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Susana Barrios
From:Annesha Basu <rabasu10@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, October
To:Public Comment
Subject:\[EXTERNAL\] Thoughts on Deer Canyon Project from East Anaheim Resident
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Dear City Council Members,
I am writing to express my grave concerns about the proposed development in Deer Canyon. I
understand that all cities in California are under pressure to create additional housing. Like many
people in this state, I struggle with the high cost of living here. I am sympathetic to those who cannot
afford decent housing. However, we should not attempt to alleviate this problem by sacrificing the
safety of current residents. Our roads cannot accommodate the 1,000 cars that SALT estimates will
be added to our streets should you approve this project. It took me 40 minutes to drive 5 miles today
from the intersection of La Palma and Imperial Highway to my home near Weir Canyon and Serrano.
I should mention that the traffic today was typical of most days. Creating more congestion on roads
already overwhelmed with routine traffic seems unwise, especially given the high risk of fires in this
area, a risk underscored by the increasing number of insurance companies refusing to offer fire
insurance to residents here.
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I attended the public hearing on September 30 and was appalled at the Planning Commission’s
decision to approve the project despite the fire and police department’s opposition. I was also
surprised by how readily the Commission accepted the results of studies commissioned by SALT. No
one mentioned that there had been no independent review of their traffic study. Should we take it as a
fact that the additional cars will add a mere 24 minutes to evacuation times? Even assuming the
traffic study is as accurate as possible, the fire chief said that such studies represent idealized models
and that actual evacuations are always more chaotic and lengthier than anticipated. In matters of
public safety, the fire and police departments are considered experts. Why are we not heeding the
experts? We cannot claim to support their mission to protect our community and undercut their efforts
at the same time. The choice is yours, but we as a community will have to pay for it, and not just with
people’s lives. The state of Hawaii and Maui County were both among the co-defendants in the Maui
wildfire lawsuits. This is not a financial risk that anyone should be willing to take on.
The developer’s preposterous plan to have residents of the new building shelter in place or to allow
other neighborhoods to evacuate first would be impossible to enforce. Their claims that the proposed
project will improve fire safety and enhance the area’s natural beauty are also absurd. Should we
mow down and pave over every natural habitat in southern California to reduce fires? One of the best
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things we can do to preserve the beauty of this great state is to leave as many habitats as possible
alone. Did you know that California is home to more species of plants and animals than any other
state in this country and is considered a global biodiversity hotspot? And did you know that we are
living in the middle of the sixth mass extinction? Natural phenomena caused previous extinction
events, but the current one is driven by human activity. Populations of native species, especially birds
and insects, are declining at alarming rates due to habitat loss. Even if environmental issues do not
move you, please remember that without these species, many of our food crops that depend on these
animals for pollination would also disappear. These may seem like remote and abstract issues, but
they are not. Our choices today will make a difference. The City of Anaheim has shown interest in
mitigating human environmental impacts; most recently, it rolled out the organic recycling program.
These programs are a commendable step toward responsible environmental stewardship. Please
keep going in the right direction and vote to preserve one of the few open spaces Anaheim has left.
Every East Anaheim resident I have spoken with opposes this project, mainly due to safety concerns.
I worry for my two young children and my elderly parents. Please put your constituents’ safety and
long-term well-being first. Our lives are truly in your hands.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Annesha Basu
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