General (10)Jennifer L. Hall
From: natalie rubalcava <
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2022 12:48 PM
To: Harry Sidhu (Mayor); Stephen Faessel; Avelino Valencia; Jennifer Diaz; Gloria S. Ma'ae;
Trevor O'Neil; Jose Moreno; Public Comment
Subject: [EXTERNAL] RE: Notice of Violation: City of Anaheim Notice of Violations of Housing
Element Law and Anti -Discrimination in Land Use
Warning: This email originated from outside the City of Anaheim. Do not click links or open
attachments unless you recognize the sender and are expecting the message.
Dear Mayor Sidhu and Anaheim City Council Members:
I am writing this letter in response to the notice of violation the City of Anaheim received from the Housing and
Community Development (HCD) agency dated December 14, 2021. As policymakers I know this type of
response from a state agency can be very daunting however, I urge you to challenge HCD's interpretation of the
housing element policy the city allegedly violated by utilizing a CUP process to deny Grandma's House of
Hope's transitional living facility. Based on HCD's interpretation of the policy, the City of Anaheim cannot
utilize a CUP process to review applications for use of housing in a neighborhood unless it applies the same
policy/process to other similar properties. This is not an apples -to -oranges comparison. Transitional housing
facilities are by definition a business that receives funds from outside sources, including the State of
California to provide shelter for individuals who are not necessarily residents of the city in which the facility is
operating. In this case a CUP should be required to assess whether a business such as a transitional housing
facility could safely operate in a residential neighborhood occupied by families and members of the
community. The city should have local control over the character and zoning of a neighborhood in order to
protect the community. Especially in cases like this where a business is looking to operate in an area zoned for
residential properties.
Anaheim has been a responsive partner to the County of Orange and the state providing opportunities for shelter
for many people including dozens of transitional housing facilities in district 3. As representatives for the city, I
urge you to challenge the states reasoning on this topic and fight to maintain local control over zoning and land
use in cases like this. If we accept their interpretation of a vague housing policy, we will be setting precedent
that will impact surrounding cities in Orange County. Furthermore, this would also create issues for any other
CUP's that have been granted over the years for transitional living facility operators to continue growing and
running their businesses without policies or rules that the city can utilize to protect families, residents and voters
alike. As I have mentioned in a previous letter to council, I am extremely concerned that this type of business
operation puts our community at risk and impacts the quality of life we work very hard to maintain. I
absolutely support providing housing and supportive services for all vulnerable populations. However,
Anaheim has overwhelmingly become the community that carries an unfair burden of the responsibility for
these populations. As a 43 -year resident of the City of Anaheim I have experienced the negative impacts
incompatible land uses, zoning variances, and widely allowed Conditional Use Permits have had on our
community.
Thank you,
Natalie Rubalcava
Anaheim, CA 92805
From: natalie rubalcava
Sent: Monday, October 25, 20219:19 PM
To: hsidhu@anaheim.net <hsidhu@anaheim.net>; SFaessel@anaheim.net <SFaessel@anaheim.net>;
AValencia@anaheim.net <AValencia@anaheim.net>; JDiaz@anaheim.net <JDiaz@anaheim.net>; GMaae@anaheim.net
<GMaae@anaheim.net>; TONeil@anaheim.net <TONeil@anaheim.net>; jmoreno@anaheim.net
<jmoreno@anaheim.net>; publiccomment@anaheim.net <publiccomment@anaheim.net>
Subject: October 26, 2021 City Council Meeting: Agenda Item 23
Dear Mayor Sidhu and Anaheim City Council Members:
I respectfully request that you accept the unanimous recommendation made by the Planning Commission and oppose
the Conditional Use Permit for 626 N. West Street, agenda item 23. The proposed CUP is located in a residential
neighborhood and should be denied because a 15 to 21 bed transitional housing facility is a business that changes the
character of a community.
During this process it has become apparent that District 3 is saturated with transitional housing facilities. As a matter of
fact, city staff does not have an accurate count as to how many single-family residences are currently operating as
transitional housing facilities in Anaheim. There are at least 10 in the general area of this proposed CUP. District 3 is a
diverse population of predominately working-class citizens with the majority being members of the Hispanic
community. Our community works hard and chooses to reside in a safe place where we can raise our families and live
peaceful lives.
I am extremely concerned that this type of business operation puts our community at risk and impacts the quality of life
we work very hard to maintain. This single-family residence is located within 700 feet of a public high school, two
elementary schools (less than 2,200 feet away) and two public parks (less than a half mile away).
I absolutely support providing housing and supportive services for all vulnerable populations. However, District 3 has
overwhelmingly become the community that carries an unfair burden of the responsibility for these
populations. Furthermore, Grandma's House of Hope has utilized the downtown neighborhoods to grow a multi-million
dollar business, carrying the burden for all 34 cities in Orange County. Grandma's House of Hope receives large sums of
taxpayer dollars from the County of Orange to provide services to the homeless population. In most cases Grandma's
House of Hope clients are not residents of Anaheim. When clients fail the program, they may end up back on the
streets, this time in Anaheim, which increases the number of homeless in our city.
At a recent community meeting on Thursday, October 21, 2021, the CEO of Grandma's House of Hope confirmed that
she chooses to have multiple business locations in District 3 so that she can use her staff at each location more
efficiently, as oppose to identifying locations across the County of Orange that would be more conducive to serving the
region at -large.
As a 42 -year resident of the City of Anaheim I have experienced the negative impacts incompatible land uses, zoning
variances, and widely allowed Conditional Use Permits have had on our community. The addition of this very large
facility in an already impacted area is not good for the community.
I urge you to support the unanimous decision of the Planning Commission, and prioritize Anaheim's residents and
neighborhoods above all else and deny this application by Grandma's House of Hope.
Thank you,
Natalie Rubalcava
Anaheim, CA 92805