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Public Comment
From:Julie Vetica <
Sent:Friday, January 8, 2021 9:09 PM
To:Public Comment; Harry Sidhu (Mayor); Stephen Faessel; jbrandmann@anaheim.net;
Avelino Valencia; Trevor O'Neil; Jose Moreno; Jennifer Diaz
Subject:Public Comment on City Counsel Meeting 01/12/2021 Agenda item : Grandma's
House of Hope- CUP Hearing Appeal #2020-06074 (DEV 2020-00109)
Anaheim CA 92806
January 7, 2021
Mayor Sidhu & Members of The City Counsel
Anaheim CA
I urge you to uphold the neighbor's appeal . Withdraw the Conditional Use Permit (for an additional 6
residents ) at Grandma's House of Hope (GHH), a transitional housing facility, located in District 5 in my very
small neighborhood at 2232 E Olmstead Way. The entire neighborhood is comprised of 20 single family homes
on S Nordica Lane and its adjoining street , E Olmstead Way . Three of these are currently being used as Care
Facilities of different types, including GHH.
I will address three issues which were posed in our appeal:
1) Neighborhood representatives were denied the right to speak at the Nov. 9th 2020 meeting of the
Planning Commission where the CUP for GHH was being debated while the owner of GHH, Ms Ja'net H, could
freely answer questions and make comments without rebuttal.
2)The CUP presentation (prepared by J. Hwang) for the City Planning Commission was heavily weighted in
favor of GHH owner obtaining the permit. But certain crucial data was ignored or omitted ! Ms. Hwang only
considered automobile Traffic in her report. She failed to report pedestrian traffic originating from GHH.
Traffic/parking: Only police citations and arrests reports were considered when Hwang concluded that
there is "no adverse effect" on the neighborhood. NO CONSIDERATION WAS GIVEN to Sherrif Station Reports
or to countless neighbors' eyewitness accounts (given in their public comment letters) of some speeding
autos and illegally parked vehicles - increased traffic flow causing concern for the safety of children playing or
riding bicycles in the neighborhood .
We neighbors have witnessed increased traffic from Uber/Lyft drivers servicing Grandma's House since last
March. My neighbor displayed a yard sign reading, " DRIVE LIKE YOUR CHILD LIVES HERE" , and that sign was
stolen ! I, myself, have been concerned about backing out of my driveway into my own street and pausing to
put the car in forward gear, that somebody driving around the corner from Olmstead Way might be driving
too fast and cause a collision. I never gave that a thought before the arrival of GHH .
Automobile Traffic has increased. Our neighborhood used to be very quiet. Children could safely play or ride
bikes in the entire neighborhood.
Parking and littering violations have also increased esp. on Nordica. I know that, in the month of May, I
reported to the Anaheim Police that somebody was sleeping in a car (the whole night) on Nordica Lane. I was
informed that sleeping in a vehicle on the street is not a crime and that it couldn't be reported. The next day I
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found trash plus two empty six-packs of beer on the sidewalk where that car and others had been
parked. Just because there is no police report or citation does not mean that speeding has not occurred! In
December, I witnessed and heard a blue sedan turn from Olmstead near GHH onto Nordica. It accelerated so
fast that a loud screeching sound could be heard as it "burned rubber. " After neighbors reported parking
violations many times to both the planning commission and police, finally citations were issued. City code
enforcement units spent a few days patrolling the parking situation. These were not recorded for the CUP
hearing 11/12/20. Of particular concern are the repeated fire-hydrant parking violations by the same car. Last
year 3/4/2020 my neighbor suffered a terrible house fire. We know the importance of having access to that
hydrant!
Of course, we cannot attribute all these traffic violations to GHH; however, these sorts of things seem to have
escalated just since March when Grandma's House of Hope was established on Olmstead Way. GHH
participants may not own their own vehicles, but they do use UBER & LYFT. My point is that an increase in the
number of cars and speeding violations, whether reported or not, definitely impacts the safety of the
residents on Nordica and Olmstead.
Pedestrian Traffic Is A Major Issue:
In the report compiled for the Planning Commission 11/9 meeting, the impact of increased automobile traffic
was denied, under-reported, and underestimated ! Furthermore, the adverse effect of increased Pedestrian
traffic was totally omitted! In my opinion, GHH pedestrians cause the most neighborhood anxiety. Since they
have no cars, men walk to and from the grocery store and to appointments out on State College Blvd. Nothing
wrong with that, you may say. The problem lies in the secretive behavior (encouraged by the owner Ms. Ja'net
H.) which these men display. GHH does not permit their participants to reveal who they are or where they live
even to their families. It is part of their program. This was made very clear to us neighbors who participated in
a Zoom call with GHH and members of the Planning Commission staff back in October sometime.. Ms Ja'net
imagined that she could operate GHH without anyone in the neighborhood noticing they were there. Well. we
have noticed! And we have had questioins!
The owner "sugar coated" her answers to our queries. We were concerned that men with serious ,ongoing,
mental illness or sobriety issues would participate. The owner assured us that they may have experienced
some of those in the past but that now were " maybe dealing with some depression"...that is all. She
proclaimed GHH to be" a sober living house, that the men were to not smoke in the front yard, adhere to a
10:00PM curfew , and were not to own cars but use UBER etc. for transportation. She loved our neighborhood
because it featured easy walking distance to grocery & other stores, jobs etc. Men were not supposed to have
much money but use vouchers for purchases & transportation. She claimed there would be a house manager
24/7 in residence. We later found out that actually this person is a "trusted resident" there at least 40 hours /
week. She said that counselors and advisors (maybe 3 each day) would bring the participants to the point of
self-sufficiency and independent living within 4-6 months. It appears that someone tests the participants at
least three times each week for signs of substance abuse! We are left asking WHY? It may be that substance
abuse could be a larger issue than the owner admits. Two of my neighbors witnessed someone there at GHH
being led away by police in handcuffs back in March. The resident manager and owner denied it as did GHH
owner. No mention of the incident was ever included in the original CUP hearing. Neighbors witnessed
it...Why was it left out of the police report?
It is incidents like this and the Secrecy expected of GHH participants that leads neighbors ( actual tax-paying
Residents) to feel anxiety and suspicion when encountering the GHH pedestrian on the street. Most of them
will not speak to us neighbors. Some of the men from GHH walk aimlessly around on sidewalks or just down
the middle of the street . One constantly stares at the little toddlers on Nordica so that their parents have
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grown fearful and have restricted their little boys to play inside. The same man eats berries from parkway
bushes.
On the GHH web-site, men who "have ongoing mental health issues, substance abuse issues, or may have
been recently incarcerated" are encouraged to participate in the Transitional Housing Program. That is not the
description we neighbors were originally given!
I,for one, would rather be told the whole truth!
I encountered a man from GHH at about midnight one evening in November when I went out( in my own
front yard) to deposit trash in the curbside bin. Suddenly, I turned around to see him walking briskly in my
direction. Well, I was frightened ! Thankfully, that man just walked on down the street. Later, I was told that
he worked the night shift at Albertsons Grocery store on State College Blvd. So much for the GHH 10:00 PM
Curfew!
Wouldn't it have been nice if someone from Grandma's House would have informed the neighbors of the
possibility of night-time pedestrian traffic?
Secrecy breeds suspicion.
I am further disturbed that many men are not wearing protective masks on the street. Yesterday, my husband
and I were out walking and had to cross the street to avoid a man forcefully coughing ,repeatedly, and not
wearing his mask. Imagine if he has contracted Covid 19!!
The transient nature of GHH participants (here for only 6 months) and their oath of secrecy makes it difficult
to establish friendly conversations with them. The teenagers next door to me reported that one man spoke
only to ridicule the kids as they played sports. If you truly were a new neighbor here, we would establish a
friendly conversation and try to get to know you. Our neighborhood is tight knit. We are friendly and have
invited each other in groups to our open-houses, parties, and baby showers. Kids know that they can count on
neighbors to encourage them and purchase their Girl Scout Cookies or go to their flag football games. We are
a diverse group of families and retirees. Some of the teenagers are willing to look after our homes when we go
on vacation. We all look after the kids playing on the street. We love the reassurance of knowing "WHO IS
OUR NEIGHBOR?"
In a neighborhood watch sort of way, we ask strangers to identify who they are and why are they in our
neighborhood. It's all in an effort to secure the peace. We have been especially watchful this past year since
there have been reported two thefts of items from cars at night.
I am afraid that Ms. Ja'net has chosen poorly in leasing this home on Olmstead. Yes, it does meet her needs.
BUT this neighborhood is too small for the anonymity she desires.
3.) OVERCROWING HAS CHANGED THE CHARACTER OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD - Covid "Stay at Home"
Restrictions Must Be Considered
We residents are anxious, and understandably suspicious of what goes on at Grandma's House of Hope. We
have accepted the Bridge Housing for six rotating participants. And now, we are facing an additional 6-7
participants ( not residents). We neighbors are invested in the well-being of our neighbors and of the City of
Anaheim. GHH participants are not ! Each man only plans on using our neighborhood for 6 months. If
approved, the CUP allows 6-7 additional men at GHH and will bring the total of non-residents living here in
care facilities to about 32. That is nearly equal to the number of neighborhood adult residents on Nordica Lane
& Olmstead. And just imagine that after six months, we must acknowledge another group of strangers rotating
in. Enough is Enough !
COVID 19 : Stay-at-Home restrictions are currently & indefinitely in place now. The street is quieter now, but
that should not influence your decision. What concerns me is the potential for over-crowding inside
Grandma's House where there will be at least three men to each room and six sharing a bathroom. Some of
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those rooms are only 10' by 10'. Those cramped living conditions could lead to a Covid outbreak. That would
definitely impact our neighborhood. Many of us are elderly with heart & lung health conditions.
PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW GRANDMA'S HOUSE A PERMIT FOR 6 MORE MEN AT THIS TIME.
Sincerely,
Julie Vetica & Bill Vetica
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