1 - CUP19-33;19-34;19-35_1602 E FIRST STREET_COMMENTS

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Glacier House Hotels | 10632 N Scottsdale Road #503, Scottsdale, AZ | glacierhousehotels.com 5 December 2019 ATTN: S. Bernal Planning Commission City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza PO Box 1988 Santa Ana, CA 92702 SBernal@santa-ana.org RE: Conditional Use Permit for 1602 E First Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701 To the members of the Planning Commission: I represent the landlord of the property located at 1602 E First Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701. My company owns the adjacent hotel business, the newly-opened Holiday Inn Express & Suites Santa Ana – Orange County. Our tenant for the property, The Place Banquet Hall, is applying for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to operate a restaurant and banquet hall and sell alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption. We believe this use to be very compatible with our hotel as they are both hospitality businesses. It has come to my attention that the Planning Commission continued the hearing on the CUP so that the tenant, the City, and the neighboring churches can meet to review the project and express their concerns. Letters of opposition from these neighboring churches were, to my understanding, submitted only a few hours before the prior meeting, which expressed concerns over the sale of alcoholic beverages, after-hours operations, noise, security, and parking. I find myself incredulous at these concerns, especially given the existing state of security and safety of the property. Our hotel’s general manager submits reports and photos on a weekly basis showing drug use, prostitution, fighting, human defecation, and break-ins on the property. We receive many complaints from our hotel guests, who have a clear view of this environment when they come to stay. I have included photos with this letter to illustrate the unsafe environment that currently exists on this property. Vacant and abandoned properties are a liability to any business, and they attract this type of unsafe and filthy environment. Homeless people intentionally seek out vacant buildings for shelter, which is why it is critical for our tenant to fill this space as soon as possible. Not only is this vacancy a risk and a liability that is impacting my business, but it is impacting the safety and security of the surrounding community, including the neighboring churches. The longer this building is left vacant and these problems remain unaddressed, the higher the likelihood of this crime seeping into the rest of the surrounding community. All of our efforts to mitigate these issues, including the hiring of a security guard and placing calls to the police, are clearly not effective in solving the problem.