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Date:2/3/2026 10:46:20 AM
From:"
To:
"Public Comment" publiccomment@anaheim.net, "Ashleigh Aitken" AAitken@anahe im.ne t, "Carlos A. Leon"
CLeon@anaheim.net, "Ryan Balius" RBalius@anaheim.net, "Natalie Rubalcava" NRubalcava@anahe im.net, "Norma
C. Kurtz" NKurtz@anaheim.net, "Kristen Maahs" KMaahs@anaheim.net, "Natalie Meeks" NMe e ks@anaheim.net
Subject:[EXTERNAL] Please vote NO on the Shea/Festival Center apartments - It's a safety issue
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Dear Council Member,
I am writing to you as a resident of Anaheim Hills to ask you to please vote "No" on the proposed apartments at the Anaheim Hills Festival Center.
I lived here during the Canyon Fire 2 in 2017, and I will never forget the feeling of being stuck in my car, watching the smoke get closer, and
literally not moving for over an hour. It wasn't just "traffic"—it was a total standstill. The thought of adding hundreds of new apartments and about
1000+ more people to that exact same escape route is terrifying to those of us who have actually been in that situation. We know of an elderly
resident who nearly died in her car due to heat stroke and dehydration after being stuck in her car for over thre e hours on Santa Ana
Canyon Road. You have to think about the total impact of these evacuation efforts on the citize ns.
The reports for this project say that adding these cars will "only" add about 7 minutes to the evacuation time. But when you're already stuck for
three hours and the fire is moving toward you, 7 minutes is a lifetime. As a retired school administer, I can tell you that it takes more than 7
minutes to evacuate a single classroom! That claim is ludicrous and should not be believed.
We don't have extra roads or "secret" ways out of the Hills; we all end up on the same few lanes. Adding more people to a neighborhood that is
already a bottleneck during a fire just feels like a tragedy waiting to happen. We don’t want another Palisades or Altade na! You have the
power to prevent that from happening.
I understand that the city needs housing, but it shouldn't be built in a place where people are already struggling to get out safely. Please don't make
an existing danger even worse just for a new development. We are asking you to prioritize the lives and safety of the people who already live here
and pay taxes here.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Jan & Dwight Peterson