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residents will strengthen the case for a grocery store like a Trader Joe's to consider the area. I personally would not like <br />it at that location simply because of the traffic generation but there certainly are other areas that could possibly support <br />it. <br />Key Comparisons- 2525 vs Current Zoning <br />When comparing the current proposed housing development versus the existing zoning of a 3 -story office building, it is <br />important to consider the following: <br />• Traffic- An office building of this size will produce more traffic than the 2525 proposal. If traffic is a concern <br />of the opposition, then they should not be in favor of the current zoning but instead be in favor of something <br />else. A 3 -story office building as allowed under the current zoning simply has the potential to be much worse for <br />our community traffic -wise as compared to a residential alternative. Certainly, the residential proposal may <br />generate more traffic during off-peak times such as late night and weekends but that is not when traffic is <br />bad/worst on Main Street ... it is bad during peak commute times which is where a residential development has a <br />better traffic impact as compared to the existing office use. <br />• Traffic Flow- An office building will not have just one entrance on Main. Instead, it will have its entrance on <br />Edgewood as is currently provided for. They may be able to add a secondary entrance on Main, however since <br />the entrance is already on Edgewood, a developer of the property as an office building can keep it there. This <br />appears to be worse for the Park Santiago neighborhood and the resulting cut through traffic. Not to mention <br />that those travelling North on 1-5 will simply exit 17th Street and cut all the way through Park Santiago making a <br />morning commute even worse with cut through traffic. With the current Main Street only exit/entrance, the cut <br />through traffic, although likely not eliminated, should be significantly less than the existing proposal. <br />• Parking- An office building of this size will likely provide enough parking for tenants and guests. However, <br />this size of a building will also often have paid parking. This means that some guests and even some tenants <br />may be tempted to save the parking fees and park in the residential area. Overflow parking is a concern of the <br />neighbors but it should also be a concern under the existing allowed zoning. With the residential usage, there <br />seems to be ample parking with the new proposal (2 spots per unit) whereas with an office usage there will be <br />an economic advantage by parking in the Park Santiago streets because they will be able to save parking money. <br />• Green Space- We all love green space. I believe that the current housing development proposal would <br />provide for more overall green space. Now, it will not necessarily be public greenspace, but it will be good for <br />the environment and since the Park Santiago residents may be able to use it, it may also be good for them in <br />certain instances. Currently, the property is a dilapidated and underutilized office building and a surface parking <br />lot- a lot of asphalt. A new development will certainly bring more greenspace to the corner lot. <br />Low Income Housing Fees- We have a lot of concern about housing the homeless and otherwise our city's <br />homeless problems in our area town. An office redevelopment will not provide the in -lieu of fees associated <br />with a multi -family residential development. These fees, which likely will exceed $6M, will help our city with our <br />affordable housing crisis. <br />Y Visual Appearance- 2525 will be situated next to a very charming and historic neighborhood and in close <br />proximity to others. Looks are important to neighbors. The develop has expressed his availability to discuss the <br />visual appearance of the project, however I do not believe that anyone from NSAPA took him up on this <br />offer. Additionally, will a 3 story, 387 square foot office building provide all that much of a better visual <br />experience as you enter Park Santiago? We also must consider that even though the setback against Spurgeon <br />may be larger in an office usage, they will likely have 3 stories at that setback line as opposed to the proposed 2 - <br />story building under the 2525 proposal <br />• Availability of Housing- Yes, the prices of these apartments will be high. They may be the highest in Santa <br />Ana. They are also in an area of town that has the highest single family residence values in the city. Our city is in <br />need of housing. Our city is need of all types of housing. By having more supply of housing, even premium <br />priced housing, we should see some relief of housing stock. Plus, it will help due to the low income housing fees <br />paid by the developer to provide even more housing. <br />• Population Density- Sure, an office building will not bring additional housing to Santa Ana on that site. We <br />will hear folks say that Santa Ana is already so very densely populated. Well, our end of town is an outlier in <br />Santa Ana. The Park Santiago neighborhood has a density of 7.19K per square mile, West Floral Park is at 6.21K <br />per square mile while Floral Park is at 5.85K per mile (all according to this research site: <br />https://statisticalatias.com/place/California/Santa-Ana/Population) . The average for Santa Ana is 12.29K per <br />square mile. Some neighborhoods have population density of in excess of 40K per mile (Cornerstone Village at <br />63.13K, 41.96K for Willard, etc ... our end of town is definitely an outlier and much less densely populated than <br />4 <br />