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Date:12/14/2025 11:43:31 PM
From:"John L. Mazzarella"
To:
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Subject:[EXTERNAL] Anaheim Hills Festival Specific Plan
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De ar Mayor and Council Me mbe rs,
Afte r any major disaste r in which human live s are lost, the first que stion always is: W hat we re the warning signs? Approving the Anahe im Hills
Spe cific Plan and adding any future residential buildings in Anaheim Hills without any traffic mitigation is your first and only warning sign.
A nahe im Hills i s Hi gh Fire Risk area and currentl y when a major fi re hi ts, fueled and spread by hi gh Santa A na wi nds, the re si de nts do not have
ne arly any ade quate or ne ce ssary fire emergency escape routes.
During the Octobe r 2017 Canyon 2 Fire whe n re si de nts of Anahe i m Hi l l s had to evacuate, the re are mul ti pl e accounts that i t took re si de nts 3
hours to only trave l 2 mi l e s al ong Santa Ana Canyon Road. Si nce the n the City of Anahe i m has i nsti tute d the “Know Your Way” pl an, but thi s
plan is compl e te ly unte ste d and the one undeniabl e fundamental fact that Anahe i m Fi re Chi e f Pat Russe l l w i l l te sti f y to i s that w he n the re i s a
large scal e re si de ntial f i re e vacuati on, eve ryone te nds to evacuate all at once which will resul t agai n i n e nti re gri dl ock al ong the curre nt
e vacuation route s and if large f i re balls sweep through those are as, pe opl e sitting in traffic w i l l di e .
I know the City of Anahe i m is be i ng mandated by the State of Cal i forni a to bui l d more housi ng, but i f i t wi l l j e opardi ze the safe ty of the curre nt
re si de nts i n A nahe im Hills, which the Anahe i m Hi l l s Spe ci fic Pl an will do, the n it doesn’t justi f y or val i date the State of Cal i f orni a’s mandate .
Prope r fire e me rge ncy e vacuation route s need to be in pl ace be fore any further building in A nahe i m Hi l l s can be done . We i r Canyon Road has
not be e n l i nke d to Jamboree Road and the Fai rmount Boulevard fl y-over has been bui l t ove r the Santa A na Ri ve r to conne ct to Fai rmount
Boule vard in Yorba Li nda. Anahe i m Hi l l s re si de nts ne e d to have both of those vital fire eme rge ncy e vacuati on route s avai l abl e . In short, the
State of Calif ornia, the County of Orange, and the Ci ty of Anaheim has not done the i r due di l i ge nce to prope rl y prote ct the re si de nts of
A nahe im Hills and provi de ade quate amounts of e me rge ncy e vacuati on routes to allow for more re si de nti al bui l di ng i n Anahe i m Hi l l s to occur.
If the City Anahe i m vote s for the A naheim Festi val Spe ci fic Pl an which will allow for 1,000 addi ti onal re si de nts and ve hi cl e s i n Anahe i m Hi l l s
w i thout having any additi onal e me rge ncy fire evacuation route s, the n the City of Anahe i m wi l l be w i l l ful l y ne gl i ge nt w he n the ne x t l arge scale
re si de ntial f i re occurs i n A naheim Hills and as a result re si de nts will be trappe d in gri dl ock traff i c and human l i ve s w i l l be l ost.
The Cine ma in the Fe sti val Shoppi ng Ce nter has al ways be e n a cinema since i ts i nce ption many ye ars ago, but i t can be some thi ng e l se
comme rci ally. In the same shoppi ng ce nter, a former Stein Mart store was subdi vided i nto two store s: Nordstrom Rack and Ul ta Be auty and
both of those store s now are doing ve ry we l l . 20 years ago a Supe r K-Mart in Anahe i m Hi l l s on Pul l man Stre e t be came a Home De pot, w hi ch is
thrivi ng and i s the se cond l argest Home De pot i n the Uni ted State s. The former cinema at Impe ri al Hi ghway and La P al ma A ve nue i s now a
Te sl a Se rvice Ce nte r and the f ormer Big Lots on Santa Ana Canyon wi l l be a Trader Joe ’s, whi ch I know many re si de nts are l ooki ng forward to.
The important poi nt i s that the cinema building in the Festi val Shoppi ng Ce nter re main for comme rci al use be cause whe n the ne x t l arge
re si de ntial f i re e ve nt occurs, especial l y a Re d Fl ag Warni ng, those busi ne sse s wi l l be cl ose d and no traff i c w i l l be comi ng or goi ng f rom the m.
Fi nally, w hat is e xtre me ly vi tal to point out is i f there is a l arge residenti al bui l di ng i nstead, 1000 pe opl e wi l l de sce nd on that are a by comi ng
home from w ork afte r pi cking up their childre n from school and the n evacuating al l at once and addi ng to the paral yzi ng traff i c gri dl ock al ong
Santa Ana Canyon and many of the m could l ose the i r l i ves as a result.
The re f ore , be cause the l i ves of the residents of Anaheim Hills are in gre at danger duri ng a l arge scal e re si de nti al f i re due to the f act that
curre ntl y ade quate e me rge ncy e vacuati on routes do not ex i t i s the Warning Sign staring you al l di re ctl y i n the f ace and i n orde r to mi ti gate the
gre at risk that the re si de nts of Anahe i m Hi l l s face, you have to vote “No” on the Anahe i m Hi l l s Fe sti val Spe ci fi c P l an.
Si nce re ly,
John L. Mazzare lla
A nahe im Hills, CA 92808