2 - COMBINED PUBLIC COMMENTS_2525 N MAIN STREET

Home Browse Search

2525 North Main Street January 14, 2019 Page 16 Historic Neighborhood The City of Santa Ana has two National Register Districts, Downtown Santa Ana and French Park. Park Santiago is not a registered historic district. A total of 32 historic homes have been documented in Park Santiago of the approximately 1,173 homes in the neighborhood with the majority of the homes being more than 50 years old. As part of the EIR (Section 4.4), Cogstone prepared a Historic Resources Report and concluded that the historic homes in Park Santiago will not have the setting and feeling aspects of integrity reduced by construction of the proposed project and thus there is no reduction in the historic significance of the homes. Future opportunity for the neighborhood to become a historic district still remains and is a public benefit deal point in the Development Agreement. Project Access Vehicular access is proposed via a driveway on Main Street which would only allow for right‐in and right‐out turn movements as Main Street has a median that separates north‐south street traffic. As proposed, to enter the site when traveling southbound on Main Street residents would have to make a U‐turn at Edgewood Road, and to exit the development and travel southbound on Main Street residents would have make a right‐hand turn (northbound on Main Street) and make a U‐turn at Walkie Way or Main Place Drive. The Traffic Impact Analysis prepared for the project analyzed the impacts of having Main Street as the sole and primary access point and found that operations would not exceed a threshold of significance (DEIR Access Option A). Use of Santiago Park The applicant is proposing secondary access through Santiago Park which would utilize the existing traffic signal at Main Street and Walkie Way/Santiago Park Drive. This would allow for all directional movements to and from the property and reduce the U‐turn movements described above. This access option, is not a required element for the project, however it was studied as a secondary access option (DEIR Access Option B) in the Traffic Impact Analysis and found to have a less than significant impact. Various portions of the park were developed with Land & Water Conservation grant funding. As a result, a 6(f)(3) boundary map placed the entire park under federal protection to be preserved as outdoor recreational use. Any proposed changes to the park, such as the proposed vehicular access, will require review by the City's Parks & Recreation Department, the Office of Grants and Local Services and National Park Service and replacement of land with new park land of equal utility and value. The estimated square footage to improve the park for vehicular access is 10,000 square feet, in turn the applicant is proposing to provide 10,000 square feet of their property to the City for park purposes. At this time, the City has not been begun conversations with the Office of Grants and Local Services or the National Park Service, but the City would support use of the park as long as replacement parkland is provided and monetary funds are contributed to the City for Santiago Park Maintenance & Improvements. Commented [DH56]: Park Santiago is a Historical resource and it should be treated as such. Under CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.5(a), the term “historical resources” includes the following: 1) A resource listed in, or determined to be eligible by the State Historical Resources Commission, for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources (Public Resources Code, Section 5024.1). 2) A resource included in a local register of historical resources, as defined in Section 5020.1(k) of the Public Resources Code or identified as significant in a historical resource survey meeting the requirements of Section 5024.1(g) of the Public Resources Code, will be presumed to be historically or culturally significant. Public agencies must treat any such resource as significant unless the preponderance of evidence demonstrates that it is not historically or culturally significant. The EIR response to this is: “This policy [Urban Design Element Policy 2.4 ] is not relevant to the proposed project. As described in Section 4.4, Cultural/Historic Resources, Park Santiago is not identified by the General Plan or other City designation as a historic district.” ... [1] Commented [DH57]: The only way to access the property from the north is to make a U‐turn. This is absurd. Commented [DH58]: Likewise, the only way to travel south is to make a U‐turn at Walkie Way or Main Place Drive. Commented [DH59]: An example from the Traffic Analysis in regards ot the access at the 22 Freeway: “With the addition of project traffic, the intersection would continue to operate at an unsatisfactory LOS E in the a.m. peak hour and LOS F in the p.m. peak hour. Therefore, and the proposed project would not result in exceedance of the Caltrans criteria, and no ... [2] Commented [DH60]: This secondary access should be fully understood prior to making a determination as to the feasibility of implementing it. It could drastically change the layout of the entire Northern area of the property. Commented [DH61]: The applicant should assume this would happen and plan accordingly.