Laserfiche WebLink
January 2019 ,09 <br />To The Planning Commission, <br />My wife and I wholeheartedly support the proposed zoning change and the development at 2525 North <br />Main Street, now known as The Addington. We have lived in Park Santiago since 1992 and have lived in <br />Santa Ana since 1978. Our children walked to their nearby Hoover Elementary School. My wife recently <br />retired from SAUSD. She taught 2nd and 3rd grades at Jefferson Elementary School. My first job as an <br />architect was on Main Street at GPRA at a building that was later replaced by Ralph Allen's building. We <br />both know our City well and have seen it grow and struggle over the years. <br />I was the project architect on the Stadium Parking Structure and the Library Parking Structure while I <br />worked for IBI Group. I was proud of the two Santa Ana parking structures that garnered AIA Honor <br />Awards. I am also a past President of the Park Santiago Neighborhood Association. I continued <br />involvement with the neighborhood as a member of the Park Committee. In that committee I was <br />instrumental in gathering and leading a group of designers to develop a conceptual design for Santiago <br />conceptual design included the introduction of a bridge from the play <br />Park. With neighborhood input we submitted our design to the Park Department head, Ron Oarea to the north side of the park. <br />no. That <br />The City implemented parts of the design. We are hopeful the City completes the vision that was started quite a few years ago. <br />We continue to support this City and we believe that Main Street needs to be a vibrant economically <br />needs to grow its tax base, we all know. This development will attract other businesses and <br />sound artery. There are many reasons that the development at 2525 Main Street is worthwhilsupport e. The Cthe <br />City <br />businesses that already exist. We want to have many more opportunities to walk to without having tget <br />in our car. Santa Ana needs a Main Street that is attractive, exciting and active like the ones in Anaheim, <br />Fullerton, Irvine and Huntington Beach. <br />Many cities with single family housing have been enriched with added dense adjacent developments on <br />its edges and have seen large increases in property values. Park Santiago neighborhood property values <br />would benefit from high end dense residential that is attractive and with loads of amenities. The same <br />tinue <br />development would benefit Main Place and the surrounding restaurants and other businesses to con making Main Street vibrant. We believe the development would benefit the neighborhood we live in. But <br />this development is also about all of Santa Ana not just about one neighborhood. The Addington would <br />benefit all of the City's residents, not just my neighbors. <br />Traffic will continue to increase regardless. All the growth that will occur in this City and neighboring <br />cities will increase traffic on Main Street. That is a given. Even if this development does not occur, traffic <br />will occur. That is the nature of traffic and growth. Unfortunately we are behind on developing mass <br />transit that will have to happen one day. As usual we do not plan until the crisis gets everyone on board. <br />It would be nice to see walk-up units along Edgewood and along the Santiago Park side. Walk-up units <br />would create a more attractive street than fences, would help create a better residential scale on the street <br />frontages, would bring added eyes and ears to keep the streets and park safe and would better integrate the <br />residents together as a neighborhood instead of keeping them apart. Especially since even our own <br />children may live there next to us. <br />Please approve the zoning change and this development <br />Thank you <br />Lewis and Jeanette Wood <br />2522 North Poinsettia Street <br />Santa Ana CA 92706-1725 <br />