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31 (287) Susana Barrios From: C Bartunek < Sent: Tuesday, October 29, 2024 12:14 AM To: Public Comment <publiccomment@anaheim.net> Subject: \[EXTERNAL\] Opposition statement for Deer Canyon Development You don't often get email from Learn why this is important 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 Council Members and related City government personnel: I am writing today to express my opposition to the Deer Canyon Preserve project. I have been an Anaheim Hills resident since 1997, or over 27 years. I have seen a lot of changes to the area in that time, most for the better. However, I do not think this proposed development will benefit the community. I think if developed, it would definitely change the character of the community for the worse and likely even bring harm. My opposition stems from three main factors: zoning, infrastructure, and Public Safety. First, to proceed on this project, the area needs to be re-zoned. This hurdle seems like an audacious request for a developer to make to a city after purchasing a property not zoned for their intended development. The zoning was originally defined in the City’s Master Plan for single family residences (SFRs). There was a reason this zoning category was chosen originally, because it is appropriate for the area. A high-density development is not appropriate for the area. The original zoning for the area in the Master Plan should be retained. If it is, the developer could proceed with development of SFRs on the property. Next is the local infrastructure. Affected facilities include the roads, schools, electrical grid, water, and sewer among others, all of which will need to accommodate the increased population load. For this point, I want to focus on one, the roads. Presently, most of the time it is not too difficult to drive around the community. However, there are times each and every day, when it is significantly more difficult, frustratingly difficult, to drive in the area. I avoid driving at those times. This is the current situation. If additional cars are added to the roads with the Deer Canyon project, and the Anaheim Hills Festival Project (up to 450 multiple-family attached residential units – in the same area!), the cemetery east of the 241, and the Bryant Ranch project in Yorba Linda off of Weir Canyon Road, the traffic load will increase substantially making transit on the roads very difficult to impossible most times. I understand some will argue that Santa Ana Canyon Road (SACR) can/will be widened. That would be too bad, it is a nice road presently. However, it will not do any good as it will just become another route for 91 freeway commuters from the Inland Empire to get into Orange County travelling west in the morning and then travelling east in the evening when the 91 is heavy or stopped (which is every day, weekends included!). There is no way that road could be widened enough to facilitate the population of commuters living in the cities east of Anaheim Hills. Presently, the access points to SACR at Imperial Highway and Weir Canyon are also very, very congested during rush hours every day. These interchanges would also have to be addressed if widening of SACR is to be 1 pursued. It seems like this project is going to be very expensive for the city if all these improvements are required. Finally, there is my concern about Public Safety. I have been here for all the fires since 1997. I remember one where my friends evacuated, finally made it to my house for shelter, and heard about their neighbors losing their homes three streets away from them. They live in East Hills (formerly vacant land developed in the 1990’s to accommodate the local demand for housing) and although about 1.5 miles from me, it took them over an hour to travel on the roads to my house. When emergencies happen and people need to move, they cannot because the roads cannot handle the existing population. Adding more people at the magnitude sited by the projects I mentioned earlier to this situation is not acceptable. One major contributing factor to the gridlock is the lack of access roads in and out of the area. The 91 freeway presents an impenetrable barrier to the north. North/south roads Imperial Highway and Weir Canyon Road are separated by about four miles with thousands of SFRs between them. And as mentioned before, accessing these roads from SACR is very difficult during times of high traffic. Travelling south from SACR requires you to drive through those thousands of SFRs with a population also trying to travel during an evacuation. Further, as the fires usually occur during Santa Ana wind conditions with the fires starting in the east hills travelling west, the evacuation population will be forced to travel west and south only. I have seen this. No one moves. It is sheer gridlock. These three concerns top my list. There are others which other local residents have articulated. Considering these factors and others, I think approving the Deer Canyon Project would be a very bad development for the residents of Anaheim and I recommend a NO vote. Thank you. Sincerely, Chuck Bartunek 2