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Date:3/3/2026 11:35:09 AM
From:"Robert Berry" RBerry2100@outlook.com
To:"Public Comment" publiccomment@anaheim.net
Subject:[EXTERNAL] Public Safety Concerns Regarding Proposed 445-Unit Apartment De ve lopme nt in Anahe im Hills
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Dear Members of the Ana heim C ity C ouncil,
I am writing reg arding the propos ed 445-unit apartment development in Anaheim Hills , whi ch is bei ng di s c us s ed a t toni g ht’s publ i c
hearing . My comments are offered res pectfully and with s incere concern for the long -term s a fety of our community.
As you know, Anaheim Hills experienced a major wildfire in O ctober 2017. The C a nyon Fire 2, a fas t-moving Sa nta Ana wind–dri ven
brus h fire, broke out on O ctober 8–9, 2017 a nd burned for s evera l da ys . The bla ze s corched thous ands of ac res , forced the evac ua tion
of more tha n 16,000 res idents a cros s Anaheim Hills a nd neig hboring communities , a nd des troyed or da ma g ed homes . Thos e of us who
lived throug h that event remember vividly how quickly the fire a dvanced a nd how difficult eva c ua tion bec a me under extreme wind
conditions .
During that emerg ency, eva cuation times were prolonged and cha otic. It wa s widely reported tha t s ome res i dents required up to three
hours to exit the area . Anaheim Hills ha s limited evacua tion routes , a nd thos e routes were hea vily cong es ted duri ng C anyon Fire 2. T he
s peed of the fire, fueled by Santa Ana winds , left little marg in for dela y.
The addition of a 445-unit apartment complex will rea s onably tra ns late into approxima tely 1,000 a ddi tional vehi cles withi n the
community. In a future wildfire s cena rio, thos e added res idents and vehicles would inevita bl y inc reas e evac ua tion ti me. In a n a rea
alrea dy cons trained by limited exit corridors , this repres ents a s ig nifica nt public s afety c oncern.
The trag ic wildfire in Para dis e, C a lifornia , s erves a s a s obering reminder of what can occ ur when evac ua tion c a pa city is overwhelmed.
A s ta g g ering number of lives were los t there under fas t-moving fire conditions . While Ana hei m Hi l l s is a di fferent community, the
underlying ris k factors —wind-driven fire, topog raphy, a nd limited egres s routes —are not unfa miliar to us . It is cri tic a l that we not pl a ce
our res idents in a s itua tion where eva cuation timelines could become da ng erous ly extended.
I res pectfully urg e the C ouncil to carefully evaluate the cumula tive impa ct this development wi l l ha ve on emerg ency evac ua tion
ca pa city and wildfire s afety. Growth and revenue cons idera tions mus t be ba la nced aga i ns t the funda mental res pons i bi l i ty to protec t
the s afety a nd lives of exis ting res idents .
Thank you for your time a nd thoughtful cons idera tion of this ma tter.
Sincerely,
R obert M. B erry
Ana heim Hills R es ident