Changes Part Two

It’s interesting to see that Huntington Beach is looking to save, by virtue of a zoning overlay, what’s left of the historic flavor of its main drag. Sadly, traditional craftsman homes with big front porches are giving way to stucco McMansions fueled by a seemingly never-ending reservoir of home equity.

The grass roots movement there is the brainchild of local homeowner Nuuana Robinson. Distraught over the remodeling frenzy and what it will do to Huntington Beach’s charm, she laments that soon, “you won’t know if you’re in Irvine or Tustin”. Yikes. Should we be smug or horrified that our fair hamlet has been figuratively attached to our intensely manicured southern neighbor?

One thing it does make clear - like just about everyone else outside our city, Ms. Robinson has no idea we have Old Town. Or at the very least, Old Town does not resonate as integral to Tustin’s image (unlike, say, Orange).

Is that a good or bad? After all, flying under the radar is a time-honored way of achieving one’s goals with the least amount of interference. I think our historic residential areas are magnificent. And by definition, keeping it ‘our little secret’ has no doubt played a role in keeping them that way.

On the other hand, defying the advance of civilization has kept Main and El Camino Real perilously close to ghost town status for as long as anyone can remember. This is especially dangerous because it’s been proven elsewhere that historical residential and commercial districts each tend to perish without the other. Meeting friends at the new WalMart parking lot for the Promenade walking tour rings a bit hollow.

Last post I mentioned that the phrase “nothing much has really changed downtown” is often overheard when discussing Old Town.

While downtown merchants are ardent supporters of our city government, one thing is pretty clear. Leaving downtown to its own devices and hoping for bootstrapped organic growth, or at least meaningful change, has proven to be overwhelmingly unsuccessful over the past twenty plus years – and this mostly during an economic boom. Witness the amount of undeveloped land in prime locations throughout the area. Some of you may point to Prospect Village, but even that took 30 years and only after the city bought and resold the property. Which ironically supports my point.

Old Town merchants and residents would argue that its probably time for city hall to be actively involved in leading, versus simply supporting, change in Old Town if we are at all serious about preserving this unique asset; a policy already embraced by a number of other Orange County municipalities. 

Much like the efforts being made around City Center (and of course, the District), the city can adjust zoning language to leverage change. Things like incenting commercial property owners to lease to the correct tenants (see last post) or potentially fining them for intentionally leaving land undeveloped (blight) for long periods of time are among many ideas that need to be legitimately explored. Ideas that are only worth debating if city government is willing to swing a benevolent big stick for the greater good. 

With all due respect to Ms. Robinson, we are not Irvine, or Santa Ana for that matter. We are Tustin. But if we were to lose Old Town, it will be that much harder for anyone to tell the difference.

As always, see you on Main Street.

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