Item No. 1_Public Comment_Willowick

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396 HAYES STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102 T: (415) 552 -7272 F: (415) 552 -5816 www.smwlaw.com GABRIEL M.B. ROSS Attorney Ross@smwlaw.com October 6, 2020 Verny Carvajal Principal Planner City of Santa Ana Planning and Building Agency 20 Civic Center Plaza P.O. Box 1988 (M-20) Santa Ana, CA 92702 vcarvajal@santa-ana.org Re: Comments on Santa Ana General Plan Update DPEIR, Clearinghouse No. 2020020987 Dear Mr. Carvajal: On behalf of Rise Up Willowick, I write to provide comments on the proposed Santa Ana General Plan Update (“the Update”) and its accompanying Draft Program Environmental Impact Report (“the DPEIR”). The Update will guide the development of Santa Ana, including the Willowick Golf Course site, for many years, and the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), Public Resources Code § 21000 et seq., requires that the DPEIR thoroughly assess the Update and its environmental impacts. As set forth in the following comments, we urge the City to (1) continue to designate the Willowick site as open space, (2) provide for more affordable housing under the Update and avoid undermining the Housing Element and the City’s Housing Opportunity Ordinance (the “HOO”), and (3) revise the DPEIR to fully analyze the Update’s environmental impacts, especially those related to displacement and environmental justice. I. The bulk of the Willowick site should continue to be designated as open space. The Willowick Golf Course site lies within the West Santa Ana Boulevard Focus Area, one of the focus areas slated for new development under the Update. DPEIR at 4-6. The Willowick site is currently designated as open space, and the Update proposes to maintain that designation. DPEIR at D-6 to D-8. Rise Up Willowick supports this designation until and unless there is a proposal for developing part of the site with affordable housing. The Trust for Public Land, the California Coastal Conservancy, and