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Date:3/2/2026 9:35:18 PM
From:"Nora Velazquez"
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 safe ty issue
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Dear Council Member,
I am writing to you as a resident of Anaheim 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. T he 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.
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. 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.
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.
Sincerely,
Nora L. Velazquez
Anaheim CA 92807