 4.1: Continue to work with dry utility service providers to ensure that the community’s current and future needs are met.
Policy 4.2: Continue to require utilities to be placed underground for new development.
Policy 4.3: Promote the use of new and emerging communication technologies.
Policy 4.4: Encourage integrated and cost -effective design and technology features within new development to minimize demands on dry utility networks.
Lifeline Infrastructure
Lifeline infrastructures , such as electric, water, gas, and telecommunications utilities and transportation systems , connect Orange to outside services during an emergency .
Maintaining and protecting the City’s lifeline infrastructure systems against damage from disasters is essential to ensuring the public health and safety of residents. Loss of electric, water, gas, and telecommunications services and transportation systems can not only severely impair police and fire agencies’ efforts to respond to emergencies, it can also displace residents and economically impact businesses. The City works with regional agencies and utility service providers to ensure the system of lifeline infrastructures is maintained and retrofitted against disaster and against deterioration from increasing demands and long-term use.
GOAL 5.0: Ensure lifeline infrastructure systems that meet the City’s public health and safety needs.
Policy 5.1: Continue to work with regional and federal agencies to ensure that infrastructure for transportation systems, water, gas, electricity , and telecommunications meet regional emergency preparedness standards.
Policy 5.2: Work with utility service providers to create resiliency performance standards for water, gas, electricity, and telecommunications infrastructure.
Policy 5.3: Identify engineering vulnerabilities in lifeline utilities exposed to human- caused and natural hazards, including seismic activity, wildland fire, and flooding.
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Policy 5.4: Incorporate disaster mitigation strategies into the City’s infrastructure master plans for retrofitting water, gas, electricity, telecommunications utilities , and transportation infrastructure.
Policy 5.5: Review and limit the location and intensity of development and placement of lifeline infrastructure in identified earthquake fault zones.
INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN
The Infrastructure Plan documents current infrastructure conditions in the City, and assesses the projected future capacity of the infrastructure system. This includes the water systems, wastewater systems, storm drain systems, public right s-of-way, such dry utilities as electricity, gas service, and telephone and cable facilities, and lifeline infrastructure.
Water, Sewer and Storm Drain Systems
Orange’s water, sewer, storm drain and solid waste management systems represent the City’s hidden support network. Managing infrastructure can be a challenge because these services are often taken for granted. They are "forgotten" services in the sense that in Orange, when we turn on the faucet, direct our downspouts and yard drains away from the house, or place garbage out at the curb, it seems that clean water simply appears, rainwater drains, and garbage is taken away. These systems must be maintained to ensure that our infrastructure systems will not fail and public facilities will be available when we need them.
The City’s role and preferred future strategies for providing these services are outlined in infrastructure master plan documents prepared by the City and updated on an ongoing basis.
These master plans provide detailed descriptions of each infrastructure system and prioritize future system improvements in response to projected future growth.
The General Plan defers to the City’s infrastructure master plans to establish service standards, prioritize future system improvements, and secure financing for needed improvements. Goals and policies of this Element focus on broad strategies to guide future infrastructure development. Each of the master plans will be updated in future years to be consistent with the policies and growth projections established in this General Plan.
Water Systems
The City’s water supply comes from several sources : local groundwater basins, Northern California waters via the State Water Project, the Colorado River, local watersheds, reclamation, and water reuse projects. The City is a member agency of MWDOC, and MWDOC is a member agency of Metropolitan. Metropolitan supplies imported water to six Southern California counties, including Orange County. As a Metropolitan member, MWDOC represents the interests of its 29 member -agencies at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
The City of Orange is also a member of the Orange County Water District (OCWD). OCWD’s primary responsibility is managing the vast groundwater basin under north and central Orange County. The Orange County Groundwater Basin is the main source of water supply 485
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for the City. The City obtains approximately 64 to 75 percent of its water from City -owned wells. The City purchases approximately 25 to 36 percent from Metropolitan through the MWDOC. In addition, the City purchases approximately 3 to 5 percent from the Serrano Water District. The OCWD, along with MWDOC and Metropolitan, carry out long -term water management planning , and provide public awareness, education, and water conservation activities on behalf of their member agencies. The following four water districts serve the City of Orange:
▪ Irvine Ranch Water District
▪ Golden State Water Company
▪ Serrano Water District
▪ East Orange County Water District (EOCWD)
Figure INF-1 shows the location of each District’s service area within Orange’s planning area.
The Orange County Groundwater Basin is actively managed by OCWD and has a history of supporting between 64 percent and 75 percent of the City’s water demand. The basin ’s management plan allows for drawdown during dry periods and for replenishment during normal or wet periods. The City does not anticipate current, short -term, or long term supply deficiencies in its ability to pump groundwater into the water system. The greatest challenge for water supply in the near future will be to meet the water needs of a growing population, particularly with projected population growth in not only the focus areas identified in the Land Use Element, but also in east Orange.
The City of Orange completed an Urban Water Management Plan Update in 20160. In order to improve the reliability and efficiency of the ground water producing facilities and ultimately the water supply system, the City plans to replace older wells with more efficient wells. The new wells will provide the City with increased pumping capacity , though the amount of water produced from the wells will continue to be regulated by the Basin Production Percentage as set by OCWD in April of each year. The City will continue to analyze storage capacity needs and add additional storage as recommended in the Water Master Plan. The City will continue to implement the Water Master Plan and the Urban Water Management Plan and will update each Plan on an ongoing basis throughout the planning horizon of this General Plan.
In Orange, runoff from local rainfall is the main source of recharge for the smaller basins, and accounts for some of the recharge of the groundwater basin. The amount of runoff recharge can only be estimated because it is highly variable. Most of the recharge of the basin is from Santa Ana River flows percolated instream or diverted to off -stream spreading basins operated by OCWD. OCWD will continue to develop new replenishment methods and supplies, as well as improve recharge capacity and implement basin protection programs to meet the projected demand from the basin during both normal and drought periods.
Sewer Systems
The City of Orange owns the local collection systems which feed regional trunk lines owned by OCSD. OCSD is responsible for the treatment of residential, commercial and industrial sewage in Orange. Collected effluent is treated at Reclamation Plant No. 1 in Fountain Valley 486
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or Treatment Plant No. 2 in Huntington Beach. Though OCSD operates the regional collection mains and treatment plants, the City’s DPW is in charge of the daily operation and maintenance of the local sewer collection system owned by the City.
To respond to the increased need for sewage treatment in Orange County , OCSD needs to replace aging regional collection and treatment infrastructure and build additional secondary treatment facilities. A portion of the sewage fee charged to developers in the City of Orange will be paid to the OCSD for improvements of regional facilities, which are currently strained by the County’s rapidly growing population. A Capital Facilities Capacity Charge, designed to fund improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of OCSD operations, is applied to cities and developers for new residential, commercial, or industrial development and/or expansion of existing facilities.
The City of Orange completed a Sewer Master Plan Update in 201203. In order to improve the reliability and efficiency of the sewer system, the City plans to replace older sewer lines. The new lines will maintain, and in some cases increase, the City’s sewer line capacity, and provide adequate sewer collection for the future. The City has designated a 100-year life cycle for its sewer pipes , and hopes to replace systems that are nearly 100 years old. The City will continue to implement the Sewer Master Plan and will update the plan on an ongoing basis throughout the planning horizon of this General Plan.
Storm Drain Systems
Important issues to focus on regarding storm drains include ensuring adequate capacity necessary to collect and carry stormwater to avoid flooding, and reducing pollutant loads in stormwater as part of regional efforts to improve water quality in surface waters.
Both the City and the County are responsible for managing the storm drain and flood control facilities in the City. The County of Orange Public Works Department provides for the planning, development, operation and maintenance of major flood control facilities on behalf of the Orange County Flood Control District on a County -wide basis. The City provides drainage for developments and ensures that storm drains properly feed into the regional drainage system. The City is also responsible for the operation and maintenance of stormwater facilities it owns throughout Orange. In addition, the City is served by several existing stormwater facilities that are operated by other jurisdictions. The Santa Ana River, which generally marks the western boundary of the City, is the location of the largest regional facility in Orange County , maintained by the County of Orange Public Works Department. Twelve flood control channels located throughout the City are maintained by the County of Orange Public Works Department on behalf of the Orange County Flood Control District and County of Orange. Within the City, DPW is responsible for developing and implementing the Master Plan of Drainage (MPD) which identifies the City’s storm drain facilities and deficiencies.
The City of Orange last completed a n update to the MPD in 1997. The biggest challenge facing the storm drain system in the future will occur as hillsides in relatively undeveloped east Orange are developed, causing storm water volumes to increase. As it is , existing development has led to current deficiencies in the drainage system . For this reason, a fair share allocation method has been devised to spread the entire cost of the system across the 489
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future development area. The City will continue to implement the MPD and will update it on an ongoing basis throughout the planning horizon of this General Plan.
Solid Waste
Within the City, solid waste collection is contracted to a private service provider. The City’s contractor collects both solid and green waste (grass clippings, tree and shrub clippings), and items for recycling. Most waste is taken to one of the three landfills in Orange County:
Olinda Alpha in Brea, the Frank R. Bowerman Landfill in Irvine, and the Prima Deshecha Landfill in San Juan Capistrano. The Orange County Integrated Waste Management Department (IWMD) owns and operates the landfills. These landfills provide sufficient space for the City of Orange waste generation.
The amount of hazardous household waste has increased in recent years with the widespread use of new technologies. Orange residents are responsible for disposing of hazardous household materials at any of the four Household Hazardous Waste Collection Centers in Orange County. As the definition of household hazardous waste continues to evolve as a result of rapidly changing technology, the City will endeavor to provide convenient opportunities for the proper disposal of such waste.
The City’s Solid Waste and Industrial Waste Ordinances regulate where solid and liquid wastes ( including hazardous and industrial wastes) may and may not be deposited or discharged. Orange operates a curbside recycling program, and the City encourages residents and businesses to reduce the amount of solid wastes that enter the regional landfills.
Public Rights-of-Way
The maintenance of public right s-of-way affects circulation, public safety, and pedestrian walkability. Broken sidewalks impede pedestrian mobility and deny access for disabled users.
Uneven surface pavement slows vehicular mobility. Un tended trees and shrubs can cause branches and tree limbs to fall onto the public right-of-way, potentially causing accidents and impairing nighttime visibility for pedestrians. Future maintenance of right -of-way infrastructure is closely tied to the City’s projected mobility needs as discussed in the Circulation & Mobility Element. The City coordinates with the County through the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to accomplish its circulation and roadway infrastructure maintenance goals, and the City assumes responsibility for maintenance services of public rights-of-way within Orange.
Through DPW, the City maintains all public rights-of-way, including streets, sidewalks, alleys, and on -street bicycle lanes. DPW installs street lights, provides tree trimming and street sweeping services, and responds to graffiti abatement requests. The Street Division maintains and repairs roadways and sidewalks, and performs weekly street sweeping services. The Traffic Engineering Division responds to street light repair requests, in addition to conducting weekly street light check s to identify and repair broken and malfunctioning street lights. DPW also responds to graffiti and tagging removal requests on public property, including public rights-of-way, and on private property adjacent to public rights-of-way. This department is also responsible for providing such landscaping services as tree trimming to 490
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prevent and minimize debris and obstacles within right s-of-way. DPW follows the adopted Street Tree Master Plan that details City-approved species and sets the maintenance schedule and appropriate size of street trees. Through these services, the City will continue to ensure that public rights-of-way are safe, clean , and well maintained to provide improved mobility within Orange.
Dry Utilities
Dry utilities, such as electricity, natural gas, telephone , and cable enhance quality of life for Orange residents. These services are provided by independent entities that set their own service standards and facility improvement strategies. The City works with service providers to ensure that City goals and service expectations are met for both current and future development.
Electricity
Southern California Edison (SCE), an independently owned utility, provides electrical power service to the Orange planning area. SCE distributes electricity purchased through the California Power Exchange, which is the electricity marketplace for about 80 percent of California’s electricity customers. The California Independent System Operator coordinates the scheduling and dispatch of electricity bought and sold through the power exchange, which is essentially a statewide grid of electricity generation and distribution.
The rate of electricity consumption, generally referred to as demand or load, is what power grid operators are most concerned with when deciding whether electricity generation and transmission resources are adequate to serve consumers. Peak electricity demand is a measure of the largest electricity usage rate during the day, measured in megawatts. A single megawatt is generally enough power to meet the expected electricity needs of 1,000 typical California homes. Orange’s peak demand typically occurs in August between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. High temperatures during the summer months lead to increased use of air conditioning, which, in combination with industrial loads, commercial lighting, office equipment, and residential refrigeration, compose the major consumers of electricity during the peak demand period. Because electricity is not a storable commodity, the ability of electricity - generating and transmitting resources to provide electricity becomes an issue of the generation rate instead of total amount that may be consumed within a given time period.
Recent summertime energy crises are an indication that peak energy demand will be an important future planning issue, particularly in Southern California. In order to meet future energy needs, SCE has developed several energy -efficiency programs for residential, non - residential, new construction, and low -income subscribers. These include rebate and cash incentive programs for completion of energy -efficiency projects in residences and businesses, providing energy -efficient solutions for new developments as well as programs that aid low-income customers to purchase energy-efficient refrigerators and outdoor lighting. SCE will continue to promote the resourceful use of energy, and in turn, a reduction in electricity bills. The City will fully support these strategies by SCE to encourage energy conservation, including adoption of a green building program . Refer to the Natural Resources Element for policies and discussion concerning green building techniques and other related energy conservation measures.
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Natural Gas
California’s gas supply is regionally diverse and includes supplies from both onshore and offshore sources, including the southwestern United States, the Rocky Mountains, and Canada. Gas pipelines serving the Orange planning area include the El Paso Natural Gas Company, Kern River Transmission Company, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company facilities.
The Southern California Gas Company (The Gas Company) supplies natural gas to both businesses and residents within the Orange planning area. The Gas Company is a division of Sempra Energy, and is the largest natural gas utility in the nation.
Southern California relies on a consistent supply of natural gas to meet residential, business , and industrial energy demand. Natural gas is also needed to produce electricity. Projected population growth in the region is expected to increase demand for natural gas. The Gas Company participates in the California E nergy Star® New Homes Program, a performance - based program that provides builders with incentives for developments that use at least 15 percent less energy than standards set forth in the 2001 California Energy Efficiency Standards. The City will continue to support The Gas Company in these and other efforts to improve energy efficiency.
Telephone
The Orange planning area is within the service area of AT&T. AT&T has existing telephone facilities within or adjacent to each of the land use focus areas described in the Land Use Element, and fiber optic lines in Santiago Canyon Road and Jamboree Road to help serve future development in east Orange. The City will continue to work with AT&T and other telephone service providers to ensure high quality telephone and data services are provided to current and future residents.
A variety of wireless service providers offer telephone and internet service within the City, and operate an established and growing network of wireless facilities. The City will continue to work with wireless providers to ensure provision of a high quality system while minimizing impacts of wireless facilities on the character of established areas.
Cable Services
The Orange planning area is within the service area of Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications Orange County (Cox). Time Warner is the major cable provider in the City.
Cox serves portions of east Orange. Both Time Warner Cable and Cox are full -service providers of telecommunication products, including digital television programming, local and long-distance telephone services, high -speed Internet, and commercial voice and data services. The City will continue to work with Time Warner, Cox, and other service providers to ensure that high quality television and data services are provided to current and future residents.
Lifeline Infrastructure
Roadway systems and w ater, gas, electric al, and telecommunications services, make up the City’s system of lifeline infrastructure. These utilities provide critical services to the community, and disruption or loss of service can create delays for police and fire agencies in 492
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responding to emergencies, place residents at risk of harm, and hurt the regional economy.
Seismic activity, flooding , and wildland fire are particular risks for the City’s lifeline infrastructure. Ground shaking, amplification, landslides , and liquefaction from seismic activity can cause water and gas pipes to break, dam s to fail, and power lines to come down.
Disruption of telephone and radio service impedes communication and dissemination of critical information, and road closures can create delays in providing supplies or services after an emergency. A detailed discussion of the City’s risk for natural hazards and plans for emergency response is presented in the Public Safety Element.
As part of its efforts to prevent, mitigate , and plan for hazards, Orange works with regional agencies to prepare infrastructure mitigation plans . In accordance with the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, which establishes state and local government infrastructure mitigation planning requirements for federal damage assistance , Orange coordinates with regional public agencies and private utility service providers to prepare hazard mitigation plans and ensure proper maintenance and retrofitting of lifeline infrastructures. The City participates in the Orange County Hazard Mitigation Task Force, which is responsible for preparing a countywide Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP). The HMP identifies and profiles hazard risks, assesses vulnerabilities in countywide infrastructure, and analyzes development trends to identify future maintenance needs of critical infrastructure and services. The City also works with MWDOC in its planning and implementation of the Regional Water and Wastewater Multi -Hazard Mitigation Plan, which formulates mitigation plans for regional water facilities in the County, including those found within the City.
In addition to preparing for and implementing rapid repair plans to go into effect after an emergency, the City addresses non -emergency threats to lifeline infrastructure. C hanges over time can cause vulnerabilities to lifelines. The City of Orange prepares a municipal Emergency Operations Plan in coordination with the City’s infrastructure master plans to establish service standards, prioritize future system improvements, and secure financing for needed improvements for infrastructure. DPW provides maintenance and repairs for roadway facilities, sewer and storm drain systems, and water systems including wells, pumps, water lines and reservoirs. Private dry utility service providers are responsible for following state and federal safety guidelines and for maintaining and repairing dry utilities during an emergency. The City will continue to work with regional planning agencies and private utility service providers to ensure that lifeline infrastructure systems meet the highest public health and safety standards for hazard prevention and mitigation.
INFRASTRUCTURE IMPLEMENTATION
The goals, policies, and plans identified in this Element are implemented through a variety of City plans, ordinances, development requirements, capital improvements, and ongoing collaboration with regional agencies and neighboring jurisdictions. Specific implementation measures for this Element are contained in the General Plan Appendix.
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INTRODUCTION AND VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Urban design is concerned with the arrangement,
appearance, and functionality of the community . It
focuses on the shaping and uses of urban public
spaces—the public realm —and the way these public
places are experienced and used. Architecture and
urban form have played a significant role in defining
Orange’s sense of place within its downtown core and
neighborhoods.
Sense of place is a feeling or perception held by
people about a particular location. It includes those
characteristics that make a place special or unique, as well as those attributes that foster a sense of human
attachment and belonging. Places that are said to have
a strong "sense of place" are those that society has given meanings or names that strongly define it as important or even sacred.
When this sense of place is lacking, a place can be referred to as placeless or inauthentic.
Placeless environments have no special relationship to the people or context in which they are located—they could be anywhere. Strip malls, gas stations, and convenience stores are a few examples of placeless environments, having no special connection to any specific community.
Orange desires to be characterized by a strong identity and a sense of place that is deeply felt by both residents and visitors. This character will be derived from the built and natural environment, from Orange’s unique history and cultural heritage, and from the needs and activities of its residents. It will be embodied in its buildings, streets, and landscapes —in its physical design.
A key objective for the Urban Design Element is to enhance Orange’s sense of place in a manner that reflects the community’s values and its deep connection to the history and traditions that distinguish Orange from other cities in the region. Strong community support and interest exist for preserving and enhancing the City’s historic character while accommodating new growth and change. The preservation of Old Towne has provided a potential model for improving other commercial areas throughout the City. In the future, the care and attention to detail that has been used in the preservation of Old Towne will be expanded and applied to commercial corridors throughout the City. 494
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The Urban Design Element focuses on place making and on those physical features which shape the setting for life in the community. It addresses the design of buildings, groups of buildings, spaces and landscapes , and open space between buildings , and establish es the processes that make places successful and aesthetically appealing. The focus of policies and programs in this Element is on the image and character of the City’s streets, commercial and mixed-use corridors, districts and neighborhoods, the Old Towne core, and appropriate infill development. Attention is also given to residential areas and their interface with commercial areas. The Element identifies the physical features and spaces desired by the community, and establishes the goals, policies, and programs that reflect those desires.
Shaping the built environment through high quality urban design requires resources and community consensus. Policies and programs within the Urban Design Element seek to enhance Orange’s commercial resources and provide guidance for new growth and redevelopment, by strengthening the public realm and the image of the community, and by supporting the goals of the other General Plan elements.
Orange’s Vision for the Future , described in the General Plan Introduction, recognizes the importance of the design and visual appeal of the City and its public realm. In the future , the distinct neighborhoods and special places that contribute to the City will be enhanced and Orange’s retail districts will be characterized by visually attractive development, active public areas, high quality streetscapes, and innovative design that complements Orange’s heritage.
To accomplish this, the Vision includes the following objectives:
▪ The City will continue efforts to protect and enhance its historic core. This same type of care and attention will be applied throughout the City. ▪ The City will work to improve the quality of life for all residents by providing residential, commercial, industrial and public uses that exist in harmony with the surrounding urban and natural environments.
▪ The appearance and variety of commercial, retail, industrial, and employment centers will reflect the pride that residents have in Orange and will be supported by the long-term investments the City has made in its infrastructure.
Purpose of the Urban Design Element
The Urban Design Element is a framework for shaping the future form and character of Orange and is driven by input from the public and local businesses. Carefully planned urban spaces affect the quality of the physical environment, and the perception, economic investment, and success of the City. Pedestrian-friendly areas should be designed to provide a sense of security and safety for people who use them. The quality of the built environment is a key factor that affects the local image of Orange and sets the stage for economic activity.
The City’s cultural identity is an important factor determining why people cho ose to visit, invest in or relocate here. Well-proportioned public spaces and streets contribute to business visibility, accessibility, and viability. The use of design features such as appropriately -scaled lighting, street furniture, street trees, and other amenities can help to define p laces. An authentic, well-designed urban environment uplifts the community spirit, becomes the stage on which the community conducts its daily life, and helps give identity and meaning to the special places that comprise Orange.
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Scope and Content of the Urban Design Element
This Element encompasses the built and shaped environments that are experienced by the public, including streets, buildings, landscapes, spaces between buildings, and other physical features; placing special emphasis on the City’s commercial and mixed -use corridors. Issues addressed within the Element include the City’s physical organization, appearance , and function, and recognition of Orange’s heritage and the cultural aspects of the environment.
The Urban Design Element is not a required General Plan element under state law; however, because of the importance of urban design in Orange, the City has chosen to include it as an additional element in the General Plan. This Element plays a critical role in maintaining and improving the physical quality of the environments that define the City’s identity and give character to its commercial districts and neighborhoods.
The Urban Design Element is organized in three sections:
(1) Introduction
(2) Issues, Goals, and Policies
(3) The Urban Design Plan
This Introduction describes the Element’s intent, organization, and relationships to other elements and programs. The Issues section describes the basic design factors that contribute to the character of the community. The Goals discussion describes ideal outcomes regarding the urban character of the City of Orange as expressed by private and public interests . The Policies discussion provides recommendations to achieve the stated goals. The Urban Design Plan explains the programs to be implemented according to the urban design policies.
Descriptions of the various implementation programs recommended within this Element can be found in the Appendix to the General Plan.
Relationship to Other General Plan Elements
The issues raised in the Urban Design Element primarily affect the contents of the Land Use, Natural Resources, Circulation & Mobility, Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation , Infrastructure, and Economic Development Elements. The contents of these elements are related and must be integrated to provide for comprehensive and consistent guidelines throughout the General Plan.
The Land Use Element establishes development guidelines that affect the built environment, such as density and intensity requirements of land uses. As these directly influence land uses and associated building and site design quality, the contents of the Land Use and Urban Design Elements are highly correlated.
Urban design involves modifying elements of the natural environment as well as the built environment. It influences not only how structures are built, but also the quality of spaces between buildings, and open space s within the developed area s of the city . Open spaces , addressed within the Nat ural Resources Element, provide visual relief from urban settings, and also serve as spaces for passive and active leisure activities. Additionally, good quality landscaping leads to reduced impervious surfaces, more trees, and improved air quality, all supporting a more sustainable community.
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A strong desire has been expressed within the community regarding the need for accessible open spaces. Recognizing that most infill development opportunities in Orange lie within the City’s commercial and mixed -use corridors, policies in the Natural Resources and Urban Design Elements focus upon strategies to incorporate additional green space within these corridors, using design concepts such as urban green linkages and green zones (e.g., plazas, pocket parks, courtyards, and paseos). Other supporting strategies include creek restoration projects, urban courtyards, plazas , and gathering places, and “viewshed” protection and enhancement.
The provisions of the Circulation & Mobility Element affect the quality of the urban setting by establishing the organization, arrangement and appearance of streets, paths, and transit systems. Street classifications, widths, level of service standards, and right-of-way limitations affect accessibility, function, visibility, safety , and appearance. The ultimate width of streets determines the amount of space available for streetscape improvement s within the public realm. Furthermore, access to certain modes of transportation affects visual quality, noise levels, and the walkability of commercial districts and public spaces.
The Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Element addresses areas containing historic resources. As many of the Urban Design Element’s proposals draw upon the history and cultural heritage of the City, the recommendations of these two elements are related.
The Infrastructure Element directs the location, distribution, and maintenance of utilities and public facilities, including overhead electrical and communication lines, utility corridors, and service yards. These facilities also affect the visual character of the built environment , and in this way are related to the goals and objectives of the Urban Design Element.
The Economic Development Element presents revitalization strategies for many of the City’s key commercial corridors . One such strategy is to upgrade the image and appearance of these areas in order to distinguish them from each other and from commercial districts in adjacent cities. To the extent that those strategies depend on the design or re -design of public spaces within the corridors, the two elements are related.
ISSUES, GOALS AND POLICIES
The goals and policies of the Urban Design Element address the following major design issues:
▪ Transforming Streets—how to create accessible streets that provide ease, safety, and choice when moving to and through places.
▪ Reinventing Commercial Corridors—how to redesign commercial corridors with respect for the local heritage and support for contemporary needs. ▪ Enhancing Community Image and Character—how to manage the form and physical appearance of the City to create a distinct design character or image. ▪ Defining Districts and Neighborhoods—how to recognize and value the differences between places, and affirm the meaning of those places for people. 497
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▪ Strengthening the Old Towne Historic District—how to manage the form and physical appearance of the Old Towne Historic District to preserve and improve its unique historic design character.
▪ Encouraging Appropriate Infill and Renovations—how to balance consistency and variety in the urban environment when locating activities and designing new, infill places to allow constructive interaction between the new and the old.
Transforming Streets
City streets are a major physical component of urban structure and organization. They organize movement from one place to another, providing people with ease, safety , and choice when moving to and through places . City streets also structure how places and uses relate to one other. Major streets serve as gateways to the City and play a key role in expressing the image and character of the City , and of the areas they traverse. Coordinated street landscaping and improvements enhance the character of districts, soften the transition between commercial and residential areas, and create impression s and experiences for Orange residents and visitors.
GOAL 1.0: Promote streetscapes that enhance the economic vitality and overall visual quality of commercial corridors, support the circulation network, and support pedestrian-scale streets and patterns of activity.
Policy 1.1: Enhance the streetscape along the City’s major commercial corridors and other major streets through coordinated public and private improvements to convey a positive image of the district, contribute to its economic vitality and perception of the City, and improve visual and physical transitions into adjacent neighborhoods. Streetscape designs should include wide sidewalks to accommodate unified landscaping, trees, lighting, paving, street furniture, and other public improvements appropriate to the scale of the streets.
Policy 1.2: Provide streetscape improvements on Tustin Street and Chapman Avenue that convey their role as major boulevards in the City and County.
Policy 1.3: Ensure that streetscape improvements provide for an environment that offers a pleasant experience for motorists, pedestrians, and transit riders.
Policy 1.4: Coordinate with local utility providers to identify priority areas for undergrounding or relocation of overhead electrical and telephone/cable wires to remove visual clutter of existing infrastructure.
Policy 1.5: Emphasize street-oriented development, with parking located behind or next to buildings rather than in front. Encourage commercial activities such as sidewalk and outdoor dining.
Reinventing Commercial Corridors
The Land Use Element designates several corridors within Orange as locations where more intense commercial development and future mixed -use development may be appropriate.
The design of these corridors determines how well they will function as activity centers for social, commercial and entertainment purposes. The following goal and policies demonstrate 498
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the City’s commitment to ensuring that commercial and mixed -use activity centers enhance the community’s quality of life.
GOAL 2.0: Create commercial and mixed -use areas of varying scale and function that are visually distinct and complement the City’s identity.
Policy 2.1: Transform corridors such as Chapman Avenue, Main Street, The City Drive, and Katella Avenue into active, pedestrian -friendly streets that balance auto, transit, and pedestrian mobility. These streets should accommodate compact development that is oriented to the sidewalks to promote active street life.
Policy 2.2: Provide convenient pedestrian and transit access throughout commercial and mixed-use corridors, including an interconnected network of high -amenity streetscapes, attractive and comfortable transit stops, and multiple walkways that connect activities and uses.
Policy 2.3: Improve the appearance of arterials and corridors that pass through commercial and mixed -use areas. Use street trees and other landscape and hardscape improvements to improve the visual and spatial experience of drivers, transit riders, and pedestrians using City streets.
Policy 2.4: Design future infill mixed-use projects in a manner that reduces or eliminates adverse effects on adjacent single-family residences.
Policy 2.5: Develop design standards that ensure the integration of urban parks and open spaces within mixed -use corridors by providing safe and comfortable pedestrian paths, paseos, and high-amenity streetscapes.
Enhancing Community Image and Character
At a citywide level, programs and improvements will be pursued to improve the visual character of business districts throughout Orange in order to enhance the economic vitality and overall visual quality of the community. The following goal and policies address this desired enhancement of character and identity.
GOAL 3.0: Express the City’s distinct community identity and sense of place through improvements to the appearance of new development and commercial and mixed-use corridors.
Policy 3.1: Promote community identity through streetscape enhancements , building designs, and treatments marking the primary entrances to the City.
Policy 3.2: Encourage contemporary interpretations of historic building types and features to promote architectural continuity throughout the community that reflects the City’s historic and cultural characteristics and emphasizes the history of Orange.
Policy 3.3: Strengthen the urban form of the City’s commercial, industrial, institutional , and mixed -use districts by working within the character of the existing historical and architectural fabric of the community, while allowing for the addition of complementary new development and urban design elements. 499
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Policy 3.4: Provide better visual continuity between The Block at Orange shopping center and the rest of the City through consistent streetscape treatments linking The City Drive to West Chapman Avenue.
Defining District and Neighborhood Identity
Old Towne’s prominent identity distinguishes Orange from many other Orange County cities.
However, numerous distinctive commercial districts and residential neighborhoods contribute to the City’s identity. Additionally, the interface between residential and commercial areas in Orange presents special challenges. The following goal and policies describe the City’s strategies to enhance district and neighborhood identity and the interface between commercial and residential areas through urban design.
GOAL 4.0: Establish and reinforce district and neighborhood characteristics recognized both within the community and throughout the region.
Policy 4.1: Establish appropriate transitions between commercial, industrial, higher density residential , mixed-use development , and lower density residential areas.
Policy 4.2: Encourage the use of creative landscape designs to visual ly define districts and reduce conflicts between residential and commercial land uses.
Policy 4.3: Create an attractive, walkable pedestrian environment within and between commercial districts and neighborhoods through careful site planning, architectural design, and provision of pedestrian amenities such as sidewalks, benches, plaza areas, information kiosks, and other street furniture.
Policy 4.4: Provide pedestrian linkages between government buildings and around the Civic Center complex.
Policy 4.5: Provide incentives to create neighborhood parks, green space s, or other public open spaces throughout the City, particularly within commercial and mixed-use corridors.
Old Towne Orange Historic District
As the heart of Orange, the Old Towne Orange Historic District is a dynamic combination of commercial and residential areas blended together in a compact, walkable space. The District contains the one of the largest concentration of historic buildings in California. Commercial buildings date from the 1880s through the 1920s and exhibit a rich variety of styles and architectural detail.
The Old Towne District consists of four distinct component areas: the Plaza Historic District, the Downtown Core, the Spoke Streets, and the Residential Quadrants . The District is regulated by the City’s Historic Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne. These standards establish special processing requirements and detailed architectural standards to ensure the long-term enhancement and preservation of the District’s architectural resources and context.
The Standards also emphasize context and compatibility in design of building additions, rehabilitation, and new infill structures. The following goal and policies are intended to enable and support the Old Towne Design Standards and associated review procedures. 500
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GOAL 5.0: Maintain Old Towne’s identity as the only authentic and intact historic downtown in Orange County.
Policy 5.1: Encourage diverse commercial, housing, employment and cultural opportunities throughout Old Towne, placing emphasis on context -sensitive mixed-use and pedestrian -oriented development patterns and adaptive re - use.
Policy 5.2: Protect the single -family character and enhance the quality of Old Towne Orange’s residential areas while accommodating change in the commercial core.
Policy 5.3: Require infill development to be compatible with the scale and appearance of neighboring historic structures and to comply with all applicable historic preservation design and development standards and Secretary of the Interior standards.
Policy 5.4: Support preservation and rehabilitation of commercial and residential buildings in Old Towne, ensuring consistency with the historical context of the District.
Encouraging Appropriate Infill Development and
Renovations
Many of Orange’s older residential and commercial areas are experiencing infill development.
At the same time, aging structures in these areas require exterior renovations. The following goal and policies outline the City’s preferred strategy to address infill development and exterior renovations in a manner that is sensitive to the context established by surrounding development.
GOAL 6.0: Encourage contextually appropriate infill development projects and property renovations.
Policy 6.1: Encourage consistent high quality design of development projects, and provide development standards that ensure building and site design that is well integrated with infrastructure and circulation systems.
Policy 6.2: Ensure that new infill development contributes positively to the quality of the surrounding corridor or neighborhood, including the potential to provide additional park space, and minimize the visibility of on-site parking.
Policy 6.3: Encourage development of public spaces and plazas within commercial, mixed-use, and residential projects that can accommodate civic events and function as community gathering areas.
Policy 6.4: Promote the renovation and upgrading of older commercial developments to create more attractive and functional retail environments.
Policy 6.5: Provide logical transitions between higher intensity development within the City’s established commercial, office , and institutional corridors and nearby single-family neighborhoods. Scale, massing, and the location of services within these corridors should respond sensitively to adjacent residential uses.
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Urban Design Plan
Orange seeks to pursue programs and improvements that enhance and beautify many of its key commercial corridors and build upon the City’s distinct identity. The following Urban Design Plan provides a framework for Orange’s visual character, defining an urban form that is functional, conveys a sense of place, is aesthetically pleasing, and complements both the urbanized and natural character of the area. Primary community design concepts include:
▪ Developing and enhancing the form and appearance of Tustin Street, Chapman Avenue, Main Street, The City Drive, Katella Avenue, and Lincoln Avenue in a way that expresses a positive image and emphasizes their importance as major commercial corridors in the City and County.
▪ Improving the overall visual character and image of the City through streetscape enhancement, special architectural treatments, prominent landmarks, design quality, and integration of natural features.
▪ Reinforcing the relationship between the urban form of commercial corridors with their function as vehicular and transit corridors and links between different commercial districts, neighborhoods, open spaces, and activity nodes. ▪ Recognizing the role that visual appearance of commercial corridors plays in defining the image of the City.
▪ Continuing to enhance Old Towne Orange as the historic heart of the community, with an emphasis on promoting walkability, and encouraging adaptive re-use of industrial buildings.
▪ Developing design strategies for the City’s commercial corridors that describe desired street- and pedestrian-oriented architecture, that encourage larger massing that complements and helps to define the street edge, and that highlight the distinct character of each corridor.
▪ Establishing a sense of identity and character for business districts throughout the City.
These concepts comprise the Urban Design Plan, illustrated in Figure UD-1. Together, they will provide the improved visual character and design cohesiveness that Orange desires.
Transforming Streets
The City recognizes that making streets
inviting and pleasant for people is an
important first step toward creating
identity for its business districts.
Streetscape aesthetics cover a wide
variety of features, all of which help to
create an attractive street scene.
Streetscape features include lighting,
signage, street trees, landscaping,
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street and road median plantings, and gateways that help mark entry into the City from major streets. Streetscapes also include amenities such as bus shelters, bike stands, benches, and trash receptacles. All of these features benefit pedestrians, transit riders , and motorists alike, and are important components of Orange’s memorable character.
However, many City streets lack a sense of character and distinction. Within the commercial corridors, the focus has historically been on providing easy access by automobile and establishing signage meant for drivers. The buildings tend to be set back from the street with numerous curb cuts, creating incongruous appearance and an inhospitable pedestrian experience. In many cases, walkways from the street to retail areas do not exist , and bus stops along transit corridors lack rider amenities such as shelters, trash receptacles and lighting. Street design standards are not evenly implemented throughout the community. As a result, a number of streets lack trees, medians, and sidewalk s. Many utility poles remain, and some sidewalks along Tustin Street and Chapman Avenue have been damaged by tree roots.
Through land use policy, the City has actively reserved portions of arterial streets such as Chapman Avenue, South Main Street, and East Katella Avenue to be transformed into vibrant and compact commercial and mixed -use activity centers that cater to both pedestrian - and auto-oriented consumer needs. Several of these activity centers are oriented around major arterial corridors. Establishing a “boulevard” image and character, transforming the existing streetscape, and changing the relationship between buildings, cars, people, and streets are key objectives for these locations.
Street plantings (including street trees and median plantings), sidewalk improvements, and lighting are among the streetscape features the City will encourage along these highly-visible corridors. These improvements will help better convey the City’s image as a desirable commercial and mixed -use destination. In addition, the City will continue to encourage streetscape improvements along other commercial corridors. The City will help coordinate public and private improvements that promote streetscape enhancement to advance business districts, create desirable residential neighborhoods, and buffer the transition between commercial and residential areas.
Future streetscape improvements will provide an attractive commercial environment, as well as a safe and pleasant experience for motorists, pedestrians, and transit riders. These improvements will include providing adequate bus shelters, transit signage, and sidewalk improvements along major transit thoroughfares such as Katella Avenue, Chapman Avenue, Main Street, The City Drive, and Tustin Street. The City will work with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) , the Orange Redevelopment Agency (Redevelopment Agency), and individual property owners to achieve these streetscape improvements.
Reinventing Commercial Corridors
A diverse variety of retail, office, and industrial areas have been developed within Orange, reflecting the diversity of Orange businesses and the strength of its commercial and industrial areas. Despite the variety and stability of non-residential areas, many of these retail areas have taken on a cluttered, nondescript appearance dominated by their adjacent roadway environment. Enhancing and improving these areas will incrementally improve the quality of life in Orange, both aesthetically and economically. Successful reinvention of the 503
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City’s commercial areas will provide an attractive shopping and business environment, an improved street environment, and a vibrant public realm for motorists, pedestrians, and transit riders.
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Maintaining an urban design focus on Orange’s commercial corridors is not a new concept.
To improve and enhance retail areas, the City developed the Tustin Street Design Standards (1986) and the Design Standards for the Southwest Project Area (1986). The purpose of these standards was to “coordinate individual buildings or projects, which were often constructed at different times, into a harmonious whole and to improve the aesthetic environment.” Nearly twenty years after implementation of these measures, results have been mixed. Many retailers have retained their corporate identity through the use of programmatic architecture that is not intended to blend well with surrounding structures and settings. Further more, much of the corporate architecture in Orange represents standard building and site design that is replicated across Southern California and the nation. Little of the commercial strip architecture reflects a distinctive sense of character or place. The 1986 standards attempted to guide development into thematic areas that would create districts with distinct identities.
For example, the State College Thematic District targeted office development with a corporate contemporary look. The South Main/La Veta Thematic District adds to the financial, medical, and business office inventory while presenting an urban contemporary look that is less bold and monumental than that of the State College District. The Tustin Street standards were designed to encourage redevelopment that would focus on “good design rather than on ever -larger, more eye -catching signs or advertising.” This Element seeks to unify these ideas and provide a better foundation for the City’s goals for commercial corridors.
Even though Orange already has many examples of mixed -use development, it will require new and innovative design standards and guidelines to implement mixed -use development on automobile-dominated roads.
Tustin Street
To improve retail areas o n major six -lane arterials such as Tustin Street, the City will revise and enforce the Tustin Street Design Standards and the Design Standards for the Southwest Project Area . Each of these documents is geared to harmonizing buildings that were constructed at various times , and to creating an aesthetically pleasing corridor . New implementation measures to be included in these documents will address the contextual integration of building styles and site design on adjacent parcels to create better harmony among buildings along Tustin Street.
Chapman Avenue and Main Street
On other arterial roads such as Chapman Avenue and Main Street, the City will encourage structured parking wrapped or disguised with commercial or residential uses, and placement of parking behind or next to buildings to create street -oriented pedestrian entrances. Street façades can be improved by varying the massing and height of buildings, and by using a wider spectrum of plants and trees in landscaping.
Katella Avenue
On Katella Avenue, the City will promote the use of more consistent signage legible to both drivers and pedestrians, as well as improved landscaping to create a consistent and coherent streetscape. Transit amenities will be particularly important along Katella Avenue, which leads to the proposed Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center ( ARTIC) in Anaheim. Creation of a consistent streetscape will be a challenge, because l and uses along 508
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Katella Avenue between Batavia Street and Glassell Street will remain, for the most part, automobile-oriented retail and service uses. The western most portion of Katella Avenue will host a mix of high -density recreational and retail along with residential uses. Many of the City’s valued automobile sales outlets are located along the central portion of Katella Avenue, and will be maintained and enhanced for the long term. Approaching Tustin Street, Katella Avenue will be targeted for infill commercial and residential mixed -use projects consistent with surrounding neighborhood character. The City will work with OCTA, other transit service providers, the Redevelopment Agency, and individual property owners to ensure that both transit and automobile features are provided within the streetscape of Katella Avenue, that visibility and access are maintained to auto dealers and other commercial uses along the street, and that the City’s sign requirements are met.
Lincoln Avenue
Lincoln Avenue, located at the northern end of the City, currently functions as a pass-through traffic corridor between State Route 91, Anaheim Hills, and the City of Anaheim. In its current form, the streetscape lacks visual appeal, cohesion, and civic identity. The City seeks t o improve the future commercial environment of Lincoln Avenue, to reclaim the street and redefine the corridor as distinctly Orange, and to transform the wide street into a more pedestrian-friendly environment . Such techniques as improved landscaping, median treatments, and street-sensitive building orientation will be used to introduce pedestrian scale features to the streetscape.
Humanizing the scale of Lincoln Avenue and improving the pedestrian environment will be critically important to the success of the planned land use strategy at this location, which seeks to encourage both commercial activity and mixed-density residential development. The City will be sensitive to the concerns of neighbors at this location, and seeks to recognize and promote the eclectic nature of the live -work environment that already exists on Lincoln Avenue. Retaining and reinforcing design elements of the current larger lot, unconventional environment of the corridor will be a key requirement for future development.
Enhancing Community Image and Character
Orange will refine its visual character and community image through gateway enhancements, spatial definition and landmarks, design quality, activity nodes, urban linkages, street trees, urban green zones, viewsheds, and mixed -use activity centers. Each of these design tools is described below.
Gateway Enhancements
Commercial corridors play an important role in the City’s economy, providing shopping, dining, and entertainment options for residents and visitors alike. The entrances or gateways to these corridors from other communities should raise awareness of the City, orient visitors and residents to the place, and strengthen community identity. Gateway enhancement is a design technique that can be used to introduce a distinctly Orange look and feel to the streetscapes that connect the City to surrounding communities. Gateway signs are currently present at primary intersections near the municipal boundary. However, designing good gateways extends beyond entry markers to consideration of the surrounding buildings, landscaping, plazas, and streets.
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To improve gateway streets, the City will prepare, adopt and implement a streetscape master plan for key commercial corridors, including the gateway corridors of Tustin Street, Chapman Avenue, South Main Street, Lincoln Avenue , Katella Avenue , and The City Drive .
The master plan will integrate concepts discussed for these corridors throughout the General Plan and will provide guidelines related to façade improvements, pedestrian amenities, streetscapes, and urban green zones. Specifically, the master plan will focus upon the role of these streets as entryways to the City, and will determine the desired design techniques to improve them.
Spatial Definition and Landmarks
Much like the rest of the County, Orange is a fully
developed urban area, with the exception of the
east Orange hillsides and portions of the Santiago
Creek corridor. Park and open space opportunities
within the urban fabric are rare. However, Orange
has been successful in retaining large areas of open
space along the fringes of the community , and
these help to spatially define the City . These areas
include the County’s 477 -acre Irvine Regional Park ,
which contains a zoo, a scale railroad, a nature
center, and other amenities. Irvine Lake provides a
chance to fish and hike. The City also boasts a number of wilderness areas, including Peters Canyon Regional Park, Santiago Oaks Regional Park and Nature Center , and the Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary within the City’s Sphere of Influence.
Many landmarks serve as reminders of the City’s cultural history. The 1928 American Legion Hall and the 1922 Sunkist Fruit Exchange Building are located near the Plaza in downtown Orange. The community’s roots as part of the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana are marked by the Grijalva Adobe site, original site of the region’s first ranchero, home to the builder and colonizer of Orange. Pitcher Park is home to the Honey House and the Orange Fire Museum. The area’s agricultural heritage is best revisited at the Villa Park Orchards Association , which is owned by Chapman University. This is one of only two packing houses remaining in Orange County, and the last in the City.
During discussions with community members as part of the development of this General Plan, a number of key visual focal points were highlighted. The protection of these resources is an important part of maintaining the City’s links to the past as it moves forward. For many, the Norfolk pine tree at Plaza Park is an immediate icon for motorists traveling east and west on Chapman Avenue. The hills in the eastern portion of the City, near the Orange Hill Restaurant , are a reminder of the City’s rural past. Church spires, such as the one at St. John’s Lutheran Church, help establish neighborhood identity and a sense of place. Even icons such as the Selman Chevrolet neon sign and the flag pole in the median of Town and Country Road are Historic icons include the church spires
of St. John’s Lutheran Church.
A sign for Grijalva Community Park marks the
site of the historic Grijalva Adobe.
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The Block Outlets at Orange serves as an
activity center with commercial and retail
features that attract regional and local
residents.
important landmarks that residents associate with the community.
Landmarks serve as identification points and markers that guide people to destinations.
Landmarks also provide historical points of reference that convey how the City’s current design evokes its history. The City will continue to recognize landmarks such as Plaza Park , at the intersection of Chapman Avenue and Glassell Street, which is surrounded by a commercial square and serves as the centerpiece of the original one-square mile city. The City will continue to work through established processes to identify additional landmarks and icons.
Design Quality
Consistent streetscape design and urban form hierarchy will be encouraged to strengthen district and neighborhood identities within both residential and non -residential areas.
Preservation of the historic portion of the community will be achieved through renovation and adaptive reuse of buildings. New developments will complement the existing urban fabric by emphasizing a harmonious building and site interface and using streetscape treatments as transitional elements between commercial and residential areas. This aim of ensuring proper visual and land use transitions from one district to another will also be pursued regarding renovation and infill development. The City will preserve neighborhood character through applying standards such as the Infill Residential Design Guidelines and the Old Towne Design Standards Historic Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne . These guidelines require and guide the design of new development projects so they adhere to the existing neighborhood character.
Even though the intent of the land use designations is to place complementary uses and features adjacent to one another, the nature and sequence of development will sometimes allow conflicting or inconsistent uses to abut each other. To address such situations, the City will revise existing design and development guidelines to improve the relationship of buildings to one another , to open spaces, and to the public realm . Because the City’s most effective current guidelines focus solely on new development in residential neighborhoods or the Old Towne Historic District, revisions to the guidelines for commercial districts are needed to address design and scale issues apparent in transitional areas where commercial corridors abut residential uses. By requiring buffer zones or encouraging thoughtful, quality design at these thresholds, the City will harmonize
visually incompatible land uses.
Activity Nodes
Key activity nodes in Orange include Old Towne
Orange and major commercial, civic, entertainment ,
or employment centers such as The Village at Orange,
The Block Outlets at Orange, South Main, Town and
Country, and El Modena. To enhance urban form, the
City will assess and identify design elements that
distinguish activity nodes from one another , and will
improve and maintain architectural and landscape
details, site layout, and land uses. The City will also identify elements that hinder activity in less vi brant 511
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commercial areas , and will improve the visual appeal and access of these locations. To minimize any unsightly view of utility lines, the City will encourage utility lines to be placed underground or relocated away from the arterial street frontage for new infill developments, and will work with local utility providers to identi fy and move unsightly overhead utility lines underground.
Urban Linkages
Residents of Orange will use streets, sidewalks, bike
paths, and trails to connect from various destinations
throughout the City. Orange will be well -connected
through aesthetically pleasing and safe multi-modal
routes on which to walk, bike, and drive. The City
recognizes Old Towne as the center of public and
civic life in Orange. The City will use the network of
connections in Old Towne as a model for developing
connections between commercial, recreational, and
residential areas in other parts of Orange. Street
amenities such as landscaping and street lighting will
guide pedestrians and drivers.
Commercial and retail developments will enhance street life through people -oriented architectural features and quality building design. The City will update the Zoning Code to encourage features that buffer street activity and pedestrians from automobile traffic by providing both distance and substantial landscaping. Within mixed -use areas and other commercial districts, the City will employ pedestrian -friendly amenities such as enhanced crosswalk areas, lighting, benches, and trash receptacles to create a safer, more inviting, and more walkable environment.
Street Trees
Trees are an important component of Orange’s urban
landscape. They can create a pleasant environment in
which to drive and walk, a nd they can buffer sounds
and obscure unsightly blank walls. To harmonize and
beautify streets with community -approved trees and
tree layouts, the City of Orange implements its Street
Tree Master Plan. The master plan quantifies existing
trees and points out those determined undesirable by
the community.
Unorganized and neglected street trees can detract
from the streetscape. Additionally, not all trees are
ideal for street use. Some trees can create hazards
when their roots cause damage to underground
water or wastewater pipes, or uplift pavements and
sidewalks. The Street Tree Master Plan takes these
and other precautions into consideration to
recommend reliable and attractive trees. The master plan includes a municipal ordinance and Santiago Creek Trail provides bike paths
and pedestrian linkages to other green
spaces such as Hart Park.
Orange’s Street Tree Master Plan provides
a community -approved plant palette and
planting details.
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a street tree inventory, which lists and describes acceptable trees and planting areas within the City’s road right -of-way. Approximately 80 different species have been approved to be planted in Orange. The ordinance and inventory recommend trees for various areas and arterials within the City in order to preserve and enhance Orange’s unique commercial corridors and neighborhoods.
Urban Green Zones
Urban green zones are constructed green spaces within the urban boundaries of the City, and may consist of such varied features as parkways along sidewalks and trails, neighborhood or pocket parks, plazas and public spaces, landscaped medians, and street trees and smaller plantings along local roads and abandoned railroad corridors. Such green spaces are often provided in activity zones to give shade, beautify streets with abundant vegetation, or function as plazas and valued public spaces, such as the Plaza in Old Towne.
Urban green zones serve as destination points where pedestrians rest, residents gather, and visitors orient themselves within the City. Public plazas also provide space for cultural and social events. With attractive fountains, street furniture, and other amenities, public spaces can attract activity and enhance community vitality.
The Plaza Fountain in Old Towne Orange is an historical element that provides public open space for resting, water and “softscape” features that beautify, and serves as a destination point for visitors. 513
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The built-out, urban character of Orange makes the creation and preservation of urban green zones a priority. The City will incorporate natural resources into the urban fabric through the designation of urban green zones, as shown on the Urban Design Plan (Figure UD-1).
New mixed -use centers and major commercial and office centers can incorporate public spaces where Orange residents, from youths to seniors, can relax and recreate. These green zones will complement the built -out City while providing respite and relief from the urban fabric through landscaping and vegetation. The City will provide incentives to developers who incorporate user -friendly, publicly -accessible urban green space into mixed -use, residential, and commercial developments. These green spaces should be easily accessible and inviting, both physically and visually. They should be well -integrated with street activity and designed to prevent dead or isolated spaces. Specially designed layouts of plants and trees will provide visual and sound buffers from the built environment, while providing smooth transitions between land uses. Urban green zones will also be encouraged along abandoned rail corridors and along waterways (rivers, creeks, and channels) to link trails and to integrate linear parks within urban settings.
Sidewalk improvements such as multiple walkways, landscape and hardscape embellishments, provision of adequate bicycle and pedestrian linkages between activity nodes, and establishment of design standards that recognize the role of buildings and the built environment in promoting street life are important steps to achieving these objectives .
Improving pedestrian comfort will also require addressing needs of transit riders by embellishing transit stops with shelters and benches, signs, route maps, and schedules.
Viewsheds
A viewshed is the space that is readily visible from the public areas of a city. Obviously, it is desirable that the views provided be inviting, meaningful, or even scenic. Orange contains both built and natural environments that convey identity and that should be easily seen by residents and visitors.
Within the built environment, the City addresses viewshed issues by trying to reduce unsightly features and introduce or enhance features that make views more meaningful and inviting. Accordingly, the City will encourage coherent, well -designed signs within commercial corridors, employing design elements that tie into the history of the Ci ty, or character or function of the particular district where possible. These physical alterations will, in turn, enhance local community identity and sense of distinctiveness. Banners mounted on street lights will communicate ongoing City -sponsored activities and encourage public involvement. Appropriately scaled signs, designated walkways for pedestrians, and continuous façades will also enhance the image of the City.
The City requires that utilities for new development be placed underground , hiding unsightly overhead utility lines. The City will also consider adopting an ordinance requiring that existing overhead utility lines be placed underground in acco rdance with the City’s Utility Undergrounding Master Plan. Benefits would include a safer and more attractive pedestrian environment once utility poles are removed from sidewalks . Business improvement programs will provide funding for maintenance and renovations, a nd redevelopment plans for the Orange Merged and Amended Redevelopment Project Area will be consistent with approved design standards for the area.
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Preserving public access to views of the natural environment is a topic discussed at length in the Natural Resources Element . T he eastern portion of Orange’s planning area is rich with natural aesthetic resources, including canyons, a lake, creeks, ridgelines, and e xpanses of public green space. Both City trails and privately -maintained community trails link neighborhoods and provide east -to-west connections within the City. Trails and viewsheds provide visual and psychological respite and spaces for recreation. Preserving valued physical features of open spaces within the City requires adherence to hillside development requirements and conservation laws. F or more detailed discussion on landscape and viewshed corridors, please refer to the Natural Resources Element.
Defining District and Neighborhood Identity
Orange consists of many distinct commercial, office, mixed -use, industrial , and residential neighborhoods that all contribute to the City’s identity. Establishing or fostering neighborhood-based district identity requires making sure that each of the City’s commercial and mixed-use districts are distinctive, but contribute to a cohesive community environment.
Commercial and Office Districts
Connectivity is a challenge within commercial areas . The two connectivity issues are : (1) easy access from one commercial building to another ; and (2) connections from commercial buildings to the adjacent residential areas. As each parcel along the commercial strips was developed, automobile access was resolved one parcel at a time. As a result, today one is unable to easily walk from one building to another, or to drive one’s car from one building to another without having to exit the property and use the street. Most of the commercial strips abut residential areas. However, connecting residential areas with retail centers was not a community priority at the time the centers were developed.
The office areas throughout Orange, especially the South Main Street district, the areas adjacent to the hospitals, and the Town and Country area , are areas in transition. Currently, many of the facilities aim to meet the needs of those approaching by automobile , with little regard for the pedestrian, despite the convenient mix of uses and services within easy walking distance of major facilities. For example, the area near Children’s Hospital of Orange County contains very large institutional buildings on a campus that has expanded many times over the years. The result is very large buildings that come right up to the property line and sidewalk with virtually no pedestrian amenities. Other office towers are set back from the street to provide limited parking in front of the building , with no consideration for human scale design.
The interface between residential and commercial and office areas in Orange presents special challenges. Potential conflicts exist between redevelopment of the City’s commercial and office corridors by encouraging higher -intensity infill projects, and maintenance of the privacy and seclusion offered by many of the City’s residential neighborhoods. This interface issue is particularly apparent in the Katella Avenue corridor and the South Main Street corridor, where land use policy recommends both intensification of commercial land use and integration of mixed -use residential and commercial uses. Through updates to the City’s various design guidelines to specifically address this issue, the City will encourage pedestrian and visual connections to adjacent neighborhoods and context -sensitive design of new commercial projects.
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Mixed-Use Activity Centers
Mixed-use is a planning concept that recognizes the
value of mixing complementary land uses within
proximity of each other. Blending various types of
land uses either vertically or horizontally, and co -
housing diverse uses in the same building or
adjacent buildings creates vitality, encourages
around-the-clock activity, and brings residents to
retail shops and amenities located within walking
distance of their homes or offices.
Mixed-use is not a modern phenomenon, but a
tested and accepted concept commonly found in
older downtowns and urban cores. Though our
current reliance on automobiles has resulted in
heavy emphasis on drivers and the car, mixed -use
design allows the City to create places for people,
accommodating both the driver and the pedestrian.
Mixed-use offers distinct physical characteristics
that result in vibrant, pedestrian-friendly
environments. Street -oriented stores and compact
site designs attract activities and encourage
walking, especially when these design features are
accompanied by an enhanced environment
characterized by pronounced entryways, textured
exterior materials, display windows, and outdoor
eating areas. Building designs often employ both
horizontal and vertical components that break up
the building mass. Street amenities , such as
benches, street trees and landscaping, trash
receptacles, human -scaled lighting, surface
treatments, and public art often accompany mixed -
use environments. Public or civic uses are desirable
as a component, if not the centerpiece, of larger
mixed-use projects or districts. These uses
emphasize civic responsibility and recall a former
time when the post office, city hall, or library was
the center of public life.
Mixed-use emphasizes the need to blend parking
structures seamlessly into the built fabric. To
achieve this, parking entrances should be designed to match the architectural scale and style Visioning games helped youth participants
visualize and convey urban design ideas for
the City.
Example of a mixed use center
incorporating parking within the site to
maintain a pedestrian oriented street
environment
Neighborhood mixed -use mixes residential
and commercial uses that cater to local
clientele.
Lower-density neighborhood mixed -use and
well-designed streetscapes and street
furniture will provide human -scaled
developments.
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Old Towne areas previously designated for light
industrial use will be rehabilitated to house mixed -
use or residential development while preserving the
exterior historic character of the building.
of surrounding building façades. Surface parking should be abundantly landscaped and pedestrian paths should be well defined from building entrances to parking spaces.
On a grander scale, mixed -use corridors aim to connect activity nodes . They orient pedestrians and drivers by communicating place-specific information through clear signage that inform s, through promenades of trees that guide, and through landmarks that steer people to their destinations.
Potential desirable results of d eveloping mixed-use activity centers include context-sensitive building scale and design, a higher intensity of use, and increased pedestrian facilities. These results are not automatic, however. They will be more likely where designs include architectural references to local history and local culture, and where public programs and specific uses arise as a result of input from residents of all ages and backgrounds.
Mixed-Use Districts
Mixed-use areas need not appear either
“generic” or radically different from Orange’s
existing built environment. Orange will
provide a range of mixed -use areas, including
lower scale projects that complement historic
areas or residential neighborhoods, projects
with contemporary style, eclectic projects,
and projects that are quintessentially
“urban.”
The Land Use Element identifies several types
of mixed-use. Four neighborhood scale mixed-
use categories are established , including two
categories to be used exclusively in Old
Towne Orange . Lower densities are
encouraged where mixed -use development
abuts established single -family residential
areas, such as along portions of West Katella Avenue. Higher densities are encouraged within established, higher-intensity commercial and institutional corridors, such as South Main Street, and within planned, transit-oriented development districts, such as the Santa Fe Depot area. An urban mixed-use category is also introduced for portions of Uptown Orange, The Block Outlets at Orange, the Promenade on West Katella, and the Town and Country Road corridor. The neighborhood -serving mixed -use areas will include a mix of residential and commercial uses that will provide amenities for local residents and workers. Urban mixed-use zones will serve as regional centers for entertainment , office, and commercial uses, as well as providing needed housing for the area.
Each location will require different architectural styles, densities, and approaches to mixed - use. However, all will gradually incorporate a mix of residential and commercial uses with street-oriented buildings and will emphasize streetscape improvements. Residents will benefit from proximity to retail and commercial stores, and businesses will gain more customers because of improved visibility, better accessibility, and more welcoming designs. 517
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Neighborhood Mixed-Use Districts
Neighborhood mixed -use areas include East Katella Avenue between Glassell Street and California Street, and South Main Street between Almond Avenue and La Veta Avenue.
These areas will accommodate commercial uses with residential units on the upper floors, featuring vertical setbacks and improved store recognition. The City will consider undertaking a streetscape program to improve the appearance of East Katella Avenue and South Main Street, which will form the spines of the City’s mixed -use neighborhoods. User -friendly bus stops will accompany other pedestrian-scaled street furnishing.
For East Katella Avenue, the City will encourage more compact , intensely developed designs at these locations, and may require a decrease in height and/or massing as these developments abut single- family residential areas. Strip malls located along East Katella Avenue will gradually incorporate mixed -use elements . P ublic safety will be improved with streetscape improvements and landscaping. Residential neighborhoods will be buffered from traffic through use of landscaping, attractive walls, and fences.
Old Towne Mixed-Use Districts
Old Towne, including the Santa Fe Depot area, will continue to function as a lower density mixed -use and residential area. Future emphasis will be placed upon adaptive reuse of industrial structures surrounding the Santa Fe Depot and rail corridor as potential Transit Oriented Development projects, consistent with recommendations of the Santa Fe Depot Specific Plan . Adaptive reuse is a preservation concept that allows older buildings to be adapted to new uses while preserving the exterior historic character of the building. Old Towne areas previously designated for light industrial use will be rehabilitated to house mixed - use or residential development , and they will be designed to minimize impacts from adjacent industrial uses and rail activity. Continued application of the Old Towne Design Standards Historic Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne and use of cultural and historical design cues will preserve Old Towne’s unique character.
Urban Mixed-Use Districts
The City’s most intense future residential and commercial uses will occur in the a reas located west of the Santa Ana River in Uptown Orange, including The Block Outlets at Orange, County Facilities, University of California Irvine Medical Center , and West Chapman Avenue, as well as the Town and Country Road and Katella Avenue corridors. Streets within these areas will be lined with streetlights and Urban mixed -use areas within
the City will provide a dynamic
mix of open plazas for al fresco
dining, shopping, and
entertainment along with
residential uses.
A mix of commercial and
residential uses in compact
development creates a
walkable and vibrant
environment.
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Clear signage provides information to drivers.
Landscaped parkways soften the appearance of
industrial areas.
banners announcing civic events held in the City, and will be bustling with outdoor seating at restaurants and stores.
Most of the West Chapman/Uptown Orange district, west of SR - 57 and Interstate 5 (I-5), will accommodate high -density, high -rise apartments or condominiums near or mixed with commercial retail uses and institutions. New mixed -use designations established in the Land Use Element will provide needed housing at intensities appropriate to the area.
The West Katella district will accommodat e a
mixture of commercial, entertainment, and
residential uses. This vibrant area will include a
variety of public spaces for outdoor eating and
events. These spaces will be surround ed by
shops and entertainment. The entire West
Katella Avenue gateway corridor will be better
connected visually to other major arterial
roads by a promenade of street trees and by
consistent, attractive signage. Dynamic
developments will locate parking behind or away from the street front , further enhancing the gateway corridor. The City will also work to improve bus stop amenities along the street.
Industrial Districts
Industrial areas in Orange add to the diverse economic base of the City. In the future, Orange’s industrial area will be exclusively clustered within the central western portion of the City, as industrial uses located in Old Towne transition to more exclusively residential, commercial, and office uses.
The City’s industrial areas combine a mix of heavy industrial, light industrial, commercial, and office uses, and serve as buffer zones
between intense commercial developments
and residential neighborhoods. Industrial and
office buildings are often boxy and
nondescript, but their appearance can be
improved by clear signage and landscaped
street fronts , as advocated by the City to
improve the image of local businesses .
Building designs should integrate public
spaces for employees, should incorporate
parking away from the main access street, and
should improve public safety through lighting,
landscaping, and other amenities and features
that promote actively used spaces and natural
surveillance. Aside from traditional industrial
uses, the industrial areas also provide an
opportunity to expand and connect open spaces for buffering and for recreational purposes along rail corridors and the Santa Ana River trail.
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Harmonized, yet varied architecture and
intricate details result in the charming and
interesting environment of Old Towne
Orange.
Awnings at street fronts, pavers on
sidewalks, and brick facades create a
colorful and interesting street elevation, and
outdoor dining provides opportunities for
people-watching.
Old Towne Orange Historic District
The City’s most recognized and best documented neighborhood is the Old Towne Orange Historic District. The District is the largest concentration of historic buildings in California. The commercial buildings date from the 1880s through the 1920s and exhibit a rich variety of styles and architectural detail. At one point in 1928, the City of Orange Planning Commission proposed
that the entire commercial area be remodeled in the then - popular Mission Revival style. Only the first block of East Chapman was completed with red tile roofs and stucco
arches.
The District consists of four distinct component ar eas: the Plaza Historic District, the Downtown Core, the Spoke
Streets, and the Residential Quadrants. Each of these
components will be preserved to maintain Old Towne’s
identity as a unique historic downtown for the City as well as the County of Orange. The entire area is regulated by the Historic Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne , last updated in 19952017. The Standards set forth special processing requirements and detailed architectural standards to better ensure the long-term enhancement and preservation of the District’s architectural resources and context. City development approval processes allow for the careful evaluation of projects, including their relationship to the rest of the District, the rhythm and pattern of buildings on the street, and the height, scale, massing , textures, materials, and colors of buildings. Other design criteria include landscaping, signage, and overall design quality.
To maintain the vibrant, dynamic central core, the City will apply the design guidelines to renovations and maintain the existing design character of commercial buildings with brick facades, ornamental cornices, decorative awnings, and enhanced fenestration. Additionally, development up to the lot lines will be encouraged to
preserve this area’s small-town downtown character. In areas where land uses of differing intensity meet, buffers,
landscaping, and building height step-backs will be employed to ensure optimal conditions for both commercial and
residential activities.
Several streets serve as transitional areas between Old Towne and surrounding residential or commercial
neighborhoods. The main design goal for Old Towne streets is to improve the aesthetic value of properties that front these streets: North Glassell Street from Maple Avenue to Walnut Avenue, South Glassell Street from Almond Avenue to the Garden Grove Freeway (SR -22), East Chapman Avenue from Grand Street to Cambridge Street, and West Chapman 520
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Avenue from Lemon Street to Batavia Street. To create a gradual transition on these streets from Old Towne’s historic small -scale development to the more contemporary, and in some cases more intense, development in surrounding areas will generally require less intense land uses and strict adherence to historical references.
In residential portions of Old Towne, the City will protect the predominantly single-family character of neighborhoods, enhance the quality of Old Towne Orange’s residential areas, and ensure that infill developments are compatible with existing neighborhood scale and appearance. In addition, as detailed in the Land Use Element, residential densities permitted throughout Old Towne are generally low, in order to maintain historic integrity, and to reduce the likelihood of higher density infill projects that are incompatible with neighborhood character.
ENCOURAGING APPROPRIATE INFILL DEVELOPMENT AND RENOVATIONS Orange developed over many decades, as
indicated in the City’s wide variety of distinctive
neighborhoods, each of which reflects the
thinking about urban form and neighborhood
structure that was current at the time of their
creation. These design values range from the
tight cohesiveness of the Old Towne residential
neighborhood to the equestrian estates found
in th e Orange Park Acres community. This
variety is also evident in a large number of the
City’s suburban residential tracts.
Like the commercial areas, residential
neighborhoods offer a diverse range of eclectic
styles and densities that cater to a full range of
residential needs. Successful maintenance of
the City’s varied residential areas allows the Urban Design Element to focus on enhancement of the City’s commercial corridors. Ultimately, successful integration of the residential areas with the commercial corridors will be a critical factor for the quality of life in Orange.
Orange’s Infill Residential Guidelines encourage infill development to:
▪ Follow the existing scale and pattern of the
neighborhood.
▪ Match or complement the existing
architectural fabric.
▪ Preserve existing topography.
▪ Preserve privacy of neighbors.
▪ Minimize prominence of accessory features
from street elevation.
Preserving neighborhood character and property
values are key objectives of the City’s Infill
Residential Design Guidelines.
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Orange’s Infill Residential Design Guidelines aim to preserve neighborhood character and property values, maintain streetscape integrity, continue existing urban form, and encourage sensitivity to topography. Small-scale subdivisions, single -family units, accessory units, additions, and transitions between single -family to multi -family residential units are subject to the requirements established in the Guidelines. Design elements addressed in the Guidelines include site planning, building scale, architectural considerations, topography and natural features, and accessory features that achieve gradual transition between new and existing development.
The City will continue to support new developments and renovations that promote preservation or are well -integrated into existing architectural styles and the prevalent character of each neighborhood.
URBAN DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION
The goals, policies, and plans identified in this Element are implemented through a variety of City plans, ordinances, development requirements, capital improvements, and ongoing collaboration with regional agencies and neighboring jurisdictions. Specific implementation measures for this Element are contained in the General Plan Appendix. 522
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Introduction and Vision for the Future .................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Urban Design Element ............................................................................................... 2 Scope and Content of the Urban Design Element ............................................................................. 3 Relationship to Other General Plan Elements .................................................................................... 3 Issues, Goals and Policies ........................................................................................................................ 4 Transforming Streets ........................................................................................................................... 5 Reinventing Commercial Corridors ..................................................................................................... 5 Enhancing Community Image and Character ..................................................................................... 6 Defining District and Neighborhood Identity ..................................................................................... 7 Old Towne Orange Historic District .................................................................................................... 7 Encouraging Appropriate Infill Development and Renovations ........................................................ 8 Urban Design Plan .................................................................................................................................... 9 Transforming Streets ........................................................................................................................... 9 Reinventing Commercial Corridors ................................................................................................... 10 UD-11 Figure UD-1 Urban Design Plan .................................................................................... 1311 Tustin Street ................................................................................................................................ 1513 Chapman Avenue and Main Street ............................................................................................ 1513 Katella Avenue ............................................................................................................................ 1513 Lincoln Avenue ............................................................................................................................ 1614 Enhancing Community Image and Character ................................................................................ 1614 Gateway Enhancements ............................................................................................................. 1614 Spatial Definition and Landmarks .............................................................................................. 1715 Design Quality ............................................................................................................................. 1816 Activity Nodes ............................................................................................................................. 1816 Urban Linkages ........................................................................................................................... 1917 Street Trees ................................................................................................................................. 1917 Urban Green Zones .................................................................................................................... 2018 Viewsheds .................................................................................................................................... 2119 Defining District and Neighborhood Identity ............................................................................... 2220 Commercial and Office Districts ................................................................................................ 2220 Mixed-Use Activity Centers ........................................................................................................ 2321 Mixed-Use Districts .................................................................................................................... 2422 Industrial Districts ...................................................................................................................... 2624 Old Towne Orange Historic District .............................................................................................. 2725 Encouraging Appropriate Infill Development and Renovations ..................................................... 2826 Urban Design Implementation .......................................................................................................... 2927
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REV. GPA NO. 2014-0001 (12/2015)
INTRODUCTION AND VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Orange is recognized as a desirable area in which to do business, and therefore supports and sustains a diverse range of businesses in the City’s distinct industrial, commercial, institutional, and office areas. This diversity in the business climate reflects the gradual transition of Orange from an agricultural community served by rail to its position for many years as an outer-ring suburb of the rapidly growing Los Angeles metropolitan area, to its position today at a major crossroads of Orange County , at the convergence of major freeways, and serviced by a major commuter rail line. The City’s economic environment cultivates and promotes both large corporate enterprises as well as smaller business entrepreneurs. At the outset of the 21st century, Orange’s economic development strategies focus on preserving jobs and maintaining a diverse economic base.
To maintain the City’s economic diversity, Orange encourages light manufacturing and industrial uses in the northwestern area, and larger institutional, corporate office and retail uses in the southwestern portion. The City provides opportunities for boutique and family - owned stores in Old Towne Orange, as well as in key commercial areas along Tustin Street, Katella Avenue, Chapman Avenue, and Lincoln Avenue, where regional and national retailers can also be found. Orange will continue to encourage educational and medical institutions and other industries that bring higher wage employment opportunities. The City also draws revenues from entertainment and hospitality industries.
Encouraging continued economic development in Orange will require a coordinated response to strong demands for industrial and commercial businesses . In addition, it will require provision of attractive, vibrant, and safe retail centers, and promotion of mixed -use developments in walkable environments. Understanding that the City will soon be a fully developed community fac ing competition from its neighbors , Orange will continue to support economic development activities through consolidation and redevelopment of properties and through adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of older buildings. The Economic Development Element outlines goals and policies that promote sustainable , market-driven economic growth and activity without compromising the City’s identity, heritage, or the quality of life of those who live, work, and play in Orange.
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Orange’s Vision for the Future , described in the General Plan Introduction, describes the importance of finding an appropriate balance between residential, commercial, and industrial demands. The vision encourages the City’s retail districts to seek incremental improvement, and promotes visually attractive commercial development, active public areas, high quality streetscapes, and innovative design within the public realm along major thoroughfares such as Chapman Avenue, Tustin Street, Katella Avenue, and Main Street. The vision includes the following objectives related to economic development:
▪ The City will strive to provide for a range of businesses including small , family-owned businesses and larger businesses that serve a regional market. ▪ The appearance and variety of commercial, retail, industrial, and employment centers will reflect the pride that residents have for Orange, as well as the long-term investments the City has made in its infrastructure.
▪ Orange will tap into the entertainment and hospitality markets by enabling development of high quality facilities strategically located near other regional tourist draws. ▪ Orange will continue to support educational and medical institutions and other industries that provide high paying jobs and are major contributors to the community.
Purpose of the Economic Development Element
The purpose of the Economic Development Element is , first, to identify desirable economic development conditions and land uses that will enhance and promote business activity, employment growth, and economic stability . Second, it provides goals and policies that will foster economic growth and increase employment opportunities. The goals and policies established in the Element are intended to cultivate economic growth and fiscal improvement, while providing a flexible framework that adjusts to changes in the marketplace. This Element creates a framework for the City in which to initiate specific strategies and implementation programs.
The Economic Development Element outlines economic strategies that allow the City to attract new businesses, promote retention and expansion of existing businesses, maintain a strong economic base, establish and reinforce its image and identity within the region, and identify future needs for infrastructure and capital facilities to foster new economic development opportunities. By analyzing the City’s General Fund expenditures and recurring revenues, this Element establishes policies focused on improving the City’s financial well - being. Based on land uses set forth in the Land Use Element , this Element generally addresses the City’s expected range of fiscal benefits (e.g., property tax, sales tax, and other revenue sources) . Likewise, this Element outlines the anticipated General Fund operating expenditures (e.g., police and emergency services, fire protection, public works, community services, and general government services) that the City can expect. Economic Development Element policies also support the provision of housing suitable for Orange’s workforce. 525
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Scope and Content of the Economic Development Element
The Economic Development Element forms the basis for the City’s overall economic policy related to business activity, employment growth, and fiscal balance. The Economic Development Element addresses employment stability and existing business retention, and encourages development of programs to recruit new businesses. Economic development policies can help preserve the culture and establish or refine the identity of commercial corridors and surrounding neighborhoods by retaining businesses that give character to the community. These policies can also help maintain a wide range of goods, services, and activities, and respond to local and regional commercial, retail, and industrial demands.
The scope of the Economic Development Element also includes discussion regarding the types and intensities of land uses within key focus areas, addresses their appropriateness given forecasted market conditions, and discusses the role that land use policy plays in the economic health and stability of the community.
The Economic Development Element is not a required element under State General Plan law.
Nevertheless, the City recognizes the integral role and relationship that economic development has with the other elements of the General Plan in maintaining a high quality business and residential environment, and in promoting fiscal stability in Orange.
The Economic Development Element consists of three sections:
(1) Introduction
(2) Issues, Goals, and Policies
(3) Economic Development Plan
This Introduction describes the Element’s intent, organization, and relationships to other General Plan elements. Issues describe the key economic trends and factors that contribute to the economic growth and development of the community. Goals describe ideal outcomes regarding Orange’s economy as expressed by both private and public interests, and Policies provide recommendations to achieve the stated goals. The goals and policies are purposefully general. They establish a framework for more detailed implementation programs, initiatives, and strategies, which can be revised on an ongoing basis, responding to changes in market conditions or the City’s needs. The Economic Development Plan generally explains the programs that can be implemented according to Economic Development Element policies. Detailed descriptions of the various implementation programs recommended within this Element can be found in an Appendix to the General Plan.
Relationship to Other General Plan Elements
The contents of all the General Plan elements are complementary and must be integrated to provide comprehensive and consistent guidelines. The issues, goals and policies addressed within the Economic Development Element are correlated with those in the Land Use, Growth Management, Infrastructure, Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation , Circulation & Mobility, Urban Design , and Housing Elements. Together, these elements address and minimize barriers to economic growth such as inadequate infrastructure or transportation systems, or physical conditions that may discourage investment in the City. 526
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The Land Use Element describes development within the built environment, such as land use designations, types of activities allowed, and densities/intensities for various locations in the City’s planning area. The Land Use Element sets forth plans to refine, and in some cases intensify, land uses within eight focus areas, some of which are located along many of the City’s most traveled roadway corridors. The focus areas, and the proposed land use plans within them, are designed to maximize the economic potential of long untapped or underutilized resources within the City, such as commuter rail, Chapman University, medical centers near South Main Street and on East Chapman Avenue, and freeway and transit access. Economic development and growth within these areas is enabled by the General Plan land use plan, and is the key to achieving the long-term fiscal objectives of the City.
The goals and policies of the Growth Management and Infrastructure Elements ensure adequate circulation and infrastructure capacity to mitigate any undesired effects of growth by monitoring and phasing development, so it is concurrent with provision of infrastructure.
Since many of the goals and policies expressed in these elements are implemented through tax revenues received by the City, the content of the Economic Development Element correlates directly to funding of public services.
Business retention efforts of the Economic Development Element recognize the need to preserve the identity and culture of the City. Since much of the fundamental charm and attraction of Orange lies in the preservation of cultural and historical identity, the Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Element should be read as a companion to this Element.
Road capacity goals and policies addressed in the Circulation & Mobility Element also affect the type and mix of uses identified in the Economic Development Element. Changes in l and use policy that promote economic development goals may result in congestion and reduce quality of life for residents, if not serviced with adequate road capacity.
Physical deterioration of an area may discourage investors and developers from continuing business there. The a ppearance of industrial, commercial, and retail properties and streetscapes reflects the level of community pride and stewardship of Orange, and conveys a message about the quality of the community. For this reason, the contents of the Urban Design Element are coordinated with those of the Economic Development Element.
The ability to attract new employers and to further develop existing ones is dependent on the provision of housing options that can accommodate a range of users . The Housing Element provides an assessment of suitable locations for residential in -fill development, identifies barriers to the development of affordable housing, and establishes policies and programs that direct infrastructure investments to support residential growth.
ISSUES, GOALS AND POLICIES
Recognizing that economic development is a multi -faceted process that responds to changing demographic trends, the goals and policies of the Economic Development Element address seven issues: (1) maintaining fiscal diversity and balance among land uses; (2) retaining and expanding retail businesses and attracting new retail businesses to the City; (3) removing barriers to economic development; (4) improving the appearance of the City’s commercial, industrial, and office corridors; (5) strengthening the City’s economic base and stimulating employment growth; (6) ensuring the adequacy of technology and utility 527
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infrastructure to support businesses; and (7) providing adequate local housing for employees.
Fiscal Diversity and Balance
Orange’s local economy has expanded rapidly in recent years, diversifying in both services and retail sales. The following goals and policies allow the City to continue to promote a diverse range of retail, commercial, institutional, and industrial businesses, and to achieve a balance between revenue generation and service demands of land uses.
GOAL 1.0 Sustain a diversified economic base and strong fiscal stability.
Policy 1.1: Provide for land uses that allow a variety of retail, service, manufacturing, institutional, office, and recreational businesses to locate in Orange.
Policy 1.2: Retain the small, independent business character of Old Towne and other areas where smaller, family-owned businesses flourish, while accommodating national and regional retailers along major commercial corridors , and encouraging corporate headquarters and offices in the City’s prominent office and commercial areas.
Policy 1.3: Retain industrial land for businesses that provide jobs for manufacturing and processing of goods and create local revenue sources.
Policy 1.4: Encourage physical expansion of manufacturing operations and research and development businesses within light industrial and manufacturing areas.
Policy 1.5: Encourage new development and businesses that supplement smaller components of the City’s retail base, such as apparel retailers, food stores, and home furnishings and appliances.
Policy 1.6: Continue to utilize redevelopment as a financing tool for City -initiated revitalization and to encourage and promote private investment.
Policy 1.7: Pursue a variety of funding approaches, including grants, impact fees, assessments, and transportation funds in order to support public services, municipal programs, and capital investments that support City businesses.
Retail Business Retention and Expansion
Current employment trends indicate that retail activity ranks second to service industry in Orange. Both large corporate retailers and smaller independent businesses have been part of Orange for decades. To retain existing businesses , to encourage new retail developments and emerging industries, and to respond to changing community demographics, the City will work with both types of property owners to renovate and improve the appearance of existing retail centers. The City will increase development potential within key retail corridors to provide additional capacity for anticipated retail growth. 528
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GOAL 2.0 Cultivate a business environment that is conducive and appealing to the commercial and retail industry, including smaller entrepreneurs.
Policy 2.1: Encourage public -private partnerships that will support business and employment growth.
Policy 2.2: Increase local tax revenues by providing performance -based financial assistance to new and existing businesses in Orange.
Policy 2.3: Periodically evaluate local sales tax, transient occupancy tax, business license fees, and building permit fees to determine the effect of fees on local businesses, or as a deterrent to new businesses, as well as to ensure adequate revenues for the City.
Policy 2.4: Maintain adequate infrastructure, transportation systems, and physical conditions that encourage retailers to invest in the City.
Policy 2.5: Encourage retention of existing retail businesses that will complement, and/or locate within, new or larger retail businesses or centers.
Commercial and Industrial Base
As of 2005, about 40 percent of people employed in Orange worked in the service industry, and around 10 percent worked in the manufacturing industry. In other words, nearly half of the employment force in Orange works in the service and manufacturing sectors. The City seeks to meet the needs of commerce and industry by strengthening and expanding the existing economic base. The proposed land uses described in the Land Use Element are anticipated to result in approximately 70.6 million square feet of nonresidential development at build-out, 35.7 million square feet more than current conditions. In addition, the Land Use Element advocates creation of a variety of mixed -use environments ranging from neighborhood-scale to urban scale.
GOAL 3.0 Strengthen the City’s economic base and stimulate employment through new commercial and industrial development and expansion.
Policy 3.1: Utilize the City’s Redevelopment resources to help make commercial and industrial construction and development financially feasible.
Policy 3.2: Encourage public and private sector investments that promote commercial development and expansion opportunities.
Policy 3.3: Provide a venue for businesses to discuss economic issues and opportunities and to inform the public of various economic development and redevelopment programs.
Policy 3.4: Encourage higher density residential and mixed -use projects to provide a community-based workforce and market for industrial and commercial areas.
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Encouraging Economic Development
Although the primary development of Orange has largely already taken place, the City can maximize its economic potential by identifying development opportunities on vacant or underutilized properties. The City can increase revenue and expand its employment base by refining development intensity within focus areas and by providing fiscal, zoning, infrastructure, and environmental support for business expansion. A key part of achieving a strong business climate and potential redevelopment of sites is to establish a friendly, professional environment to attract and retain businesses. Marketing and business outreach through various communication channels with both commercial tenants and property owners is vital. Available programs need to be flexible and should have the ability to adapt quickly to opportunities so as to retain important revenue -generating businesses in the community.
GOAL 4.0 Encourage economic development efforts through outreach and maintenance of a pro-active business environment.
Policy 4.1: Monitor land uses by business type ranging from entertainment to industrial uses to help identify citywide growth opportunities and target markets.
Policy 4.2: Through land use policy and redevelopment efforts, work to reduce deficiencies within prominent commercial corridors such as vacant and underutilized land, irregularly shaped lots, deteriorated or outdated public improvements and facilities, traffic congestion, excessive noise, poor air quality, and deficient parking.
Policy 4.3: Where appropriate, consolidate inadequately sized land or land owned by multiple owners into parcels suitable for integrated development with improved pedestrian and vehicular circulation.
Policy 4.4: Maintain an active presence in the business community and engage in outreach efforts with property owners, tenants, brokers, community stakeholders, and local residents.
Policy 4.5: Encourage an environmentally friendly business atmosphere that maintains local regulations favorable to clean industry, and provides assistance to industries seeking to comply with environmental regulations.
Aesthetic Improvements
The appearance of industrial, commercial, and retail properties and of the City as a whole reflects Orange’s level of community pride and stewardship. Financial assistance for property and façade improvements will provide an incentive for private reinvestment in businesses , which in turn can increase City sales tax revenue s which can be reinvested in infrastructure .
Aesthetic improvements may include signage, landscaping, and façade renovation on private properties as well as rehabilitation of public right s-of-way and context-oriented street lighting. These types of improvements will enhance the image of the City’s business districts for visitors and residents, and will improve business conditions in Orange. 530
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GOAL 5.0 Improve economic viability of business districts through aesthetic enhancement, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and elimination of physical deterioration.
Policy 5.1: Eliminate and prevent physical deterioration and economic obsolescence by implementing the Orange Merged and Amended Redevelopment Plan.
Policy 5.2: Improve the long -term economic viability of Katella Avenue, Chapman Avenue, and Tustin Street by promoting upgrades to façades and aesthetics of retail properties, as well as the streetscape in the public right-of-way.
Policy 5.3: Improve the long -term economic viability of Old Towne, South Main Street, Katella Avenue, Uptown Orange, The Outlets at Orange, and the Town and Country Road area by introducing mixed -use residential, commercial, and office projects that are visually and economically compatible with their surroundings.
Policy 5.4: Redevelop and rehabilitate underutilized and vacant lands and public rights - of-way to stimulate development, and consider conversion of vacant lands to community amenities.
Policy 5.5: Develop design guidelines, as needed, to encourage attractive development and clear signage, without increasing costs or barriers to economic development.
Infrastructure
Economic growth depends on provision of adequate infrastructure. Office, educational, and institutional facilities rely on the Internet and fiber -optic technology to transmit information and maintain daily business operations. Retail, commercial, and industrial businesses rely on well-maintained road, sewer , and water infrastructure to transport goods, support operations, and maintain a strong customer base. Provision and maintenance of needed utilities and infrastructure will ensure long-term economic growth while improving efficiency and productivity of businesses.
GOAL 6.0 Provide sufficient infrastructure to support anticipated economic development and growth.
Policy 6.1: Provide and maintain infrastructure adequate to support growth and expansion of commercial, industrial , and institutional areas, including water, sewer, streets, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, storm drains, access , and parking improvements.
Policy 6.2: Provide public improvements to support commercial, industrial and institutional uses.
Housing for Employees
Future uses proposed in the Land Use Element may result in about 66,850 housing units in Orange’s planning area. Much of the new housing will be part of mixed -use projects located near expanding retail, commercial, and office areas. To provide an affordable supply of housing for those employed in the City, development incentives will be allotted to 531
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developers who include affordable workforce housing, consistent with the provisions of the City’s Housing Element. Since mixed -use developments combine housing and jobs in proximity to each other, they improve the ability of Orange residents to live closer to work, entertainment, and amenities, and could significantly decrease travel expenses and time lost to commuting, all ultimately improving quality of life in the community.
GOAL 7.0 Encourage development and preservation of affordable workforce housing to increase housing opportunities and improve quality of life for workers in Orange.
Policy 7.1: Identify and market sites appropriate for housing development for all income groups that will support adjacent commercial development.
Policy 7.2: Encourage mixed-use developments to provide housing close to employment hubs for employees in all income segments and household types.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Orange provides a wide range and diversity of commercial, industrial , and institutional activities to local and regional consumers while maintaining its local culture and identity. The City benefits from proximity to major freeways and access to neighboring communities in the County of Orange. The City’s commercial districts and regional shopping centers are attractions for local tourists seeking a retail, dining, and entertainment destination. Two such destinations are The Block Outlets at Orange and the City’s Old Towne area , which is recognized as the largest historic district in California. The City’s economic health and continued growth will generate revenue and allow for funding increases to support public services and infrastructure.
Orange will continue to attract visitors and enhance the quality of life of its residents by building on existing assets that include the City’s location, the historic charm of Old Towne, commuter rail, regional medical centers, educational institutions, and substantial natural areas. Part of the City’s economic development efforts will focus on identifying underutilized and vacant sites for development, and renovating and rehabilitating older or dilapidated buildings. Redeveloping blighted areas will also expand development opportunities. By carefully analyzing types of uses that generate revenue and demand for public services, and by implementing programs to address the needs of the business community, Orange will continue to grow and develop economically without compromising its character and charm.
To strengthen the City’s economic profile, the City will:
▪ encourage mixed-use developments in strategic locations along and near major arterial corridors;
▪ continue to promote a diverse range of land uses that will sustain a strong economic tax base for the community;
▪ create a communication strategy to highlight economic development achievements and opportunities;
▪ conduct economic development and redevelopment workshops for the business community, including brokers, developers and community members; 532
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▪ support continued growth of commercial, institutional, and industrial businesses that contribute both high-wage employment opportunities and point-of-sales revenues; and ▪ provide policies that guide City decision makers through the budget process.
Focus Area Objectives
The Economic Development Plan works within provisions of the Land Use Element that establish mixed-use areas, refining and in some cases increasing the development capacity of commercial and industrial areas. Targeting key focus areas in the City allows specific planning to enhance economic development activities.
Each focus area presents varying constraints and opportunities that guide different approaches to land use and economic development objectives. Following is a summary of specific objectives for each area. Detailed descriptions of each area and maps depicting proposed land uses in each area are contained in the Land Use Element.
Chapman Avenue/Tustin Street
▪ Emphasize continued commercial and multiple-family residential designations west of State Route (SR) 55.
▪ Promote viable open space recreation uses of Yorba Park, Grijalva Park, and Santiago Creek.
▪ Allow potential future commercial uses on the Yorba Park and OUSD Education Center sites in conjunction with on- or off-site parkland improvements. ▪ Maintain hospital and medical office uses at the Chapman Global Medical Center (previously known as Chapman Hospital) site and allow for compatible integrated retail, housing, and civic uses.
Katella Avenue Corridor
▪ Establish an active, vibrant, urban mixed-use gateway to the City featuring high-density residential uses.
▪ Capitalize on development of expanded entertainment uses and housing across the Santa Ana River in Anaheim.
▪ Enhance retail options and convenience throughout west Orange. ▪ Maintain Katella Avenue’s commercial nature with neighborhood-scale mixed-use developments that transition into adjacent residential areas.
South Main Street Corridor
▪ Encourage compatible and integrated residential, commercial, and office uses. ▪ Encourage compatible and integrated residential, commercial, and office uses, either as multiple-story projects with ground-floor retail, or as stand-alone projects. ▪ Encourage pedestrian connections to transit along surrounding arterial corridors, as well as adjacent shopping and hospital facilities.
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▪ Promote development of a medical corridor that capitalizes on existing hospital and medical uses.
West Chapman Avenue/Uptown Orange
▪ Encourage integrated commercial retail, professional and medical office, housing, and civic uses.
▪ Provide convenient transit access, innovative housing options, and pedestrian-oriented design.
▪ Require new development projects to provide community open space areas and retain or improve access to the Santa Ana River Trail.
Old Towne and Santa Fe Depot
▪ Reduce residential densities in many areas of Old Towne. ▪ Continue to protect and enhance Old Towne’s historic character. ▪ Introduce neighborhood-scale mixed-use along Glassell Street and Chapman Avenue and adjacent to the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad. ▪ Encourage the adaptive re-use of existing industrial/commercial areas and the creation of transit-oriented developments around the historic Santa Fe Depot. ▪ Maintain and enhance Old Towne’s walkability.
▪ Provide for continued use and enhancement of the civic center, including City Hall and the Orange Public Library & Local History Center.
Industrial Areas
▪ Decrease the maximum allowed intensity within areas located west of Batavia Street and generally south of Grove Avenue to help discourage professional office uses within this area in favor of true industrial uses.
▪ Provide room for expansion of current businesses and infill of vacant properties in remaining portions of this area by increasing the maximum allowed development intensity.
▪ Preserve the single-family residential character of the Cully Drive neighborhood.
Lemon Street Corridor
▪ Establish a corridor of well-insulated, higher density residential uses, gradually transitioning, from west to east into a single-family residential area.
Eckhoff Street/Orangewood Avenue
▪ Recognize the potential of areas north of Orangewood Avenue to continue to provide options for lower-scale office uses and business-park oriented light industrial uses, as well as warehouse and distribution uses.
▪ Expand current neighborhood-scale office activities along Orangewood Avenue. 534
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Fiscal Diversity and Balance
According to projections published by California State University, Fullerton’s Center for Demographic Research (OCP 2006), Orange County’s population is projected to grow by approximately 15 percent between 2006 and 2030. The number of jobs within the County is projected to grow by approximately 22 percent within this same timeframe. To accommodate this anticipated regional growth, demand for both office and retail space will increase. According to OCP 2006, Orange’s population is expected to increase 16 percent and employment is expected to increase by about 8 percent. Most of the new population will be distributed between higher density infill mixed-use developments within the western portions of the City, or in newer suburban environments in east Orange. Because most of the anticipated retail and commercial growth will result from intensification of existing commercial nodes, such projected residential development will strengthen the market. The City will encourage mixed -use developments, including projects with affordable rental housing and businesses that complement the jobs available in Orange.
Redevelopment Dissolution
In 1983, the Orange Redevelopment Agency established the Tustin Street Redevelopment Project Area. In subsequent years, the Southwest Redevelopment Project Area (1984) and the Northwest Redevelopment Project Area (1988) were established. In 2001, the Agency Board approved a comprehensive plan amendment which merged the three project areas into one, which is now known as the Orange Merged and Amended Redevelopment Project Area. Figure ED-1 identifies the location and boundaries of the Merged Project Area.
Economic development and redevelopment activities in a project area were funded primarily with property “tax increment” dollars. When a project area was formed, property taxes within that area are frozen at a base year. Tax dollars below this base year are distributed to taxing agencies such as county, fire, and school districts as if the redevelopment project area did not exist. When property taxes within the project area increase as a result of increased property values, the amount over the frozen base year is referred to as “tax increment.” In 2011, Assembly Bill X1 26 came into effect which dissolved redevelopment agencies as of February 1, 2012 and a Successor Agency was created for each former redevelopment agency.
The responsibility of the Successor Agency to the Orange Redevelopment Agency (Successor Agency) is to facilitate redevelopment wind-down activities.
Economic Development Activities
Economic development covers a wide spectrum of activities fo cused toward creation and maintenance of a healthy local economy including: business retention; encouraging expansion and growth of new business; exploring new opportunities to attract new sta rt-up businesses; and, encouraging job retention and promoting new job creation. Enhancing and maintaining the City’s economic base through increased sales and property tax dollars to the City’s General Fund area also essential econo mic development efforts to sust ain delivery of services to residents and businesses.
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ED-13 Figure ED-1 Redevelopment Project Area
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Assembly Bill 562 and Sales Tax Sharing Program
In 1032013, the State Legislature and Governor Brown approved Assembly Bill 562 (AB 562) which went into effect on January 1, 2014. This new legislation provided expanded flexibility for local agencies and cities to create and retain jobs as well as incentivize business retention and attraction efforts through sales tax sharing and other financial assistance.
The City’s Sales Tax Sharing Program provides for economic development incentives whereby the City and the owner of an existing or new business that generates sales tax revenue to the benefit of the City may enter into a Participation Agreement. These agreements would occur when businesses desire to:
• Establish, expand and/or consolidate business operations. • Retain and/or create new jobs.
• Undertake upgrade and/or significant upgrade of property. • Generate a minimum of $10 million in annual tax sales to the City.
Business Development and Outreach
The Business Enhancement Support Team (BEST Team) works to eliminate development constraints of environmental, physical, or economic origin through public collaboration and assisting private partnerships through a streamlined entitlement process . The BEST Team works to understand private development and investment toward public infrastructure improvements, and seeks to stimulate economic growth through property upgrades and job creation. These objectives also emphasize the
need to strengthen the City’s economic base by
identifying specific economic opportunities,
promoting incentive programs, and facilitating
business development.
Additionally, in the area of business development
the City will continue to monitor property
conditions throughout the community over time,
and through ongoing business outreach with
local brokers will evaluate areas and/or territory,
and will promote development of high quality
live-work mixed -use projects within focus areas
designated for mixed-use development.
Fiscal Balance
Cities achieve fiscal balance by effectively budgeting and managing revenues and expenditures. Policies that encourage diverse revenue sources and that monitor costs will ensure a strong, sustainable economic base in Orange. Achieving fiscal balance means capturing sufficient tax revenue to support public services. In Orange, fiscal balance will require strengthening underrepresented economic sectors that bring revenue to the City. To Orange will continue to encourage attraction and
retention of small, independent entrepreneurs as
part of its long-range economic strategy.
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minimize local economic downturns due to heavy reliance on a limited number of market sectors, Orange will continue to promote the diversity of businesses already present in the City.
Revenues
General Fund revenues are collected from taxes and are used to provide local government services such as public safety, planning and building services, park maintenance, library and recreation services, and other expenditures not required by law to be restricted to a separate fund. The General Fund represents nearly half of the City’s total revenues. In recent years, General Fund revenues have steadily risen.
Tax revenues, which include sales, property, transient occupancy, and other taxes, account for a large portion of total General Fund revenues. Other sources of revenue are motor vehicle license fees, service fees, licenses, and permits. Among tax revenues, sales taxes are the single most important source of revenue for the City. Orange receives an equivalent one percent share of the total value of transactions at City -based businesses that are subject to sales tax. The largest recent increases in taxable sales in Orange are associated with auto dealerships and “big box” retailers.
Ensuring adequate revenue to finance public facilities, services, and utilities requires a strong economic base. Orange’s economic base can be strengthened by encouraging small, independent entrepreneurship, providing incentives for industrial, office, and larger commercial businesses, and attracting new private investments focused on revitalizing and redeveloping areas. The City will continue to work to eliminate constraints and encourage the productive use of underutilized and vacant sites, and will promote lot consolidations in areas characterized by smaller parcels and multiple property ownerships.
Expenditures
The General Fund serves as the primary funding source for the operating portion of the City’s budget and provides money for expenditures that support ongoing programming. General Fund expenditures include general government, public safety, public works, community services, library services, community development, and non-departmental activities.
City government is labor intensive; consequently, labor costs (salaries and benefits) account for a large portion of the outlay. Over three -quarters of total general fund expenditures are spent on salaries and benefits. The Police and Fire Departments typically have the largest operating budgets among City departments and services.
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Retail Business Retention and Expansion
Retail businesses in Orange are located primarily along Tustin Street, Katella Avenue, Chapman Avenue , and The City Drive. Major retail centers include The Block Outlets at Orange in west Orange on The City Drive south of Chapman Avenue, The Village at Orange on North Tustin Street, and the Stadium Promenade on West Katella Avenue. As a major retail and entertainment center, The Block Outlets at Orange attracts local residents and regional customers. Existing and future growth in the adjacent Anaheim Platinum Triangle and the University of California -Irvine Medical Center expansion further support the Uptown area’s regional attraction. The Urban M ixed-use designation for The Block Outlets at Orange and the surrounding area presents opportunities to develop additional retail, office, residential , and entertainment uses. The Village at Orange is a regional lifestyle shopping center featuring traditional department store anchor tenants and regional retailers. The potential future Meats Avenue interchange along SR-55 would increase accessibility to the Village at Orange along an important north -south roadway . Stadium Promenade includes entertainment and retail businesses , and is located adjacent to Anaheim’s Platinum Triangle and across the Santa Ana River from the proposed Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center ( ARTIC) transit station . Stadium Promenade will serve as a prominent western gateway into the City. To capitalize on the increased population within the adjacent area, and to successfully incorporate the benefits of increased transit use, this area will accommodate a higher concentration of mixed entertainment, retail, and residential uses.
Areas further east along Katella Avenue , between Batavia Street and Glassell Street, will be retained as a highly -
productive commercial
district, and will continue as
home to several
automobile dealerships.
East of Glassell Street ,
neighborhood-scale mixed -
use development will
provide a transition from
commercial retail uses to
mixed-use neighborhoods
between Glassell Street and
California Street .
Commercial uses will
continue to surround the
Katella Avenue and Tustin
Street intersection.
The success of the City’s commercial and retail areas lies in their proximity to major transportation corridors, and in possessing a wide range of retail businesses that provide diverse goods and services and a variety of shopping and entertainment experiences.
Challenges to the City’s retail market include financing the rehabilitation of older buildings and infrastructure, improving the availability of parking, and implementing design guidelines that will improve signage, create attractive public spaces within commercial corridors, and preserve the historic character of Old Towne. Redevelopment and improved financing of The current Stadium Promenade site provides exciting opportunities for Orange to capture its share of the entertainment and tourist market generated by Disneyland and Angels Stadium.
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both public facilities and services will strengthen the City’s economic base and can improve the physical appearance of these corridors. New mixed-use designations will both increase the market for commercial areas, and allow for expansion.
Commercial and Industrial Base
The City’s commercial market offers diverse shopping
opportunities, goods, and services for a broad range of tastes and socioeconomic groups. The proximity of
commercial areas to major transportation corridors ,
and the planned expansion and renovation of these
areas outlined in the Land Use Element will provide
growth and expansion opportunities for commercial
businesses, particularly retail businesses . Even though these commercial uses are vulnerable to fluctuations in the local and regional market s, and developable land is growing scarce, mixed -use expansions and
redevelopment of parcels along major corridors will
provide new business opportunities as the City
approaches a more highly developed condition. The
City will continue to support smaller industries and
businesses that provide job growth and tax revenue. By
diversifying both its tax and employment base, the City will continue to improve its fiscal viability.
Orange’s industrial uses are concentrated in the
northwest area of the City, generally north and south of Katella Avenue, and west of Glassell Street, with
consistent, strong demand from small businesses. The
area consists of a mix of warehouses, light industrial
uses, and flexible office spaces catering to incubator or “home grown” companies. Key advantages offered by the City’s industrial areas include proximity to high -end housing in Orange and surrounding communities for company executives, a central location, convenient freeway access, and the opportunity to capture displaced industrial tenants from the Platinum Triangle area. Even with high demand for industrial spaces, growth is limited due to lack of available land. To promote industrial growth and increase employment opportunities, the City encourages consolidation of small parcels with multiple owners, concentrates redevelopment on smaller sites, and has refined or increased the buildable capacity of industrial areas to be responsive to demand by adjusting maximum permitted Floor - Aarea Ratios (FARs).
Encouraging Economic Development
Strategies for promoting economic development in Orange include potential reuse and redevelopment of underutilized properties and irregularly shaped parcels. One challenge existing in Orange today is the lack of appropriate sites for larger retail developments. The City must compete with adjacent retail centers in neighboring cities such as Main Place Mall Supplementing the City’s strong
commercial and industrial sectors,
Orange’s institutions, including St.
Joseph Hospital, provide valuable skilled
employment opportunities.
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in Santa Ana and the Platinum Triangle and Garden Walk projects in Anaheim. The local market is also vulnerable to fluctuations in the Southern California economy.
To facilitate commercial development on underutilized sites, the City encourages site consolidation where feasible and desirable to provide parcels appropriately sized and configured to support larger retail and office development. The City also will support site assessments to determine the status of potential environmental contamination.
Orange’s large industrial area is located in the northwestern portion of the City, and is characterized by a broad mix of business park, office, manufacturing, warehousing and commercial uses. Over time, market forces may create a demand for more office space in the industrial area, or for more intense business park or warehouse uses than are currently present. Considering ways to increase the intensity of uses throughout the City’s industrial areas will encourage more productive use of limited land resources. Demand for industrial and office use in this area is strong, particularly among those who want to own their buildings. Therefore, the City seeks to preserve the primary industrial land use found in this area and to encourage intensification and/or redevelopment of underutilized parcels.
Areas with incompatible uses often require mitigation efforts to address negative impacts. The City will buffer industrial and residential uses from each other with commercial uses or other higher intensity uses to protect residential areas from exposure to truck traffic, to the transport of hazardous materials, and to excessive noise associated with industrial uses. Within industrial areas, the City will encourage recruitment and retention of environmentally safe and clean manufacturers to ensure that expansion of industrial areas can occur without increasing the risk to residents and employees from potential exposure to hazardous materials and wastes.
Aesthetic Improvements
The quaint streets of Old Towne and the postmodern attractions at The Block Outlets at Orange and The Village at Orange display the City’s appreciation for a variety of aesthetic styles. Funds to support renovation and rehabilitation are returned through tax revenue generated by regional and local clientele, who enjoy the upgraded look and feel of Orange’s retail centers. In addition, mixed -use areas will increase the opportunity for aesthetically pleasing commercial and residential development along some of the City’s major corridors while promoting both walkability and a sustainable lifestyle.
Areas already characterized by strong design features are the result of implementation of design guidelines the City has adopted in certain locations. The City can complement the economic and aesthetic contributions of its thriving retail centers by focusing aesthetic improvements in additional areas along Lincoln Avenue, Tustin Street, and Katella Avenue, and by removing barriers and capturing economic opportunities present in each area. Creating a streetscape program and design guidelines, and using economic development resources and funds where possible will contribute toward achieving the City’s aesthetic and economic goals in these areas.
Furthermore, the City emphasizes specific programs to improve aesthetics along commercial corridors, such as placing entryway signs on major corridors near the City’s boundary, developing landscape guidelines to extend landscape and hardscape design throughout the 542
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City, and paying attention to design in transitional areas between commercial and residential areas. Implementing the Old Towne Design Standards Historic Prese rvation Design Standards for Old Towne and Infill Residential Design Guidelines and updating other design guidelines throughout the City in tandem with economic development plans will ensure aesthetic improvements and improve economic viability. More information and policies related to urban design and aesthetic improvements within the City’s commercial and mixed -use corridors are provided in the Urban Design Element.
Infrastructure
Fiscal growth and business
expansion, both within the
Project Area and throughout
the City, depends on
provision of adequate
infrastructure and necessary
public services. These
services ensure the safety,
cleanliness, and
communication that
businesses rely on in order
to carry out daily operations.
In effect, inadequate public
services and infrastructure
will curtail expansion of
retail, commercial, and
industrial businesses ; will
reduce job opportunities ;
and will create blight over
the long term. Adequate infrastructure will allow businesses to expand and will provide room for new businesses to develop without making burdensome demands on the City’s infrastructure.
To ensure proper services and infrastructure, the City has created and continues to update plans for drainage, sewer operations, and water management. The City also monitors the status of its infrastructure and of public utilities such as gas, electricity, and telecommunications. To address aging of the water, sewer, and storm drain infrastructure s; to deliver clean water ; and to ensure proper waste collection ; Orange gauges current and future needs and charges fees to fund needed upgrades and replacements. The City also implements infrastructure policies in its Economic Development Strategy Plan to address inadequacies pertaining to storm drain s, signalization, and slow progress in placing utilities underground. More information and policies related to the infrastructure needed to support economic growth and expanded employment are provided in the Infrastructure Element.
Housing for Employees
The supply of adequate housing in and around Orange is directly related to the health and expansion of the City’s economy. State law (Health and Safety Code Section 33070) declares Orange’s Redevelopment Agency considers development and rehabilitation of affordable family housing with emphasis on low and very- low income families as one of its highest priorities.
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the importance of providing housing and employment opportunities for all people. It also states that “unfit housing and lack of employment opportunity depend on each other to perpetuate a system of dependency and hopelessness which drains the state of its valuable financial and human resources” (Health and Safety Code Section 33070).
Among the fundamental purposes of redevelopment are expansion of the supply of low- and moderate-income housing, and expansion of employment opportunities for jobless and underemployed persons. To accomplish this, the Agency is required to set aside at least 20 percent of its tax increment revenues to increase, improve, and preserve low- and moderate- income housing. The City and the Agency aim to rehabilitate and repair the current supply of housing, to provide new construction of low - and moderate -income housing, to provide special-needs housing, to replace affordable housing that has been eliminated as a result of redevelopment, and to integrate affordable housing within new residential development.
Although the City lacks an abundance of vacant land for residential use and faces competition from planned developments in surrounding cities, Orange is a prime location for residential developments because of its proximity to major employment centers and amenities, its high quality of life, and its high existing demand for a range of housing types .
To improve quality of life for workers in Orange, the City will continue to provide a wide variety of housing options that suit the needs of residents of all income groups and household types. To increase the existing housing supply, the City has increased the amount of land designated for mixed -use development and identified sites suitable for housing development for local and regional employees. More information , including policies and programs related to provision of affordable and accessible housing in the City , are provided in the Housing Element.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IMPLEMENTATION
The goals, policies, and plans identified in this Element are implemented through a variety of City plans, ordinances, development requirements, capital improvements, and ongoing collaboration with regional agencies and neighboring jurisdictions. Specific implementation measures for policies in this Element are contained in the General Plan Appendix.
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APPENDIX
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-1
REV. GPA NO. 2014-0001 (12/2015)
Rev.GPA 2010-0001 (8/10/10)
INTRODUCTION
This Implementation Plan will guide City elected officials, commission and committee members, staff, and the public in the overall effort to put into practice the adopted General Plan goals and policies. The purpose of the implementation programs is to ensure that the overall direction set forth in the General Plan is translated from general ideas to actions.
Each implementation program is a procedure, program, or technique that requires City action, either alone or in collaboration with non -City organizations or with federal and state agencies. Some of the implementation programs are processes or procedures the City currently administers on a day -to-day basis (such as review of development projects). Other implementation programs require new programs or projects. Completion of each of the identified programs is subject to funding availability.
CITY DEPARTMENTS AND DIVISIONS
IMPLEMENTING THE GENERAL PLAN
Implementing and maintaining the overall General Plan is the primary responsibility of the Planning Division of the Community Development Department. However, because General Plan policies affect nearly every aspect of City government and of City services provided in Orange, other departments also play key roles in ensuring that General Plan policies and programs are carried out to achieve the community’s vision. Each of the City’s departments has taken part in the preparation of the General Plan, and many have implementation responsibilities described in this section. In some cases, elements of the implementation programs may carry through to individual department s’ work plans or the City’s Capital Improvement Program. The implementation programs are also intended to be consistent with, and supportive of, the City’s Strategic Plan.
The following section summarizes the Mission Statements of the departments most responsible for implementing the General Plan. These statements provide a broad overview of the types of programs each department is likely to be responsible for implementing.
City Council
The City of Orange is committed to excellent service for our residents, businesses , and visitors.
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City Manager
To serve the City with strong manage the City’s resources with leadership and vision.
Community Development
To work with the community in achieving and maintaining a better quality of life by providing professional guidance and coordination of all land planning and development activities, and by fairly and consistently implementing the City’s regulations and policies To guide the development and preservation and a livable, safe, and sustainable Orange.
Community Services
To enhance the quality of life and a safe community by providing lifelong learning opportunities, leisure activities , and recreational experiences in well -maintained parks and facilities.
Economic Development
To promote economic growth and housing opportunities to enhance the quality of life throughout the community.
Fire
To prevent or minimize the loss of life , damage to the environment, and property from the adverse effects of fire, medical emergencies, and hazardous conditions.
Library Services
To welcome and support all people in their enjoyment of reading and pursuit of lifelong learning, to preserve local history, and to provide equal access to information, ideas, and knowledge through books, programs, and technology.
Police
To perform law enforcement duties with innovative leadership; accountable to the people we serve, in order to ensure their safety and improve the quality of life in our diverse community.
Public Works
To provide and preserve our City’s infrastructure, facilities , and programs, and to promote public health, safety , and welfare through courteous and timely customer service and efficient use of available resources.
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CITY OF ORANGE STRATEGIC PLAN
The City of Orange Strategic Plan establishes a vision for how the City as an organization delivers services to its residents, businesses , and visitors. The intent of the plan is to define the purpose of the organization, establish realistic goals and objectives, present a vision of success that will guide the ongoing direction of the organization, and help to ensure the most effective use of City resources by focusing the resources on key priorities. The 2008- 2013 Strategic Plan establishes the following goals:
(1) Provide for a safe community.
(2) Be a fiscally healthy community.
(3) Enhance and promote the quality of life in the community. (4) Provide outstanding customer public service.
(5) Recognize, promote, and preserve Orange’s rich heritage.
These Strategic Plan goals are integrated throughout the General Plan policies, and are reflected in the Implementation Plan programs and specifications . Therefore, the Strategic Plan goals are also reflected in the individual department work plans and the City Budget.
IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAMS
General Plan implementation programs are organized into the following five subsections corresponding to various areas and levels of City responsibility:
I. Plans, Permits, Procedures, Agreements, and Ordinances Administered by the City II. Physical Improvements and Capital Projects
III. Conditions or Requirements Placed Upon Applicants during Development Review IV. Planning and Outreach Initiatives
V. Coordination with Other Agencies and Organizations
Each implementation program relates directly to one or more of the General Plan policies, drawn from various elements. For each program, the related General Plan policies are listed, along with the responsible agencies or City departments, the recommended time frame , and the likely funding source.
The implementation programs are intended for use as the basis for preparing the Annual Report to the City Council on the status of the City’s progress in implementing the General Plan, as described in Section 65400 of the Government Code. Because many of the individual actions and programs also act as mitigation for environmental impacts resulting from planned development in accordance with the General Plan, the Annual Report can also provide a means of monitoring application of the mitigation measures as required by Public Resources Code Section 21081.6. To ensure continued consistency and usefulness, the programs should be updated concurrent with the City’s annual budget process and whenever the General Plan is amended or updated.
Implementation programs corresponding to the goals and policies set forth in the Housing Element are listed within the Housing Element, rather than within this Appendix. 547
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-4 GPA 2010-0001 (8/10/10)
I. Plans, Permits, Procedures, Agreements, and
Ordinances Administered by the City
Program I-1 Zoning Code Update
The City will perform focused amendments to the Zoning Code in order to update, revise and/or establish new zoning standards to implement policies in the Land Use, Noise, Urban Design, and Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Elements. All future updates to the Zoning Code will include an active public participation process. Until such time as the City ultimately performs a comprehensive adopts the Zoning Ordinance amendmentsupdate, all new development shall comply with the standards set forth in the current Zoning Code, or the standards established through a development agreement or specific plan for a particular development project.
The City will update design standards for Old Towne and the Southwest Redevelopment Project Area, and develop new streetscape standards to implement its mixed-use land use objectives. The zoning code revisions will designate buffer zones and transitional areas to minimize land use incompatibilities between single-family residential areas and intensified commercial operations and mixed -use development . The Zoning Code revisions do not specify changes regarding noise in mixed-use areas; however, Implementation Program I-30, “Noise Ordinance,” seeks to minimize the effect of noise generated from industrial land uses on adjacent land uses.
Specific revisions to the Zoning Code will be completed to address:
▪ Maximizing the amount of pervious surfaces in new and infill developments; ▪ Integration of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) principles into site plan and building design, including adequate safety lighting; ▪ Integration of complementary uses in support of a safe community environment; ▪ A designation process for cultural resources to be listed on the city’s Local Register of Historic Resources, to include a broad range of historic resources including separate or individual buildings, structures, objects, and sites, as well as districts and archaeological resources;
▪ A process for review of projects related to historic resources outside of the Old Towne Historic District.
▪ Adaptive reuse of potential and listed historic resources—the city will consider provisions for including neighborhood character areas (NCAs) as a zoning overlay, and the following planning areas may be considered for this zoning revision: El Modena, Cypress Street Barrio, and the Rrailroad/Ppackinghouse Ccorridor;
▪ Development interface with Santiago Creek, the Santa Ana River, and other open space areas;
548
IMPLEMENTATION
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IMP-5
▪ Incorporation of sustainable development principles, such as the adoption of resource conservation measures for building codes and standards, and specifications for multi- modal transportation;
▪ Maintenance of the building security ordinance and addition of a CPTED element to those standards; and
▪ Preparation of development standards that address National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department , Police Department, Public Works Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Updated by December 20162030
Related Policies:
Land Use: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 4.1, 4.2, 4.4,
4.5, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 8.1
Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation: 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 2.1, 2.3, 3.2, 4.5 Public Safety: 2.3, 2.4, 3.3, 7.2, 7.5, 7.6, 9.1
Noise: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 7.3 Urban Design: 1.1, 1.4, 1.7, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.3, 6.6 Economic Development: 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 4.5, 5.3, 5.5
Program I-2 Land Use Policy Map and Focus Area
Development Objectives
Ensure that City land use decisions are consistent with the policies of the Land Use Element and the land uses shown on the Land Use Policy Map. Using the development review process and other tools outlined throughout the General Plan, ensure that the development objectives specified for each of the eight focus areas described in the Land Use Element are achieved for new development and infill projects located in the focus areas.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Land Use: All
Economic Development: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 7.1, 7.2
549
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-6 GPA 2010-0001 (8/10/10)
Program I-3 Specific Plans and Neighborhood Plans
Prepare, adopt, and implement specific plans and neighborhood plans consistent with state law to establish permitted densities, intensities, and uses within Orange for the systematic implementation of the General Plan.
Continue to implement and update, as needed, the following adopted specific plans and neighborhood plans:
▪ Archstone Gateway
▪ Chapman University
▪ East Orange General Plan (1975)
▪ Immanuel Lutheran Church
▪ Orange Park Acres
▪ Pinnacle at Uptown Orange
▪ St. John’s Lutheran Church and School
▪ Santa Fe Depot Area
▪ Serrano Heights
▪ Upper Peters Canyon
▪ Salem Lutheran Church and School
▪ Orange-Olive Residential
New specific plans may be permitted elsewhere within the planning area in the future.
Through the specific plan process, encourage developers to include or provide:
▪ Context sensitivity and connectivity to surroundings, ▪ Complementary mix of uses,
▪ Pedestrian-oriented places,
▪ Transit-oriented design,
▪ Public spaces,
▪ Green spaces, and
▪ CPTED design features.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department
Funding Source: General Fund, private property owners
Time Frame: As needed
Related Policies:
Land Use: 2.1, 2.4, 3.4, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.5, 5.8, 5.9, 6.7, 6.10, 6.11, 7.1, 7.2 Circulation & Mobility: 3.2, 3.3
Public Safety: 7.2
Urban Design: 1.1, 5.1, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4
Program I-4 Plans, Standards, and Guidelines
Adopt, review, implement , and update as necessary the following master plans , standards, and guidelines:
550
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-7
▪ Bikeways Master Plan
▪ Residential Neighborhood Traffic Management Program
▪ Recreational Trails Master Plan
▪ Park Facilities, Recreation, and Community Services Master Plan ▪ Grading Ordinance and hillside development regulations ▪ Scenic highway standards for Santiago Canyon Road, Jamboree Road, and Newport Boulevard
▪ Historic Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne
▪ Eichler Design Standards
▪ Design guidelines and/or standards for large complexes ▪ Historic preservation design standards for other historic districts and for individually listed historic resources.
▪ Infill Residential Guidelines
▪ Street Tree Master Plan
▪ Master Utility Undergrounding Plan
▪ Tustin Street Design Standards
▪ Design standards for areas where the General Plan is changing land uses, including the Southwest Project Area, Chapman Avenue, Katella Avenue, and South Main Street ▪ Emergency Operations Plan and “Know Your Way” evacuation routes ▪ Fire Department Strategic Deployment Plan
▪ Fire Department Standards of Coverage Assessment (2015) ▪ Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Pre-Plans including:
o Tustin-Orange Foothills Fire Plan
o WUI Plans for:
▪ Anaheim Hills East
▪ Anaheim Hills West
▪ Cowen Lemon Heights
▪ East Orange-Orange Park Acres
551
IMPLEMENTATION
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IMP-8 GPA 2010-0001 (8/10/10)
▪ Fire Master Plan Guidelines
▪ Vegetation Management Guidelines – Technical Design for New Construction, Fuel Modification Plans, and Maintenance Program
▪ Water Master Plan
▪ Urban Water Management Plan
▪ Sewer Master Plan
▪ Storm Drain Master Plan
▪ NPDES Local Implementation Plan
▪ Public Library Facilities Master Plan
▪ Noise standards and guidelines for new construction in mixed-use districts ▪ Santiago Creek Vision Plan
Agency/Department: Community Development Department, Public Works Department, Community Services Department, Police
Department, Fire Department, Library Services
Department, Economic Development Department
Funding Source: General Fund, development fees, private contributions Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Land Use: 1.5, 1.7, 2.6, 2.7, 5.5, 5.6, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 7.1, 7.2 Circulation & Mobility: 1.4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 6.1, 6.2 Natural Resources: 1.1, 1.2, 2.13, 2.14, 2.15, 2.16, 5.1, 5.3, 5.5, 5.6, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3,
6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 7.1
Cultural Resources &
Historic Preservation: 1.1, 1.3, 1.6, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 Public Safety: 3.6.6, 3.7, 6.6, 6.7, 6.10, 8.4
Urban Design: 1.1, 1.2, 2.5, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.6
Economic Development: 2.4, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2
Infrastructure: 1.1, 1.2, 4.2
Program I-5 Transfer of Development Rights Ordinance
Adopt a Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) ordinance to allow TDRs for the following purposes:
▪ To increase levels of residential densities at appropriate sites in areas designated Urban Mixed-Use, as described in Table LU-3 in the Land Use Element; 552
IMPLEMENTATION
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IMP-9
▪ To encourage well-designed high-rise development consisting of buildings 10 stories or higher at identified locations, as described in Table LU-4 and shown on Figure LU-8 in the Land Use Element;
▪ To expand and preserve open space in the Urban, Old Towne, and Neighborhood mixed- use land use designations, as described in Table LU-4 in the Land Use Element; and ▪ To provide incentives for preservation of listed historic resources or contributors to listed historic districts.
In each case, a Development Agreement between the property owner and City of Orange will be required.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Complete by 20132022
Related Policies:
Land Use: 2.2, 2.3, 2.8, 5.5
Natural Resources: 4.7
Cultural Resources &
Historic Preservation: 3.2
Program I-6 Prepare Design Guidelines
Prepare new design criteria for public gathering spaces, commercial areas, rural development character, viewshed protection and preservation, and additional policies for mixed-use development and transit -oriented development as needed. New design criteria should also include landscape standards that provide open space buffers and other appropriate transitions between lower density, single -family neighborhoods and higher density development . Design criteria should also address standards for the provision of community gathering spaces within private development, incentives to provide accessible open spaces in commercial and mixed -use corridors, and guidelines for the preservation of visual points of interest throughout the community.
Agency/ Department: Community Development Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Update complete by 2013
Related Policies:
Land Use: 2.7, 2.8, 2.10, 8.1
Natural Resources: 1.3, 2.8, 7.5
Urban Design: 2.1, 2.4, 2.6, 2.7, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.5, 6.1, 6.2, 6.6 553
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-10 GPA 2010-0001 (8/10/10)
Program I-8 Code Enforcement
Continue to enforce property maintenance standards, adopted City Building Code, the Zoning Ordinance, the Noise Ordinance, and other provisions of the Orange Municipal Code.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department, Police Department Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Land Use: 5.5, 6.1, 7.5
Urban Design: 5.2, 6.2
Noise: 1.2, 1.4, 7.2, 7.3
Public Safety: 3.3, 9.1
Economic Development: 4.1, 4.2
Program I-9 Building and Fire Codes
Continually update Bbuilding and Ffire Ccodes to:
▪ Ensure that new development and retrofitted development reduce potential damage from earthquakes, floods, fire, wind, liquefaction, and other natural hazards; and ▪ Incorporate increased energy efficiency and green building and sustainable development strategies.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department , Fire Department, Economic Development Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Public Safety: 1.1
Noise: 5.1, 6.1
Program I-10 City Master Plan of Streets and Highways
Use the established Capital Improvement Program process to implement the circulation system shown on the City Master Plan of Streets and Highways (Figure CM -2), the City will secure funding for roadway improvements, will design and build new roadways, and will complete roadway repairs and improvements. Future roadways must meet roadway classification design specifications and performance criteria. To reduce the impacts of traffic on residential areas, encourage through traffic to use higher classification arterials as designated within the City’s Master Plan of Streets and Highways. 554
IMPLEMENTATION
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IMP-11
Agency/Department: Public Works Department
Funding Source: General Fund, development fees, and Renewed Measure M funds
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Circulation & Mobility: 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.5
Growth Management: 1.2, 1.11, 2.2
Economic Development: 2.4, 6.1, 6.2
Program I-11 Critical Intersection Program
To ensure that traffic flows meet the level of service (LOS) standards established in the Circulation & Mobility Element, roadway capacity in areas with excess traffic will be improved by restricting on -street parking, improving signal timing, widening intersections, adding through and turn lanes, and using other transportation systems management measures.
Monitor the performance of Critical Intersections identified on Figure CM-2 in the Circulation & Mobility Element on an ongoing basis. Ensure that Critical Intersections approaching LOS D are prioritized for improvement within the City’s Capital Improvement Plan.
Agency/Department: Public Works Department
Funding Source: General Fund , Renewed Measure M funds, development fees, gas tax funds
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Circulation & Mobility: 1.2, 1.3
Growth Management: 1.1, 1.11
Economic Development: 2.4, 6.1, 6.2
Program I-12 Old Towne Parking District
Study the benefits of creating a parking district and the feasibility of expanding available public parking in areas surrounding the Plaza. Shared parking, consolidated parking facilities, parking structures, or underground parking should all be considered as potential strategies to provide additional off -street parking to meet future demands related to adaptive re -use and infill development in Old Towne.
Agency/Department: Public Works Department, Community Development Department, Economic Development Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Feasibility study completed by 202513
Related Policies:
Land Use: 2.5, 5.4
Circulation & Mobility: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
Urban Design: 6.2
Economic Development: 4.1, 4.2, 6.2
555
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-12 GPA 2010-0001 (8/10/10)
Program I-13 Pedestrian-Oriented Streetscape Master
Plan
Prepare, adopt, and implement a pedestrian-oriented streetscape master plan as part of the City’s decision to enhance the walkability of public spaces, with the goal of promoting multi - modal transportation options. This plan will include the City’s key commercial corridors, such as Tustin Street, Chapman Avenue, Main Street, and Katella Avenue. The master plan should integrate concepts discussed for these corridors throughout the General Plan related to pedestrian facilities, streetscapes, urban green zones, façade improvements , and signage, including:
▪ Identifying pedestrian links that need improvement and strengthening; ▪ Determining new pedestrian links to underserved areas; ▪ Ensuring adequate sidewalk widths to accommodate lighting, street trees, benches, and trash cans;
▪ Establishing design character, standards, and guidelines for proposed outdoor spaces, paseos, and pedestrian paths;
▪ Incorporating more functional and appealing outdoor spaces, paseos, and pedestrian paths within retrofits of current streetscapes as well as within new development; ▪ Integrating public open space (e.g., plazas, neighborhood parks, pocket parks) in commercial and mixed-use corridors;
▪ Providing transit amenities such as bus stops, shelters, and lighting; ▪ Helping to reduce conflicts between land uses;
▪ Determining entry or gateway street design elements and standards; ▪ Minimizing barriers to pedestrian and bicycle access; and ▪ Incorporating CPTED concepts.
The Plan should include sidewalk, transit, open space, and landscape design and standards.
The planning process will include an active public participation component.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department, Public Works Department, Economic Development Department
Funding Source: General Fund, development fees
Time Frame: Adopt by 20182025
Related Policies:
Land Use: 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 3.3, 5.7, 5.9, 6.3, 6.6, 6.8, 8.1, 8.3 Circulation & Mobility: 1.1, 4.7, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3
Natural Resources: 2.2, 7.3
Urban Design: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 3.4, 3.5, 4.7, 6.6
Public Safety: 7.4, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3
556
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-13
Program I-14 Streetscape Improvement Program and City
Scenic Highways
Develop a Streetscape Improvement Program for major and minor streetscapes, bikeways , and trails that includes standard plans and design criteria for unified lighting, paving materials, and patterns, and landscaping such as street trees, median and slope planting, and landscaped parkways.
The Streetscape Improvement Program also includes development of specific standards to define and designate the following City Scenic Highways:
▪ Jamboree Road
▪ Santiago Canyon Road
▪ Newport Boulevard
Agency/Department: Community Development Department, Public Works Department, Community Services Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Circulation & Mobility: 6.1, 6.2, 6.3
Natural Resources: 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5
Urban Design: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.7, 1.8, 3.4
Economic Development: 5.2
Program I-15 Operating Budget
Continue to adopt and update the Ci ty’s Operating Budget to maintain current levels of City services, public facilities and i nfrastructure, and coordinate development of community facilities and amenities and capital projects.
Agency/Department: City Manager
Funding Source: General Fund. Secondary sources include special revenue funds (such as Proposition 172, Renewed Measure M
funds), gas tax funds, enterprise funds, capital
improvement funds, and housing funds
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Land Use: 1.2, 1.7
Natural Resources: 5.1, 5.2
Cultural Resources &
Historic Preservation: 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 5.2
Public Safety: 2.4
Economic Development: 2.2, 2.3
557
IMPLEMENTATION
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IMP-14 GPA 2010-0001 (8/10/10)
Program I-16 Certified Local Government Status
Apply to the Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) for inclusion in the Certified Local Government (CLG) program. Successful application includes meeting several requirements:
▪ Enact appropriate historic preservation regulations through an adopted historic preservation ordinance.
▪ Establish a qualified historic preservation review commission. ▪ Maintain a system for the survey and inventory of historic properties. ▪ Provide for adequate public participation in the historic preservation program. ▪ Satisfactorily perform the responsibilities delegated to the Certified Local Government.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Application submitted by 202516
Related Policies:
Cultural Resources &
Historic Preservation: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.2, 3.1, 3.3, 3.4
Program I-17 Local Historic Register
Create the City of Orange Register of Historic Resources (Historic Register), which will serve as the local register of historical resources under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Automatically include all resources previously designated, listed , or determined eligible for listing within the National Register of Historic Places or California Register. ▪ Establish a process for handling voluntary requests for listing in the Historic Register.
Support coordination with property owners of potential historic resources identified on the Orange Inventory, so that such potential historic resources can more readily be listed in the Historic Register.
▪ Establish a process for listing in the Historic Register those buildings, structures, objects, sites, or districts that meet the criteria.
▪ Establish procedures to remove historic resources from the Historic Register. ▪ Establish procedures for listing archaeological resources in the Historic Register. Employ appropriate criteria for evaluating potential significance of such archaeological resources as historical resources or unique archaeological resources under CEQA. Encourage voluntary listing of eligible archaeological resources.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Register established by 202515, maintenance ongoing 558
IMPLEMENTATION
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IMP-15
Related Policies:
Land Use: 5.5
Cultural Resources &
Historic Preservation: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5
Program I-18 Eichler Historic Districts
Pursue historic landmark district designation for three Eichler tracts. Notify property owners in three Eichler tracts—Fairhaven, Fairhills, and Fairmeadow—of the intent to list each of the three tracts separately as local historic districts . Follow established procedures for Historic Register listing of each. Develop design standards and project review processed for Eichler Historic Districts.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Landmark Districts established by 2015
Related Policies:
Cultural Resources &
Historic Preservation: 1.4
Program I-19 Historic, Cultural, and Archaeological
Resources Survey
Continue to maintain an accessible and periodically updated inventory of potential historic resources. All surveyed properties will be included in the City’s Inventory of Historic Resources (Orange Inventory), and the Orange Inventory will be a valuable planning tool to be used in evaluating possible impacts a proposed project might have on previously evaluated potential and identified historic resources. Surveys and survey updates may be conducted by City staff, historic preservation professionals , and/or representatives of local preservation organizations.
Properties that have attained 45 years of age and are located within a designated historic district or Neighborhood Character Area (NCA) shall be subject to survey and assessment by a qualified architectural historian prior to issuance of any permit for alteration or demolition.
Survey other areas where potential for historic resources may exist.
Identify smaller character areas that contain concentrations of potential or listed historic resources that reflect a unique sense of time and place.
Use the Orange Inventory to identify potential historic resources for purposes of CEQA, National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) , and National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) review of proposed projects. Only if po tential historic resources in the Orange Inventory are listed in or eligible for listing in the California Register for CEQA or the National 559
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-16 GPA 2010-0001 (8/10/10)
Register for the NHPA and NEPA shall they have a presumption of significance pursuant to CEQA Section 21084.1 and be treated as historical resources under CEQA.
Potential historic resources identified in the Orange Inventory may be listed in the Historic Register if they meet criteria for listing in the California Register. The City’s Historic Resources Inventory may be regularly updated by the Planning Division to reflect corrections and modifications to the associated database and survey forms without the need to bring those changes to the Planning Commission for adoption.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Cultural Resources &
Historic Preservation: 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 4.1, 4.6 Urban Design: 5.4
Program I-20 Historic Preservation Incentives
Actively pursue grants, loans, and other incentives to encourage historic preservation.
Consider implementing conservation easements.
Develop a revolving loan program for maintenance and rehabilitation work , consistent with design standards, on listed historic resources and on resources that are contributors to listed historic districts.
Develop a voluntary conservation easement program to preserve listed historic resources and contributors to listed historic districts . Provide a potential tax benefit to property owners. Establish a partnership with local preservation organizations to accept, hold, and manage conservation easements on historic resources. Enable Mills Act contracts for additional designated historic districts.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Cultural Resources &
Historic Preservation: 1.4, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5 Urban Design: 5.4
Economic Development: 1.2, 5.3
560
IMPLEMENTATION
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IMP-17
Program I-21 Commemorative Plaque Program
Explore e stablishing a commemorative plaque program to allow public recognition of properties listed on the Historic Register. Develop and administer standards and guidelines for properties eligible for the commemorative plaque program.
Agency/Department: Community organizations in coordination with the Community Development Department
Funding Source: Private contributions
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Cultural Resources &
Historic Preservation: 2.2, 3.1
Program I-22 Historic Context Statement and Survey
Officially recognize the Historic Context Statement prepared in tandem with the General Plan Update. Periodically update the Statement to add recent historical events. Periodically update the Historic Context Statement prepared in tandem with the General Plan Update to add recent historic events.
Officially recognize the recent ly completed historical and archaeological resources survey prepared in tandem with the updated General Plan. Update and maintain the inventory using the City’s Geographic Information System (GIS).
Agency/Department: Community Development Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Cultural Resources &
Historic Preservation: 1.1, 1.3, 1.6, 3.1
Program I-23 Neighborhood Character Areas
Designate El Modena, Cypress Street Barrio, the Railroad/Packinghouse Corridor, and Orange Park Acres as Neighborhood Character Areas ( NCAs) by establishing an NCA overlay zone and appropriate standards and regulations in the Zoning Code.
Develop and administer design guidelines appropriate to each designated NCA.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department, City Council Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Complete by 20172025
Related Policies:
Cultural Resources &
Historic Preservation: 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
561
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-18 GPA 2010-0001 (8/10/10)
Program I-24 Community Character Design Elements
Update design guidelines to incorporate the elements of community design character that reflect Orange’s historic and cultural background. Require new development to incorporate the elements of the community’s character and design into its projects. Determine how to retrofit the existing commercial, industrial, institutional, and mixed -use areas to include the community character elements. Community character elements can include but are not limited to architectural style, landscape style, streetscape, and signage.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Urban Design: 3.2, 3.3, 4.5, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.6
Program I-25 Green Space Incentives
Seek and develop appropriate incentives for project applicants and developers that provide public access to private green spaces in new, infill, and existing development projects. Work to establish neighborhood identity through the use of green spaces.
Establish a program to transfer to the City, through land exchanges, purchases, or long -term no-fee leases, land that is not currently in productive use, such as derelict land, tax delinquent land, surplus road and highway rights -of-way, and other land located adjacent to existing open spaces, waterways, or trails.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department, Community Services Department
Funding Source: General Fund, grants, bond funding
Time Frame: Complete by 2016
Related Policies:
Land Use: 2.3, 2.8, 6.3, 6.4
Natural Resources: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 6.6, 7.1, 7.5
Urban Design: 3.5, 4.5
Program I-26 Joint-Use Agreements for Parks and Open
Space
Continue to implement and expand the use of joint-use agreements to increase the parks and open space resources available to Orange residents. Specifically, seek to expand joint -use agreements with the Orange Unified School District, Chapman University, Southern California Edison, and the Orange County Flood Control District. Investigate conversion or joint use of surplus or otherwise underutilized lands, including railroad and public utility right s-of-way, for open space use.
562
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-19
Agency/Department: City Manager’s Office, Community Services Department , Public Works Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Land Use: 7.6
Natural Resources: 1.2, 5.3
Program I-27 Fire Hazard Information, Prevention and
Suppression
Information:
• Continue to evaluate and update information available to the City regarding potential fire hazards and hazard areas.
• Provide public information regarding fire safety and defensible space surrounding residences and businesses.
• Support localized efforts to become a Firewise Community. • Continue to distribute the City’s Fire Master Plan Guidelines to developers. • Maintain the City’s mass emergency notification mechanism for the release of public information during a major event.
• Education the public about the designated evacuation routes throughout the City in the City’s “Know Your Way” plan and as shown on the Police Departments website.
Prevention:
• Use Wildland Fuel Modification guidelines for controlling vegetation in undeveloped areas, and Wildland Urban Interface Code and weed abatement standards.
Implement the adopted Vegetation Management Guideline – Technical Design for New Construction, Fuel Modification Plans, and Maintenance Program. Utilize Minimum Impact Suppression Techniques (MIST) for wildland urban interface wildfires to minimize unnecessary eradication of natural habitat. • Conduct pre-planning project review by City staff; implement the California Building and Fire Codes, as adopted and emended by City Council ordinance; conduct water supply assessments prior to new construction and fire flow testing after construction; condition of entitlements; enforce of defensible space requirements in the Very High Fire Severity Zone (VHFSZ) ; and adhere to development restrictions and maintenance requirements in the codified VHFSZ.
• Identify engineering vulnerabilities in overhead power lines for exposure to or threats of wildland fire.
563
IMPLEMENTATION
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IMP-20 GPA 2010-0001 (8/10/10)
• Obtain compliance with State Responsibility Area Fire Safe Regulations, the California Building and Fire Codes as adopted and amended by City Council ordinance, and the City’s Fire Master Plan Guidelines for legally non -confirming private properties as nexus is established to require improvements.
Suppression:
• Continue to utilize the City’s Emergency Operation Plans (EOP) via existing pre -plans including the Tustin -Orange Foothills Fire Plan, and the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Plans for Anaheim Hills East, Anaheim Hills West, Cowan Lemon Heights, and East Orange -Orange Park Acres. Continue to update and refine the area plans to reflect and adapt to plan-area fire history. Utilize the WUI pre-plans to prioritize asset protection when faced with a lack of suppression forces. • Maintain average response times, up -to-date technology, mutual aid agreements, coordinated regional communications systems, sufficient fire -fighting infastructure and personnel, and training.
• Use the Fire Department Deployment Plan.
• Continue to implement the short - and long-term steps identified in the Standards of Coverage Assessment created in 2015.
• Continue to implement the Strategic Plan for the Orange City Fire Department.
Agency/Department: Fire Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Public Safety: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 6.6, 6.7
Program I-29 Hazardous Materials Monitoring
Continue to assess risks associated with hazardous materials and develop mitigation measures accordingly. Identify hazardous material release sites and ensure that the sites are appropriately remediated.
Agency/Department: Fire Department, Public Works Department Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Public Safety: 4.1, 4.2, 4.3
564
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-21
Program I-30 Noise Regulations
Continue to enforce the City’s Noise Ordinance limits to limit the effect of noise on residential land uses. Revise the Zoning Ordinance to achieve the following:
▪ Limit the hours of deliveries to commercial, mixed use, and industrial uses adjacent to residential and other noise sensitive land uses;
▪ Limit the hours of operation for commercial/retail/entertainment uses to limit noise intrusion into nearby residential and other noise sensitive land uses; ▪ Limit the hours of operation of high noise-generating industrial equipment; ▪ Limit the hours of operation for refuse vehicles and parking lot sweepers if their activity results in an excessive noise level that adversely affects adjacent residential uses; ▪ Require the placement of loading and unloading areas so that commercial buildings shield nearby residential land uses from noise generated by loading dock and delivery activities. If necessary, additional sound barriers shall be constructed on the commercial sites to protect nearby noise sensitive uses;
▪ Require the placement of all commercial HVAC machinery to be placed within mechanical equipment rooms wherever possible. (Equipment manufacturer’s specifications for venting and access to outside air shall be maintained); and ▪ Require the provision of localized noise barriers or rooftop parapets around HVAC, cooling towers, and mechanical equipment so that line-of-sight to the noise source from the property line of the noise sensitive receptors is blocked. (Equipment manufacturer’s specifications for venting and access to outside air shall be maintained).
Agency/Department: Community Development Department, Police Department Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Noise: 1.4, 1.5, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.2, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4
Program I-31 Orange Public Library Programs
Continue to implement the City’s Public Library Facilities Master Plan (2002-2020). Continue to work to ensure that the California State Library–recommended standard of four volumes and
0.7 square foot per capita is maintained and that the City’s library services needs are met as future development occurs.
Continue to promote and provide additional resources for the Orange Public Library Local History Collection.
565
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-22 GPA 2010-0001 (8/10/10)
Maintain and enhance the Preservation Resource Center within the Orange Public Library & Local History Center that provides access to information about historic preservation regulations and benefits, technical assistance materials, and information about research methods and collections.
Agency/Department: Library Services Department
Funding Source: General Fund, private contributions
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation: 2.2, 3.1, 4.5, 4.6, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4. 5.5
Program I-32 Flood Control and Storm Drain Facilities
Continue to inspect storm drains, remove debris from catch basins as needed, and evaluate and monitor water storage facilities to determine if they pose a water inundation hazard.
Agency/Department: Public Works Department
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Natural Resources: 2.13, 2.14, 2.15, 2.17
Public Safety: 2.3
Infrastructure: 1.3, 1.6
Program I-33 Solid Waste and Recycling Services
Continue to contract for provision of solid waste and recycling services. Ensure that community needs for solid waste disposal and recycling are being met . Expand community outreach and education regarding residential recycling opportunities and household hazardous wastes.
Agency/Department: Public Works Department
Funding Source: General Fund, user fees
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Land Use: 7.4
Infrastructure: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
Program I-34 Noise Standards and Acoustical Studies
Review development proposals to ensure that the noise standards and compatibility criteria set forth in the Noise Element are met. Consult Noise Element guidelines and standards for noise compatible land uses to determine the suitability of proposed developments relative to existing and forecasted noise levels. Enforce the California Noise Insulation Standards to 566
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-23
ensure an acceptable interior noise level of 45 A-weighted decibels (dBA) community noise equivalent level (CNEL) in habitable rooms.
Develop noise impact analysis guidelines that describe the City’s desired procedure and format for acoustical studies. Acoustical studies will be required for all discretionary projects where any of the following apply:
▪ The project includes a noise-sensitive land use that is located within the existing or future 65 dBA CNEL contour for transportation noise sources.
▪ The project will cause future traffic volumes to increase by 25 percent or more on any roadway that fronts residential, institutional, or open space land uses. ▪ The project will expose a noise-sensitive land use to a stationary noise source or vibration source exceeding the standards outlined in the Noise Element. Such stationary sources may include mechanical equipment operations, entertainment venues, industrial facilities, and property maintenance.
▪ The project includes a noise-sensitive land use in the vicinity of existing or proposed commercial and industrial areas.
▪ The project is a mixed-use development that includes a residential component. The focus of this type of acoustical study is to determine likely interior and exterior noise levels and to recommend appropriate design features to reduce noise.
An acoustical analysis prepared in accordance with the Noise Element shall:
▪ Be the financial responsibility of the applicant seeking City approval of a project; ▪ Be prepared by a qualified person experienced in the fields of environmental noise assessment and architectural acoustics;
▪ Include representative noise level measurements with sufficient sampling periods and locations to adequately describe local conditions and predominant noise sources; ▪ Estimate existing and projected cumulative (20 years) noise in terms of CNEL or Leq, and compare those noise levels to the adopted standards and policies of the Noise Element; ▪ Recommend appropriate mitigation to achieve compliance with the adopted policies and standards of the Noise Element. Where the noise source in question consists of intermittent single events, the report must address the effects of maximum noise levels in sleeping rooms in terms of possible sleep disturbance; ▪ Estimate noise exposure after the prescribed mitigation measures have been implemented; and
▪ Describe a post-project assessment program that could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed mitigation measures.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department
567
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-24 GPA 2010-0001 (8/10/10)
Funding Source: Development fees
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Land Use: 3.4, 6.10
Noise: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 3.1, 5.1, 6.1
Program I-35 Climate Action Plan
The City of Orange shall d evelop and adopt a Climate Action Plan (CAP) . The CAP will have two primary objectives: (1) reduce total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the City by at least 15 percent from current levels by 2020 , and (2) create adaptation strategies to address the likely impacts of climate change on the City, such as increased risk of flooding, diminished water supplies, increased risks of wildfire, and risks to public health. The CAP will contain the following chapters:
Climate Change and Orange —The first chapter of the CAP will outline the City’s rationale and motivation for addressing climate change by developing and implementing the CAP. The chapter will provide a brief overview of the science behind climate change, will describe the potential impacts that climate change may create in Orange, and will outline state policy mandates to reduce GHG emissions.
Baseline GHG Emissions Inventory and Forecast — In this chapter, the City will calculate GHG emissions for the base year, forecast emissions in 2020 under a business -as-usual scenario, and describe the GHG reductions necessary to achieve the City’s adopted target. The City will make best efforts to evaluate all reasonable sources of GHG emissions. The chapter will identify GHG emissions and target levels per sector. Sectors to be described in the inventory will include municipal operations, residential, commercial, industrial buildings, motor vehicles, and waste. This inventory and forecast shall provide a benchmark for planning and monitoring progress in government operations and the community. The GHG inventory shall be conducted using a methodology consistent with that used by other local governments and will be completed within 1 year after the effective date of adoption of the General Plan.
GHG Emissions Policies and Measures — This chapter will describe the policies and measures that are necessary to reduce GHG emissions in the City and achieve the reduction target.
Policies and measures will be created with public input from all stakeholders. Each measure will be enforceable, include a timeline, describe financing mechanisms, and assign responsibility to relevant agencies and departments. In addition to direct GHG reduction measures, the chapter will incorporate public education efforts to raise awareness on the importance of minimizing GHG emissions and methods for reducing emissions from individual lifestyles. These policies and measures will be developed within two years after the effective date of adoption of the General Plan. The effectiveness of policies and measures will be evaluated annually and will be modified as necessary to achieve the City’s reduction goals.
Because the CAP is to be implemented over a period of several years, it is likely that the scientific, federal, and state policy frameworks surrounding climate change measures will 568
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-25
evolve. The CAP will adapt its policies, measures, and programs to ensure successful reduction of GHG emissions, protection of the City, and compliance with regulations.
Protection and Adaptation Strategies—The fourth chapter of the CAP will describe strategies that will be used to protect the City from and facilitate adaptation to the potential effects of climate change. Potential effects to be evaluated include but are not limited to sea level rise, increased frequency and magnitude of flooding, diminished water supply, habitat loss, and possible effects on public health and the local economy. Each measure will include a timeline, describe financing mechanisms, and assign responsibility to relevant agencies and departments.
Benchmarks and Next Steps —In conclusion, the CAP will identify benchmarks, monitoring procedures, and other steps needed to ensure the City achieves its GHG reduction, protection, and adaptation goals. Monitoring and verifying progress on the GHG emissions reduction measures will be conducted on an annual basis. Monitoring will provide important feedback that can be used to demonstrate overall progress toward emissions reduction targets and improve measures over time. Benchmarks will be established to serve as intermediate goals and to motivate compliance with City and private -sector reduction targets. Benchmarks for strategic responses to climate change impacts should be based on the expected time scale of the specific impact and will be established during the development of individual strategic plans.
CAP Relationship to the General Plan —Implementation strategies identified in the CAP will be incorporated as implementation measures of the General Plan through amendment within one year of completion. Revisions to CAP policies and measures and subordinate strategic programs may require further General Plan amendments.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department
Funding Source: General Fund, grants and state assistance (if available) Time Frame: To be developed and adopted by December 31, 2012 Related Policies: See those policies identified in Table NR-1
Program I-36 Park Dedication Ordinance
Adopt a parkland dedication ordinance that requires dedication of parkland at a ratio of 3.0 acres per 1,000 population or payment of in-lieu fees, pursuant to Quimby Act requirements.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department, Community Services Department
569
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-26 GPA 2010-0001 (8/10/10)
Funding Source: General Fund
Time Frame: Complete by 20132020
Related Policies:
Natural Resources: 5.6, 5.7
Program I-37 Vehicle Noise Reduction
Implement the following strategies to reduce vehicular traffic noise throughout the City:
▪ Review and designate local truck routes to reduce truck traffic in noise sensitive land uses areas.
▪ Consider the use of traffic calming devices, to reduce traffic speed in residential zones. ▪ Consider the use of alternative paving materials, such as open graded asphalt, to reduce traffic noise where determined feasible and cost efficient.
Agency/Department: Public Works Department , Community Services Department
Funding Source: State and federal grants, Development fees Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Noise: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5
570
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-27
II. Physical Improvements and Capital Projects
Program II-1 Capital Improvement Program
Continue to implement and update the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) to:
▪ Address phasing, construction, and maintenance of improvements to roadways, infrastructure, streetscapes, signage, and City-owned parks throughout the City; ▪ Acquire and expend funds from available transportation financing and other programs to assist in financing new roadways and trails;
▪ Manage construction of new parks and improvements to current parklands and park facilities;
▪ Facilitate construction of a network of multi-use trails that connects the City’s parks and open spaces;
▪ Improve and expand Orange Public Library facilities;
▪ Ensure timely completion of required roadway infrastructure associated with new and infill development;
▪ Maintain City-owned and operated facilities; and
▪ Maintain publicly owned potential and listed historic resources.
Use the 75-year CIP process to prioritize, finance, and complete roadway, infrastructure, and parks projects identified in the CIP. Update the CIP on an annual basis to respond to changes in local priorities and available funding sources. Require future CIP update processes to include a public outreach component.
Agency/Department: All departments
Funding Source: General Fund , transportation funds, and grants , as identified in the CIP. Secondary sources include special revenue funds (such as Proposition 172, Renewed
Measure M Funds), gas tax funds, enterprise funds, and
capital improvement funds.
Time Frame: Ongoing, with annual updates in -cycle with City budget process
Related Policies:
Land Use: 1.7, 2.5, 2.6, 5.4, 5.6, 5.7, 5.9, 6.3, 6.7, 6.8, 8.1, 8.3 Circulation and Mobility: 1.1, 1.6, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 4.1, 4.6, 4.8, 5.1 Natural Resources: 6.1, 6.6
Cultural Resources &
Historic Preservation: 1.6, 3.5, 5.1, 5.2
Urban Design: 4.3, 4.4
Economic Development: 2.4, 6.1, 6.2
Infrastructure: 1.1
Growth Management: 1.2, 1.11, 2.2
571
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-28 GPA 2010-0001 (8/10/10)
Program II-2 Metropolitan Drive Extension
To further improve circulation near The Block at Orange shopping area and to improve access to Interstate 5 , extend Metropolitan Drive from The City Drive/State College Boulevard to the Metropolitan Drive/Rampart Street connection.
Agency/Department: Public Works Department
Funding Source: Determined by CIP
Time Frame: Determined by CIP
Related Policies:
Circulation & Mobility: 1.1, 2.1, 2.2
Program II-3 Santiago Creek Bike Trail
Complete additional segments of a bike trail adjacent to Santiago Creek to extend through the City along the creek, and connect the regional Santa Ana River trail to Santiago Oaks Regional Park and wilderness areas east of Orange.
Agency/Department: Community Services Department
Funding Source: Determined by Recreational Trails Master Plan Time Frame: Determined by Recreational Trails Master Plan Related Policies:
Circulation & Mobility: 4.1, 4.4, 4.5
Natural Resources: 6.1, 6.2
Program II-4 Pedestrian and Bicycle Amenities
Provide appropriate bicycle and pedestrian amenities along City bikeways, trails, and sidewalks. Specific amenities may include bicycle racks, bicycle storage, water fountains, benches, trash cans, and emergency call boxes. Encourage private development projects to provide these amenities as well, especially within mixed -use areas and along the City’s commercial corridors.
Identify a range of funding opportunities to enable extension of existing trails and development of new trails.
Agency/Department: Community Services Department , Community Development Department, Public Works Department
Funding Source: General Fund, grants
Time Frame: Ongoing
572
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-29
Related Policies:
Circulation & Mobility: 4.2, 4.4
Natural Resources: 2.8, 6.1, 6.6
Public Safety: 9.1, 9.3
Growth Management: 1.9
Program II-5 Emergency Operations Center
Maintain, equip, and update the Emergency Operations Center on an ongoing basis to improve public safety and response by agencies.
Continue to train, license, and/or certify Police and Fire Department staff via programs or drills meeting standards of or available through the Emergency Operation Center (EOC).
Agency/Department: City Manager’s Office, Fire Department, Police Department
Funding Source: General Fund, state and federal funds, grants Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Public Safety: 1.2, 3.4, 3.6, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.5, 6.6, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4
Program II-6 Correct Sewer System Deficiencies
Repair and improve all areas that were identified in the 2012 Sewer Master Plan Update as having system deficiencies based on available resources and continue to identify anticipated deficiencies in the system. The City will make improvements to areas with frequent blockages or “hot-spots.” Developers shall also be required to pay the cost of providing new and improved wastewater services to project sites.
Agency/Department: Public Works Department
Funding Source: State and federal grant funds, Development fees Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Infrastructure: 1.1, 1.2, 1.6
573
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-30 GPA 2010-0001 (8/10/10)
III. Conditions or Requirements Placed upon Applicants
during Development Review
Program III-1 California Environmental Quality Act
Comply with all provisions of CEQA. In addition to thresholds that may be established or adopted by the City in the future, use the following thresholds and procedures for CEQA analysis of proposed projects, consistent with policies adopted within the General Plan:
▪ Circulation & Mobility
o In accordance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.3, the City shall utilize vehicle miles traveled (VMT), to measure transportation impacts. o A project would result in a significant project -generated VMT impact if the baseline and/or cumulative project-generated VMT per service population exceeds the City of Orange General Plan Buildout VMT per service population. o The project’s effect on VMT would be considered significant if it resulted in baseline and/or cumulative link-level boundary citywide VMT per service population increases under the plus project condition compared to the no project condition. ▪ Parks and Recreation
o The City shall require dedication of parkland at a rate of 3 .0 acres per 1,000 anticipated residents or payment of in-lieu fees for new residential projects. ▪ Noise
o The City shall apply the noise standards specified in Table s N-3 and N-4 of the Noise Element to proposed projects analyzed under CEQA.
o In addition to the foregoing, an increase in ambient noise levels is assumed to be a significant noise impact if a proposed project causes ambient noise levels to exceed the following:
▪ Where the existing ambient noise level is less than 6 5 dBA, a project related permanent increase in ambient noise levels of 5 dBA CNEL or greater. ▪ Where the existing ambient noise level is greater than 65 dBA, a project related permanent increase in ambient noise levels of 3 dBA CNEL or greater. ▪ Historic and Cultural Resources
o “Historical resource” for the purposes of CEQA shall mean “historic district” in the case of a contributor to a historic district.
o Historic resources listed in the Historic Register shall have a presumption of significance pursuant to CEQA Section 21084.1 and shall be treated as historical resources under CEQA.
o The historical significance of an archaeological historic resource is evaluated using the criteria of Public Resource s Code Section 5024.1 and Section 15064.5 et seq. of the state CEQA Guidelines.
574
IMPLEMENTATION
ORANGE GENERAL PLAN
IMP-31
All future development proposals shall be reviewed by the City for potential regional and local air quality impacts per CEQA. If potential impacts are identified, mitigation will be required to reduce the impact to a level less than significant, where technically and economically feasible.
Agency/Department: Community Development Department, Public Works Department, Community Services Department
Funding Source: General Fund, development fees
Time Frame: Ongoing
Related Policies:
Circulation & Mobility: 1.1, 1.2
Natural Resources: 2.2, 2.8, 5.6
Cultural Resources &
Historic Preservation: 1.1, 1.3
Noise: 1.4
Growth Management: 1.1, 2.1