10 (302)You don't often get email from peteramazz@gmail.com. Learn why this is important
Date:3/3/2026 12:57:50 PM
From:"Peter A. Mazzarella" peteramazz@gmail.com
To:
"Ashleigh Aitken" AAitken@anaheim.net, "Natalie Meeks" NMeeks@anahe im.ne t, "Ryan Balius"
RBalius@anaheim.net, "Carlos A. Leon" CLeon@anaheim.net, "Natalie Rubalcava" NRubalcava@anaheim.net,
"Norma C. Kurtz" NKurtz@anaheim.net, "Kristen Maahs" KMaahs@anaheim.net
Cc:
"Berenice Ballinas" BBallinas@anaheim.net, "Cameron Wessel" CWesse l@anaheim.net, "Ryan Care y"
RCarey@anaheim.net, "Stacy Vannha" SVannha@anaheim.net, "Magnolia Moreno" MMore no1@anaheim.net, "Angie
Gomez" AGomez3@anaheim.net, "Kellie Tran" KTran4@anaheim.net, "Valeria Sandoval" VSandoval@anaheim.net,
"Daniel Hernandez" DHernandez6@anaheim.net, "Melissa O. Cuevas" MCue vas@anahe im.ne t, "Nadia Villafana"
NVillafana@anaheim.net, "Robert Mendoza" RMendoza@anaheim.net, "Nam Bartash" NBartash@anaheim.net,
"Public Comment" publiccomment@anaheim.net
Subject:[EXTERNAL] Vote No on the Anaheim Hills Festival Specific Plan
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.
De ar Madam Mayor and Counci l Members,
A s the only othe r re side nt of A naheim to attend all 6 District Community me e tings in February, I se cond the re marks be l ow of my brothe r,
John L. Mazzare lla.
Si nce re ly,
Pe te r A. Mazzare lla
From: John L. Mazzare l l a <johnlmazz@gmail.com>
Se nt: Monday, March 2, 2026 11:18 PM
To: 'Ashle igh A i tke n' <A Aitken@anahe i m.ne t>; 'Natalie Me e ks' <nme e ks@anahe i m.ne t>; rbal i us@anahe i m.ne t; cl e on@anahe i m.ne t;
nrubalcava@anahe im.ne t; nkurtz@anaheim.net; 'Kriste n Maahs' <KMaahs@anaheim.net>
Cc: 'Be re ni ce Bal l i nas' <BBallinas@anaheim.net>; 'Came ron Wessel' <CWessel@anahe i m.ne t>; RCAREY@ANA HEIM.N ET;
SV A N N HA @A N AHEIM.NET; MMoreno1@anaheim.net; agomez3@anaheim.net; ktran4@anahe i m.ne t; vsandoval @anahe i m.ne t;
dhe rnande z6@anahe im.ne t; mcuevas@anahe i m.ne t; nvillafana@anahe i m.ne t; rmendoza@anahe i m.ne t; nbartash@anahe i m.ne t;
publiccomme nt@anahe im.net
Subje ct: Vote No on the A naheim Hills Festi val Spe ci fic Pl an
De ar Mayor and Council Me mbe rs,
Thank you f or me e ting w i th me at e ach of the your Di stri ct Communi ty meeti ngs i n Fe bruary. My brothe r, P e te r, and I we re the onl y A nahe im
re si de nts to atte nd e ve ry si ngle District Community me e ting. It was e xtremely useful and he l pful to unde rstand the di ff e re nt ne e ds and
chal l e nge s of e ach District.
Wi l d Fi re i s the ove rw he l mi ng challenge and evacuation i s the most desperate need for the re si de nts of Di stri ct 6. Fortunate l y, Di stri ct 6
doe sn’t have the challe nge s of prostitution, gang acti vity, narcotics, and crime that other Di stri cts of A nahe i m may be faci ng, but addi ng more
housing in the High Fi re Ri sk Zone i n East Anaheim Hills will gre atl y magni fy the al ready e xtre me l y te rri f yi ng aspe ct of tryi ng to e vacuate
duri ng an i nte nse Wild Fire .
I e cho Mayor A i tke n’s comments in the January 13, 2026 Anahe i m City Counci l Meeti ng at 6:45:30, “I am e xtre me ly conce rne d about adding
housing to this part (East Anahe im Hills) of District 6 if we have other available options in The Canyon or in are as that are not in the High Fire
Zone .”
The re are a multi tude of other areas to build housi ng i n Di stri ct 6 and at 6:10:25 in the January 13th me e ti ng Anahe i m Pl anni ng & Bui l di ng
Di re ctor He athe r A l l e n state s, “The bulk of the sites in D6 that were actual candidate site s are North of the 91 in District 6” (on the La Palma
side).
Eve n the de ve lope r She a Bui l de rs acknowledge d the delete rious e ffe ct of adding more housi ng i n the Fe sti val Shoppi ng Ce nte r, at 2:42:57 of
the January 13th me e ti ng by stating, “Re ducing the unit count has the single bigge st impact on traffic and e vacuation time s,” and at 2:50:40
She a Bui l de rs we nt on to say, “The project exce e ds City adopte d VMT per service population thre shold and the re fore doe s cre ate a significant
unavoidable impact.”
By atte ndi ng all the District meeti ngs I did e ventually learn that the State Housi ng Mandate doe s not force the Ci ty of Anahe i m to re zone and
build re side nti al apartme nts i n the Fe stival Shopping Cente r i n East Anaheim Hills, and as Di re ctor Al l e n state d i n the January 13th me e ti ng,
the bulk of the candi date site are N orth of the 91 Fre e way. There fore , to build more residenti al uni ts i n East Anahe i m Hi l l s w he re Fi re
Evacuati on duri ng the 2017 Canyon 2 Fire took 3 hours i s tantamount to wi l l ful ne glige nce .
Mayor Pro Te m Le on, thank you for al l your e fforts for District 6 as you are a Board Member of the OCTA , how e ve r, Di stri ct 6 ne e ds to have the
e vacuation i nfrastructure of Weir Canyon Road l i nked to Jamboree Road and the Fai rmount Boul e vard fl y-ove r i n pl ace f i rst be f ore e ve n
e nte rtaining the ide a of more re si de ntial housing in East Anahe i m Hi l l s.
Council Me mbe r Maahs, thank you for l i stening to me at your District meeti ng and l e tti ng me know that you gre w up i n A nahe i m Hi l l s and that
your pare nts still l i ve i n A naheim Hills. You are probably more that aware of the traffic gri dl ock al ong Santa A na Canyon Road and how that can
transl ate into she e r catastrophe duri ng an i ntense Wild Fire dri ven by hi gh East to West Santa A na Wi nds.
Council Me mbe r Me e ks, at your District 6 meeti ng you told me that you have “fai th i n the Know Your Way Pl an,” how e ve r, i t i s j ust that, onl y a
the ore ti cal pl an, i t has not be e n te sted or stre ss te sted. Now, the onl y way to test the plan i n re al l i fe i s f or anothe r Wi l d Fi re e vacuati on to
occur and that’s w hat w i l l have to happen i n orde r to se e if the plan works and the n have fai th i n i t. I mi ght have be e n bl unt wi th you at the
Di stri ct 6 me e ting, be cause you need to unde rstand that the vast majori ty of your District 6 consti tue nts are absol ute l y te rri fi e d of more
housing in East Anahe i m Hi l l s addi ng to alre ady unte nable e vacuati on ti me s. Your first duty as an Anahe im City Council Me mber is to your
constituents and to re present the m and the ir conce rns, and they do not want the de velopme nt at the Fe stival Shopping Ce nte r. If you are
thi nking of supporting thi s proje ct then you ne e d to re si gn from the Anaheim Ci ty Council be f ore the vote of the A nahe i m Hi l l s Fe sti val
Spe ci fic Pl an be cause you do not re present the vast majority of constitue nts i n Di stri ct 6. Your approval rati ng i s al re ady ne ar ze ro i n Di strict 6,
but you can re de e m yourse lf by voting No on thi s proposal. If you do othe rwi se , the n the onl y concl usi on that the re si de nts of Di stri ct 6 w i l l
come to i s that you are i nvolve d in some form of i l l i ci t acti vity.
Fi nally Madam Mayor and Counci l Members, at the District 3 Community Me e ting, in spe aki ng w i th Anahe i m Chi e f Communi cati ons Off i ce r,
Mike Lyste r about the Anahe i m Hi l l s Spe ci fic Pl an, he tol d me, “If you don’t l i ke l i ving in a Hi gh Fi re Zone are a, the n you shoul d l e ave .” I don’t
thi nk this shoul d be the me ssage or motto of Anahe i m, “If you don’t like it leave.” I woul d rathe r l i ke to he ar, “Le t’s work toge the r to make i t
be tte r.”
The refore, I believe the first duty of all of you as Council Me mbe rs for the City of Anahe im is to prote ct the live s and safe ty of all Anahe im
re side nts, and in orde r to do so and work toge ther to make it be tte r, is to vote NO on the Anahe im Hills Fe stival Spe cific Plan. Thank you.
Si nce re ly,
John L. Mazzare lla
307 S. Basi l Stre e t
A nahe im Hills, CA 92808
From: John L. Mazzare l l a <johnlmazz@gmail.com>
Se nt: Sunday, De ce mbe r 14, 2025 11:44 PM
To: aaitke n@anahe i m.ne t; 'Natal i e Meeks' <nmeeks@anaheim.net>; rbal i us@anaheim.net; cl e on@anahe i m.ne t; nrubal cava@anahe i m.ne t;
nkurtz@anahe im.ne t; kmaahs@anaheim.net
Cc: 'Be re ni ce Bal l i nas' <bballinas@anaheim.net>; cwessel@anahe i m.ne t; RCAREY@ANAHEIM.NET; SV ANNHA@ANA HEIM.N ET;
MMore no1@anahe i m.ne t; agome z3@anahe i m.ne t; ktran4@anahe i m.ne t; vsandoval @anahe i m.ne t; dhe rnande z6@anahe i m.ne t;
mcue vas@anahe i m.ne t; nvillafana@anahe i m.ne t; rmendoza@anaheim.net; nbartash@anahe i m.ne t; publ i ccomme nt@anahe i m.ne t;
f i re inf o@anahe im.ne t
Subje ct: Anahe i m Hi l l s Fe stival Specifi c Plan
De ar Mayor and Council Me mbe rs,
Afte r any major disaste r in which human live s are lost, the first que stion always is: W hat we re the warning signs? Approving the Anahe im Hills
Spe cific Plan and adding any future residential buildings in Anaheim Hills without any traffic mitigation is your first and only warning sign.
A nahe im Hills i s Hi gh Fire Risk area and currentl y when a major fi re hi ts, fueled and spread by hi gh Santa A na wi nds, the re si de nts do not have
ne arly any ade quate or ne ce ssary fire emergency escape routes.
During the Octobe r 2017 Canyon 2 Fire whe n re si de nts of Anahe i m Hi l l s had to evacuate, the re are mul ti pl e accounts that i t took re si de nts 3
hours to only trave l 2 mi l e s al ong Santa Ana Canyon Road. Si nce the n the City of Anahe i m has i nsti tute d the “Know Your Way” pl an, but thi s
plan is compl e te ly unte ste d and the one undeniabl e fundamental fact that Anahe i m Fi re Chi e f Pat Russe l l w i l l te sti f y to i s that w he n the re i s a
large scal e re si de ntial f i re e vacuati on, eve ryone te nds to evacuate all at once which will resul t agai n i n e nti re gri dl ock al ong the curre nt
e vacuation route s and if large f i re balls sweep through those are as, pe opl e sitting in traffic w i l l di e .
I know the City of Anahe i m is be i ng mandated by the State of Cal i forni a to bui l d more housi ng, but i f i t wi l l j e opardi ze the safe ty of the curre nt
re si de nts i n A nahe im Hills, which the Anahe i m Hi l l s Spe ci fic Pl an will do, the n it doesn’t justi f y or val i date the State of Cal i f orni a’s mandate .
Prope r fire e me rge ncy e vacuation route s need to be in pl ace be fore any further building in A nahe i m Hi l l s can be done . We i r Canyon Road has
not be e n l i nke d to Jamboree Road and the Fai rmount Boulevard fl y-over has been bui l t ove r the Santa A na Ri ve r to conne ct to Fai rmount
Boule vard in Yorba Li nda. Anahe i m Hi l l s re si de nts ne e d to have both of those vital fire eme rge ncy e vacuati on route s avai l abl e . In short, the
State of Calif ornia, the County of Orange, and the Ci ty of Anaheim has not done the i r due di l i ge nce to prope rl y prote ct the re si de nts of
A nahe im Hills and provi de ade quate amounts of e me rge ncy e vacuati on routes to allow for more re si de nti al bui l di ng i n Anahe i m Hi l l s to occur.
If the City Anahe i m vote s for the A naheim Festi val Spe ci fic Pl an which will allow for 1,000 addi ti onal re si de nts and ve hi cl e s i n Anahe i m Hi l l s
w i thout having any additi onal e me rge ncy fire evacuation route s, the n the City of Anahe i m wi l l be w i l l ful l y ne gl i ge nt w he n the ne x t l arge scale
re si de ntial f i re occurs i n A naheim Hills and as a result re si de nts will be trappe d in gri dl ock traff i c and human l i ve s w i l l be l ost.
The Cine ma in the Fe sti val Shoppi ng Ce nter has al ways be e n a cinema since i ts i nce ption many ye ars ago, but i t can be some thi ng e l se
comme rci ally. In the same shoppi ng ce nter, a former Stein Mart store was subdi vided i nto two store s: Nordstrom Rack and Ul ta Be auty and
both of those store s now are doing ve ry we l l . 20 years ago a Supe r K-Mart in Anahe i m Hi l l s on Pul l man Stre e t be came a Home De pot, w hi ch is
thrivi ng and i s the se cond l argest Home De pot i n the Uni ted State s. The former cinema at Impe ri al Hi ghway and La P al ma A ve nue i s now a
Te sl a Se rvice Ce nte r and the f ormer Big Lots on Santa Ana Canyon wi l l be a Trader Joe ’s, whi ch I know many re si de nts are l ooki ng forward to.
The important poi nt i s that the cinema building in the Festi val Shoppi ng Ce nter re main for comme rci al use be cause whe n the ne x t l arge
re si de ntial f i re e ve nt occurs, especial l y a Re d Fl ag Warni ng, those busi ne sse s wi l l be cl ose d and no traff i c w i l l be comi ng or goi ng f rom the m.
Fi nally, w hat is e xtre me ly vi tal to point out is i f there is a l arge residenti al bui l di ng i nstead, 1000 pe opl e wi l l de sce nd on that are a by comi ng
home from w ork afte r pi cking up their childre n from school and the n evacuating al l at once and addi ng to the paral yzi ng traff i c gri dl ock al ong
Santa Ana Canyon and many of the m could l ose the i r l i ves as a result.
The re f ore , be cause the l i ves of the residents of Anaheim Hills are in gre at danger duri ng a l arge scal e re si de nti al f i re due to the f act that
curre ntl y ade quate e me rge ncy e vacuati on routes do not ex i t i s the Warning Sign staring you al l di re ctl y i n the f ace and i n orde r to mi ti gate the
gre at risk that the re si de nts of Anahe i m Hi l l s face, you have to vote “No” on the Anahe i m Hi l l s Fe sti val Spe ci fi c P l an.
Si nce re ly,
John L. Mazzare lla
307 S. Basi l Stre e t
A nahe im Hills, CA 92808