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KARA GRANT LAW <br />17595 Harvard, Suite C-202 39 Irvine, California 92614 <br />tel 1 949.579.9330 fax 1 949.769.6689 email I kara@grant-law.net <br />VIA E-MAIL <br />October 14, 2019 <br />City of Santa Ana <br />Attn: Clerk of the Council <br />20 Civic Center Plaza — M30 <br />Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br />eomments@santa-ana.org <br />skelaherC(�sanfa-atut.org <br />RE: Comments for the Hearing Before the City Council on Appeal Application <br />No. 2019-03 — Russell Fischer Commercial Center Project — 325 & 301 North <br />Tustin Avenue. <br />Dear Mayor Miguel A. Pulido and Members of the Council: <br />The City of Santa Ana, along with the project owner/applicant, Russell Fischer, LP, as well as <br />representative of the owner/applicant, Richard Finkel of Bundy -Finkel Associates (collectively, the <br />"Applicant'), have attempted to evade environmental review under the California Environmental <br />Quality Act ("CEQA") by analyzing and approving a project in piecemeal fashion. In 2016, the <br />Applicant initially applied to obtain changes to the general plan and zoning (for multiple properties) so <br />the Applicant could demolish all existing uses on 301 and 325 N. Tustin Avenue and build a new gas <br />station, convenience store and retail building (the "Original Project'). The results of an Initial Study <br />required the City to adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration to comply with CEQA, and granted the <br />approvals requested. The City was required to adopt an MND because absent mitigation measures the <br />Original Project would have a substantial impact on the environment, including due to hazardous <br />materials released during demolition of the existing structures and due to Native American cultural and <br />historical resources during grading and construction. <br />In 2019—at the last minute before development —the Applicant submitted a "revised plan" <br />which proposed to "replace" the proposed retail building on 301 N. Tustin with a massive automated car <br />wash (the "Revised Project'). The City proceeded to ignore the portions of the project that had already <br />been implemented —including the general plan and zoning changes —determined the Revised Project <br />