CORRESPONDENCE - 75E (IN OPPOSITION)

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Orozco, Norma From: Plantamura (US), Michael < Sent: Monday, February 18, 2019 4:16 PM To: eComment Cc: Plantamura (US), Michael Subject: Agenda Item 75E 2525 Main Street Project Comment Please include my comments against this massive project and make sure that the Councilmembers have received a copy of them prior to the February 191h meeting. Thank you. My wife and I have lived in the Park Santiago neighborhood of Santa Ana for more than 14 years. We fell in love with the neighborhood the first time we saw it and really love living here in this quaint jewel of Santa Ana where the neighbors are close, friendly, warm and passionate about their neighborhood. I am writing this letter to you because on February 19th you and your fellow Councilmembers will be asked to make a very important decision on a proposed high density, multi- family 496 unit apartment complex known as 2525 North Main Street Project at the gateway to our lovely neighborhood. On January 14th, the Santa Ana Planning Commission rejected and voted against the 2525 North Main Street project as planned and presented and cited the density disparity and the significantly negative impact that the development, as currently planned, would have on the Park Santiago neighborhood. In response, the Developer has decided to move forward with this project to bring it before the Santa Ana City Council in the hopes that the Councilmembers will reject the Santa Ana Planning Commission's recommendation and vote to approve the project as it currently stands. On February 19`h you will be presented with a very important decision to make. This is a decision that I know you will take very seriously and consider the impact your decision will have on the residents of my community, a decision that you will make in a matter of hours, however one that will have a lifetime impact on the residents of the Park Santiago neighborhood. As has been voiced by a vast majority of the residents of Park Santiago, we are not against development, however what we want is responsible development. The proposed 2525 North Main Street Project, which currently adds a 496 unit apartment complex with a density of 84 units per acre right at the doorstep of our community of single family homes with a density of 7 units per acre, is not responsible development. It is the disparity in the densities and the subsequent negative effect this brings that are of most concern to the residents of Park Santiago. This reflects the fact that the Planning Department's project management staff failed to enlist the residents of Park Santiago early in the planning stages of the project and also showed a distinct partiality to the Developer and his desires for the project. The project as currently planned will never be accepted by the residents of Park Santiago. I believe that you would agree that a project that addresses the concerns of the Park Santiago residents, one that would be welcomed by the neighborhood as part of the neighborhood is the best outcome for all involved, the Park Santiago residents, the apartment owners and operators, the apartment residents and the City of Santa Ana. In the remainder of this letter I will point out issues with the project and with the project management team's approach and process in bringing this project to the City Council for action, evidence that the project management staff failed in their fiduciary responsibility to the residents of Santa Ana in general and Park Santiago specifically, instead demonstrated a true bias in favor of the Developer. What I am asking you to do is to reject the proposal as it currently stands and request the Planning Commission and the project management staff to work on a new proposal that will realistically address the major concerns of the community. It has become quite obvious that the project management staff has demonstrated by its actions over the course of the project planning a distinct favoritism for the Developer and a disregard of the concerns of the residents of Park Santiago. As admitted by the project management's staff, from the onset this property was advertised to the Developer that, even though the property was currently zoned as Professional, the zoning will be changed to multi -family residential with unlimited height and density. The property currently is zoned with a height restriction of 3 stories and the neighborhood, of which it is part, is zoned with a maximum height of 2 stories and density of 7 units per acre (1-I1-7). How can any reasonable Planning Department representative provide a Developer basically )2,S