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Date:2/24/2026 11:58:41 AM
From:"Joni Gaynor"
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] NO ON FESTIVAL HOUSING
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De ar Council Me mbe r,
I am wri ting as a re si de nt of Anahe i m to re spe ctful l y ask that you vote “No” on the proposed apartme nts at the Anahe i m Hi l l s Fe sti val Ce nte r. I
live d he re duri ng the Canyon Fi re 2 i n 2017, and I wi l l neve r forget sitting in my car for 2.5 HOURS to go 1/4 mi l e , unabl e to move , bre athi ng in
smoke . It w as N OT typi cal congesti on. It was a comple te standstill on the ve ry routes we are e x pe cte d to re l y on i n an e me rge ncy.
A ddi ng hundre ds of apartme nts and roughl y one thousand additi onal residents to that same e vacuati on corri dor rai se s se ri ous saf e ty conce rns.
The proj e ct re ports sugge st the added traffic would i ncrease evacuation time by about seve n mi nute s. THIS IS ABSURD! In a wi l df i re si tuation,
minute s matte r, but more than like l y this will l e ad to 45 minute s to an hour more ti me to evacuate . Whe n roads are al re ady gri dl ocke d and
conditi ons are changi ng rapi dl y, e ven a short delay can pl ace l i ves at ri sk. Anahe i m Hi l l s doe s not have mul ti pl e e vacuati on al te rnati ve s. Most
re si de nts funne l onto the same l i mi ted roadways.
Put the inf rastructure in be fore the housing! Othe rwi se it is l i ke bui l di ng the titanic and not provi di ng e nough l i f e jacke ts. The e nd re sul t w i l l
be the same . Li ve s l ost!
The re are al so conce rns re garding senior safety. The ne arby Overl ook se ni or communi ty doe s not have a de di cate d e vacuati on pl an i n pl ace . At
Natalie Me e k's ope n house I asked trave l engine e rs, fire and police staff and not one pe rson could answe r how the se se niors would be
evacuated. Many re si de nts have mobility challenge s and woul d re qui re assistance during an e me rge ncy. Incre asi ng traf fi c de nsi ty i n the
imme diate are a furthe r complicates their abi l i ty to evacuate safe l y and qui ckly.
In additi on, the propose d deve l opme nt appears to fal l short of the numbe r of require d parki ng space s unde r ci ty code . Re duce d on si te
parki ng will i ne vitably push more vehicles onto surroundi ng stre e ts, narrowi ng alre ady constrai ne d roadways. Thi s doe s not consi de r e i the r
the handi cap space s or Te sla chargi ng stations that will e ventually be i nstal l e d.
I unde rstand the ne e d f or housi ng. How e ver, public safe ty must re main the priority, especially in a high fire risk are a with documente d
evacuation challenge s. Our Li ves Matter!! In additi on, Di stri ct 6 has me t the require d quota al re ady.
I re spe ctfully urge you to consi de r the real life evacuation hi story of this communi ty, the vul ne rabi l i ty of ne arby se ni ors, and the parki ng
de f i ci e nci e s ti e d to thi s proje ct when casti ng your vote.
Thank you f or your ti me and considerati on.
Joni Gaynor
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Joni Gaynor