5 - PUBLIC COMMENT_VERMILION - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

PUBLIC COMMENT: My name is Nicole Vermilion, I live at 1001 Westwood, at the intersection of 10th and Westwood and the One Broadway project would be partially visible from my backyard. This is a structure that has a lifespan that is measured in centuries, not decades, and will change the skyline of the County, the streetscape of the existing area, and has the potential influence the design of future buildings to come in downtown Santa Ana. Because of this, the Planning Commissioners and the City should consider this project in this context to ensure that the project fits vision for the City (e.g., design, local plans for active transportation, the City’s goals for energy efficiency) and become a benefit for the community. I believe that the addition of residential to the project is a benefit to the City. There was a great article last week in the New York Times about the Town of Lafayette’s resistance to building high density housing in the face of California’s housing crisis. There’s a quote that I want to highlight about how the solution to our housing crisis is sociological: “People have to realize that homelessness is connected to housing prices. They have to accept it’s hypocritical to say that you don’t like density but are worried about climate change. They have to internalize the lesson that if they want their children to have a stable financial future, they have to make space. They are going to have to change..”1 While the residential component of the project may be a benefit for the future generations in the City, the City also needs to ensure that the project doesn’t diminish the ability of the City to provide essential public services. For example, adding residential may strain existing public services, such as parks, schools; and police, fire, and emergency services. The City and Applicant needs to memorialize the requests of the police and fire service agencies in the Development Agreement for the project. Since the City last reviewed the project, the City has prepared several plans to promote the use of active transportation and adopted a climate action plan. Based on the longevity of the project, the proposed building should be built to achieve Tier 2 Voluntary Standards of the California Green Building Code to achieve the state’s long-term carbon neutrality goals. The addition of residential also changes the directionality of vehicles in the morning (i.e., inbound employee trips and outbound residential trips). The sheer volume of cars during the peak hours means project vehicles have the potential to create vehicle-pedestrian safety conflicts on our local streets, especially during the morning peak hour when El Sol Charter School is in session. During the peak commute hours there may be insufficient stacking, resulting in blocked driveways or even blocked intersections as cars fight for their space on the road; and a result, a traffic analysis should be prepared that includes a queuing analysis for project vehicles to address potential safety impacts. Lastly, service vehicles and Ubers/Post-mates should be prohibited from stopping on the major streets. There should be space on the project site for this new type of service-based trips. The Applicant should work with the City’s Public Works department to improve transportation safety and memorize these requests in the Development Agreement. The Development Agreement needs to be available to the public to review prior to the recommendation of approval of the project. Thank you END PUBLIC COMMENT 1Dougherty, Connor. Build Build Build Build When California’s housing crisis slammed into a wealthy suburb, one public servant became a convert to a radically simple doctrine. February 13, 2020. Calfihttps://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/13/business/economy/housing-crisis-conor- dougherty-golden-gates.html