CORRESPONDENCE - 75E (GENERAL COMMENTS)

Home Browse Search

Received at City Council Meeting 2/19/2019 September 15, 2018 Vince Fregoso, Associate Planner City of Santa Ana Planning and Building Agency 20 Civic Center Plaza, Ross Annex (M-20) PC Box 1088 Santa Ana, CA 92702 Sent by first class mail and email Re: Magnolia at the Park Multi -Family Residential Project; 2525 N. Main Street; ECH#2010021031 Dear Mr. Fregoso, This letter is in response to the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the project identified above. The comments provided below focus on the project's impacts to Aesthetics, Land Use Planning, and Transportation as well as the project Alternatives as detailed below: Aesthetics: The impact conclusions pertaining to Aesthetics are inconsistent within the DEIR. Section 1.5 of the DEIR states that "due to the project's location adjacent to Santiago Park and Edgewood Road near N. Bush Street [the project] would result in a substantial difference in scale, height, and property setbacks that is considered significant pursuant to the City's criteria related to visual character. Thus, the visual change in height, scale, and setbacks from Santiago Park, Edgewood Road, and N. Bush Street that would result from the proposed project would be significant and unavoidable." Table 1-1 in DEIR Section 1.7 then lists Impact AES -2 as "leas than significant". Conversely, Section 4.1 (pp. 4.1-18 and 4.1-28) states that the impact is significant and unavoidable. Correction to the Section 1.7 is required.. CEQA requires under Section 21002 that a lead agency not approve projects if there are feasible mitigation measures available which would substantially lessen the significant environmental effects of a project. The DEIR identifies Mitigation Measure AES -1 to reduce the impact through the preservation of trees and extension of a wall along the eastern boundary. The project's significant impacts are due to the visual change in height, scale and setback. The DEIR fails to identify mitigation measures to specifically address these impacts. Mitigation measures which specifically address these impacts, such as increasing the setbacks, reconfiguration of thebuilding on the site or a reduction in height, should be analyzed and included. Land Use Planning: As stated on DEIR page 4.7-14, the project would have an impact if it conflictjsj with any applicable land use plan, policy, or regulation of an agency with jurisdiction over the project (including, but not limited to the general plan, specific plan, local coastal program, or zoning ordinance) adopted to the purpose of avoiding or mitigating an environmental effect; or if the Project is inconsistent with General Plan policies." Santa Ana General Pian Policy 2.2 states that new development most be consistent with the scale, bulk, and pattern of existing development" and Policy 2.11 states that "new developments most reinforce or help establish district character." The analysis of these policies