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Mitre -Ramirez, Norma Subject: RE: Opposition to 2525 Main Street Development - November 19, 2019 Council Meeting From: Ellen Koldewey <mrskold@yahoo.com> Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2019 6:54 AM To: City Council <CityCouncil@santa-ana.org> Cc: Ridge, Kristine <kridge@santa-ana.org> Subject: Opposition to 2525 Main Street Development - November 19, 2019 Council Meeting Greetings Mayor and Council, Request for Council Action I oppose the development at 2525 Main Street of the 256 unit multi -family project on the 4.4 acre site with 180 parking spaces on approximately 1.4 acres to be shared by residents and the Discovery Center. I ask that on November 19, 2019, you vote against the four resolutions sought by the developer: including the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR); the Development Agreement; the General Plan Amendment; and the Rezoning Application to allow for the construction in the Professional Zone of a high density multi -family project. I also ask you to take the following steps before the November 19 Council Meeting to ensure the City's development decision is fair to the opponents as well as the developer and proponents of the project. I believe these actions are needed to maintain a transparent process, provide a meaningful opportunity for your constituents to be heard, and develop a complete and accurate record on which to base your decision. Constituents have already made the following requests to the City Attorney, Clerk, and/or City Manager. . Please advise the public of the City's position on the developer's use, if any, of mitigation agreements paying stakeholders, including neighboring property owners, up to $35,000 in return for their public written statement of support for the project and nondisclosure of the existence of the agreement. Is the developer, or any other party, using such agreements in the current project? If so, is the City condoning this practice by permitting letters and other statements of support for the developer to be entered into the public record without requiring that the use of such mitigation agreements or other payments also be disclosed? If you haven't already done so, please look into this community concern, inform the public what you find, and advise whether the City requires that such mitigation and nondisclosure agreements accompany letters of support (or opposition) in the public record. In the current case, It is believed that the nondisclosure requirement applies only to the property owner receiving payment and thus protects only the developer's interests. (See enclosed blank agreement provided by a Park Santiago resident homeowner not a party to such an agreement.) . Please confirm that the information reported in the record in support of the modified plan is current and accurate. Here are some of the issues n the record requiring clarification that have been brought to the City's attention: - the financial benefit now estimated to accrue to the City from this project in terms of average annual revenue and gross general fund revenue may now be substantially less than originally predicted, - the negative impact on traffic safety and parking availability, particularly with the anticipated sale of some of the acreage to the Discovery Center, remains unacceptable or unknown, - the environmental impact of the now approved Main Place Mall is not evaluated, - the mandatory Environmental and Transportation Advisory Committee (ETAC) recommendations to Council to preserve or remove iconic city trees are not included, and - the term/duration of the Development Agreement is not described consistently.