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Susana Barrios
From:Howard Mackay <themackays@sbcglobal.net>
Sent:Monday, October
To:Public Comment
Subject:\[EXTERNAL\] Opposition to Deer Canyon Preserve
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As a 25-year resident of Anaheim Hills, I want to express my opposition to the proposed The Hills
Preserve at Deer Canyon. During the time my family and I have lived in Anaheim Hills, we have
experienced several fires in our area that have threatened and damaged homes as well as caused
many to evacuate and flee to safety. I witnessed firsthand the chaos caused by the Canyon Fire 2
along Santa Ana Canyon Road, Imperial Hwy, and Nohl Ranch Road. Parents who were deadlocked
in traffic were frantically attempting to get to their children from school, while others pulling horse
trailers were, at times, blocking intersections and the flow of traffic in their effort to get their livestock
to safe ground. The fear I experienced that day as well as the look of absolute terror on the faces of
those stuck in traffic with me will forever be ingrained in my memory. Imagine your community up in
flames and being stuck in traffic at a complete standstill. You are trapped and completely helpless. It
is a feeling I hope to never relive. Now imagine adding hundreds more vehicles to that scenario from
residents of the proposed development. Anaheim Hills would become a death trap.
As an employee of Orange Unified School District, I am well aware of the impact The Hills Preserve
will have on Canyon High School and El Rancho Charter School, both of which are near or at
capacity. These are the only two secondary schools in Anaheim Hills. With no available land or
plans to build additional secondary schools in our community, our schools will also be negatively
impacted by The Hills Preserve. More importantly, our children’s education will be sacrificed by the
greed of the developers.
Another concern is the additional traffic The Hills Preserve will add on Santa Ana Canyon. Traffic has
increased considerably over the last few years on Santa Ana Canyon Road and Imperial Hwy. What
used to take 7 – 10 minutes to get to the 91 freeway, took me a solid hour last Friday at 4 pm. The
traffic on Santa Ana Canyon was horrendous! I wish I could say last Friday was an exception but,
unfortunately, it is an ever-growing problem on our streets no matter the day of the week. The Hills
Preserve will further complicate the situation by adding additional vehicles on our streets. Sitting in
traffic deadlocked for an hour is extremely frustrating which leads to another concern I have with
impatient drivers and the increased number of accidents.
I’m certain you are already aware of the Anaheim Hills Festival Center Redevelopment Project going
in at the old Edwards Theater and 24-Hour Fitness location to meet California’s requirement for
housing. The Hills Preserve and the above-mentioned project are less than a mile apart. The
negative impact of two projects of this size will be detrimental to our community.
It is unfortunate that Salt Developers and Mr. Brian Hobbs, who once lived in Anaheim Hills prior to
moving his family to Utah, has placed greed over the safety of the residents of Anaheim Hills, his
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former neighbors and friends. Your vote against The Hills Preserve is a vote in favor of the safety of
Anaheim Hills and its residents.
Thank you,
Linda Mackay
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