10 (164)You don't often get email from frances.chase@chaseworldwide.com. Learn why this is important
Date:3/1/2026 3:05:21 PM
From:"Frances Chase" frances.chase@chaseworldwide.com
To:"Natalie Meeks" NMeeks@anaheim.net
Cc:
"Ashleigh Aitken" AAitken@anaheim.net, "Ryan Balius" RBalius@anaheim.net, "Carlos A. Le on"
CLeon@anaheim.net, "Natalie Rubalcava" NRubalcava@anaheim.net, "Norma C. Kurtz" NKurtz@anaheim.net,
"Kristen Maahs" KMaahs@anaheim.net, "Public Comment" publiccomment@anaheim.net
Subject:FORMAL REQUEST FOR IMMEDIATE MUNICIPAL ACTION Re: [EXTERNAL] Urgent: Life -Safety Risks of Shea
Properties Festival Center Apartment Project
Dear Natalie,
I am deeply disappointed in your response, particularly the language highlighted in green. Sacramento? Rai si ng improved traffic
flow on the 241? Movie theatre, gymnasium, and nursery traffic are offset by previous commercial use? These are poor
responses to a serious matter.
Anaheim Hills Residents need our Mayor and our six (6) council members to show up for us.
We live in a VERY HIGH FIRE HAZARD area. The vast majority of top insurers have either paused, severely restricted, or
withdrawn from our area, leaving the FAIR plan as the only option. Underinsured and underfunded.
Please review the attached map carefully. Zoom in to see the homes, the winding streets, and i magine thousands of men,
women, children, the elderly, pets, and the mass hysteria in the swaths of red. Not everyone wi ll get out. If you really think about it,
you will change your mind.
SB 79 requires that developments comply with LOCAL fire safety standards.
This should be the plan:
PHASE I
Step One (1):
The city council must IMMEDIATELY adopt an ordinance that applies stricter fire hazard regulations to the identified
area, and designate it as a VERY HI GH HAZARD ZONE. It MUST be passed before July 1, 2026.
It only requires a minimum of four (4) votes.
Step Two (2):
The city council must IMMEDIATELY adopt an ordinance that explicitly delays the effectuation of the state law (SB 79)
in the zone specified in the new ordinance.
It only requires a minimum of four (4) votes.
The Los Angeles City Council has already begun exploring delayed effectuation and the creation of local TOD alternatives to
manage SB 79. I can't believe the Los Angeles City Council is ahead of Anaheim. Let's get on i t.
Thank you,
Frances Chase
On Fri, Jan 16, 2026 at 3:59 PM Natalie Meeks <NMeeks@anaheim.net> wrote:
Dear Neig hbor – Thank you to everyone tha t took the time to s hare their thoughts on the propos ed project a t the Fes tiva l C enter. O ur
community is beautiful but it is the ca ring people tha t make it s o s pecia l. At Tues day’s C ity C ouncil meeti ng , the project was
pres ented by city s ta ff a nd comments were heard from the developer and the public. C ity s taff, inc l udi ng the Fi re Department,
recommended approval of the project a fter many s tudies and a very thoroug h review.
I will a lways make the s a fety of our community a priority, which includes wild fire s a fety a nd evac ua tion. Ma ny res idents vi vidly rec a l l
the uns ucces s ful evacua tion during the 2017 fire and ca rry fea r with them from that experienc e. Identifying wha t went wrong and
fixing it to ins ure it won’t ha ppen a g a in ha s been my mis s ion. There were a lot of les s ons learned i n the 2017 eva cuati on whic h ha ve
been incorpora ted in to current evacua tion plans . Since that time, the City’s Fire Depa rtment, Pol i ce Department a nd Publ i c Works
have done s ig nificant work and coordinated with our adjacent and partner entities to devel op a n evac ua tion plan tha t addres s es the
previous failures . Since a full s ca le tes t of the plan is n’t fea s ible s ince it would require complete s hutdown of the 91 Freewa y and 241
Toll R oa d, a tra ffic model wa s implemented to confirm the plan will work. Every potentia l fi re is di fferent, s o multi pl e s c ena rios ha ve
been tes ted. All of the planning and traffic modelling include s ig nifica nt traffic g enera tion from the Fes tiva l s ite. Whether i t is a
commercia l us e (like the theater wa s ) or the propos ed res idential us e, the traffic from the s ite will be very s imilar a nd i s inc l uded i n
the evacua tion models .
Another concern is the s urrounding infra s tructure a vailable for eva cuation. The tra ffic i s s ues in Ana hei m Hi l l s are the res ult of
freewa y traffic cutting through our community to bypas s gridlock on the 91 Freewa y a nd 241 T ol l R oad. Without thi s c ut throug h
traffic, Anaheim Hills ha s s ufficient infra s tructure to s erve the community. We mus t a ddres s this i s s ue a t its s ourc e a nd
improvements are underwa y. The 91/241 Direct Connector project will beg in cons truc tion thi s yea r and wi l l be complete i n 2029.
C ons truction has a lready beg un on a multi-pha s e improvement pla n for the 91 Frwy whic h will add lanes a nd reduc e weavi ng to avoi d
backups . Thes e projects will not eliminate cut throug h tra ffic but will s ig nifica ntly reduce it.
When cons idering the propos ed project, I a ls o need to cons ider State ma nda tes for hous i ng . T hi s s i te at the Fes ti val C enter i s the onl y
hous ing s ite in Anaheim Hills included in the C ity’s Hous ing Plan. It is arg ua bly the lea s t impac tful s ite i n Anaheim Hills for hous ing
s ince the s ite is alrea dy approved for development. The traffic g enerated by the propos ed project i s offs et by the previous
commercia l us e. The building s ize a nd s ca le is not out of pla ce with the s urrounding commercial us es . The project does not i mpa ct
open s pa ce. The project reta ins the g ym and the da yca re which are importa nt amenities for the c ommuni ty. T he projec t devel opment
ag reement requires inves tment in the Fes tival C enter commercial us es to a ttract high qua l i ty tenants and help ins ure the economic
via bility of the center for many years to come.
A final decis ion on the project wa s continued until the February 3 C ity Council meeting but I wa nted to provi de you wi th additi ona l
information a nd upda tes a s the proces s moves forward. Plea s e do not hes ita te to conta c t me if you have a ddi tional ques tions .
Sincerely,
Nata lie Meeks
Ana heim C ouncil Member
Dis trict 6
From: N atalie Me e ks <NMeeks@anaheim.net>
Se nt: Saturday, January 10, 2026 11:14 AM
To: France s Chase <france s.chase @chase worl dwide.com>
Subje ct: Re : [EXTERNA L] Urgent: Life -Safe ty Risks of She a Properties Festi val Cente r Apartme nt Proj e ct
Ms . C ha s e - Tha nk you for reaching out to s hare your concerns regarding the propos ed projec t at the Ana hei m Hi l l s Fes ti val C enter.
The project is s cheduled for C ity C ouncil cons ideration on January 13. A public hearing wi l l be hel d to provide a pres enta tion of the
project a nd a llow for comments from the public. Your written comments will als o be s ha red wi th the other C ounc i l Members and
made part of the record. I ha ve reviewed the documents a nd s tudies ava ila ble for the projec t and I wi l l conti nue to g ather informati on
and input reg arding the project throug hout the public hearing proces s . Until the public hea ring proces s is complete, I a m prohibited
from ta king a formal pos ition on the project.
Ag a in, thank you for s ha ring your concerns . I appreciate you being an engaged member of our c ommuni ty.
Nata lie Meeks
Ana heim C ouncil Member
Dis trict 6
From: France s Chase <f rance s.chase@chaseworldwi de .com>
Se nt: Saturday, January 10, 2026 10:47 AM
To: France s Chase <france s.chase @chase worl dwide.com>
Subje ct: [EXTERN AL] Urge nt: Li fe-Safety Ri sks of Shea Prope rti e s Fe stival Ce nter Apartment P roje ct
Y ou don't often get em ail from fran c es.c hase@c h asew orldw ide.c om . Learn w hy this is im portan t
Warning: This email originated from outside the City of Anaheim. Do not click links or open attachme nts unle ss you recognize the
sender and are expecting the message.
Dear Anaheim City Council Members,
I am writing as a resident of Anaheim Hills for over 30 years regarding the proposed Shea Properties ~450+ unit apartment complex at the
Festival Shopping Center. I have supported the growth of our community through donations to local churches and schools, but I cannot support
a project of this scale that creates such serious risk.
Our streets are already dangerously constrained during emergencies. Residents vividly remember the 2017 fire evacuation—streets were
gridlocked, and families with children, elderly loved ones, and pets faced real fear while trying to escape. Every fire season anxi ety levels
increase, as neighbors discuss their fears that Anaheim Hills may realize a weather driven fire catastrophe as so many others.
Adding 1,000+ cars from this development could turn a serious emergency into another potential tragedy. The previously proposed Deer Canyon
project, which posed the same risks, was rightly rejected.
I urge the Council to prioritize the safety of Anaheim Hills families and reconsider this project before it puts lives at risk.
Sincerely,
Frances Chase
CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT: The information contained in this email and any attached documents is confidential, privil eged and only for the informati on of the intended recipient
and may not be used, published or redistributed without the prior written consent of Chase Packaging, LLC. If you recei ved thi s message by mistake, please repl y to this message and
follow with its deletion.