Old Escondido Neighborhood Group

About our association

Who we are and what we do:

The Old Escondido Neighborhood Group is a California non-profit corporation that was created in 1987 to protect, preserve and promote the Historic Early Residential Area of the City of Escondido.

More about us as conceived by those who started the OENG

The following was drafted by the original incorporators of the Old Escondido Neighborhood Group. The statement outlines the goals that motivated these OENG residents to form the neighborhood group and to lobby the City Council for the creation of the Historic District.

The Old Escondido Neighborhood Group was formed to promote, preserve and protect the Old Escondido Historic District (OEHD). We believe this area constitutes an important resource for the City of Escondido; one that can appreciably increase in significance and importance with time. OEHD must receive the appropriate encouragement and support for this to occur. The wide tree-lined streets and historic homes dating back to the 19th century offer a distinctive historic resource, an aesthetically attractive area to be integrated with a revitalized downtown, a nostalgic reminder of a special time (and place) in all our past, and a readily available source of low and moderate income housing opportunities for both first time and senior home buyers. We believe that the recommendations adopted for Escondido's new comprehensive General Plan will exert a critical influence on the fate of the OEHD over the next 15-20 years.

The OEHD encompasses the area bounded by Fifth Avenue to the north, 13th Avenue to the south, Escondido Boulevard to the west and Chestnut Street to the east. For practical planning purposes the western border should extend to the commercial boundary along South Escondido Boulevard.

To maximize the mutual benefits accrued, a firm commitment must be made by both the City of Escondido and concerned citizens to protect and improve the OEHD over the coming years. The City of Escondido must assume the lead in making this commitment and undertake a course of action that demonstrates this commitment.

While the OEHD requires recognition as a unique and distinct area within our city, it cannot be considered in a vacuum. The OEHD should be treated as a distinct and separate district for purposes such as historic preservation and architectural review. It must also be carefully integrated into the surrounding areas of the city - particularly with regard to long range planning. This includes the overall downtown revitalization plans, a comprehensive plan for the promotion and development of the South Escondido Boulevard corridor, and a proactive approach to traffic and site use along South Juniper Street. OEHD should be specifically recognized as a special planning area, emphasizing its unique identity.

OEHD requires special protection through an effective historic preservation ordinance that will prevent the demolition or alteration of recognized and significant historical structures. Further OEHD requires an architectural review process which will maintain and enhance the flavor and charm of the district by ensuring compatible architectural plans. This process should involve both the city and staff and OEHD residents. In keeping with these aims, two positions on the Historic Preservation Policy Committee should be filled by OEHD representatives.
The OEHD should be a predominantly pedestrian based, owner-occupied, single family residential area. This will best realize the area's fullest potential and offer maximum benefit to local residents as well as to the City overall. The OEHD must be effectively integrated with the commercial strip along South Escondido Boulevard and with the civic facilities , retail and professional areas to the north. Juniper Street requires special attention. We must prevent this street from becoming a major traffic artery that will bisect the district and another commercial strip that will further threaten the historic, predominantly residential, nature of this important thoroughfare. Every effort should be made to promote the sense of the OEHD as a unique neighborhood and to enhance its pedestrian usage. The City should institute long-term planning which furthers the identification of OEHD as a special neighborhood and a civic showplace. Immediate plans should provide for: special signage, distinctive street lighting, median landscaping programs, sidewalk extensions, bench and drinking fountain installations, alley clean-up programs, and creation of pocket parks. Other programs to enhance the area could be accomplished by active community groups as extensive tree plantings and neighborhood clean-up efforts. These are examples of short-term efforts that can be made within the OEHD. These efforts will exert a significant and dramatic impact towards the attainment of our long-term goals.

To help promote preservation, the City in conjunction with community groups and the private sector should aggressively develop programs that will encourage home ownership and renovation of the existing housing stock with the OEHD. This could be accomplished through a variety of approaches such as urban homestead programs, the use of tax increment set aside funds for down payment and renovation loans, and the use of City guarantees for private financing. Adjacent to or within the OEHD are special areas that should be recognized as transition zones. The area between Second and Fifth Avenues to the north contains historic residences as well as business and professional buildings. To better integrate the OEHD into the downtown area, the current downtown revitalization efforts regarding lighting, sidewalk improvement and design should be extended along Broadway and Juniper Street s into the OEHD. The South Escondido Boulevard corridor, although primarily retail, is immediately bordered by residential areas. This area is currently in decline and requires a comprehensive development plan similar to the study performed for this area in the 1970's to guide its presumed emergence as a major north-south artery between North County Fair and a rejuvenated downtown.

The impact on adjacent areas of the OEHD must be carefully considered while drafting this plan. Several highly rated historic residential structures are concentrated along South Juniper between Second and Tenth Avenues. These are threatened by increasing street traffic and encroaching commercial usage. With proper planning, these transition zones could facilitate the smooth blending of neighborhood uses and visually ease the OEHD into the surrounding areas.

The time to act is now. A firm commitment by the City to OEHD is essential to prevent the progressive decline of this lovely area and the loss of an irreplaceable and valuable civic and human resource. This process should begin with but not be limited to recognition in the general plan by single-family residential zoning and special planning status for the Old Escondido Historic District. This must be followed by clear-cut, firm instruction from the City Council to the appropriate City staff members and departments to establish the specific mechanisms by which the ideas discussed herein can be implemented now and over the next 20 years.

One other thing:

The OENG is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation