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Date:3/3/2026 1:10:22 PM
From:"Leona S" sunset.310@hotmail.com
To:"Public Comment" publiccomment@anaheim.net
Subject:[EXTERNAL] Festival Shopping Center - Opposition Letter
Attachment:Festival - Opposition Letter.doc;
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To All C ouncil Members ,
I s trong ly oppos e to the Fes tiva l Project. Pleas e s ee my letter attached. In a ddition to public hea ring , the city s houl d a l s o mail out a
form to a ll the res idents affected by the propos al. Thos e who ca nnot attend the meeting will have a n opportuni ty to voi ce thei r
opinion. O therwis e, a ll the oppos itions received do not reflect the actual counts .
-Leona Sheriff
321 S Bas il St
Ana heim Hills , C A 92808
Virus-free.www.avg.com
March 2, 2026
EVACUATION AT RISK!
Dear Council Members of City of Anaheim,
I am writing to express my opposition to the development of the affordable housing in the
Festival Shopping Center. This is a very high fire hazard area and I am VERY concerned
regarding evacuation. Case in point, AAA Auto Club home insurance underwriter declined my
application for this reason. As I recall the 2017 fire near Canyon Rim Elementary School, I still
feel the terrifying moments when I went to pick up my kid. Traffic was jammed in every street
nearby and none of the cars can move. My hands and knees trembled as I tried to figure out how
to get out of the grid lock on the one main street “Serrano Ave”. I also remember vividly two
fire trucks were stuck in the traffic on the opposite side and had to move inch by inch to squeeze
through certain spots as some of the cars were forced to go over the sidewalk curb to make way.
I live a few blocks from Festival Shopping Center and do my running exercise daily along
Festival Drive. This is where senior living center is also located. Packing with more people to
the area will create an unsafe environment for these seniors as well as all the residents in this
already crowded community. Many of them walk their dogs on this street. With more units to
be built on the block will likely to cause an accident for some as their will be more vehicles.
Also, El Rancho Middle School is located close by. Imagine what the evacuation is like with
parents and students trying to escape the only street available (Santa Ana Canyon Road)? There
are about 1200 students in that school alone which means there will be almost the same number
of cars to pick up the kids. Adding these students to the thousand of students at Canyon High
School located a mile away along the same street will definitely put everyone in danger, not to
mention these are kids. They will be scattered everywhere looking for their parents’ cars, adding
to the grid lock.
Based on just these few facts along should paint a terrifying picture of an escape when a blaze of
fire breaks out. People will be running on foot due to cars unable to move since there is only
ONE main street (Santa Ana Canyon Road)! Therefore, I urge all the city council members to
reject this senseless development. Everyone’s live in this tight community matters. We pay high
taxes to live here and expect our voices of opposition to be heard and delivered. The CEO,
management and employees of the developing company do not live here. No matter how
convincing their presentations are, bear in mind that their objective goal is to make profit. Once
the project is complete, they are gone and the residents continue to live in fear for as long as they
are here. Lastly, insurance companies will likely not to cover this area!!
Many residents are opposed to this project but are unable to deliver their messages due to various
reasons…work, kids, illness, travel, etc.
Regards,
Leona and Gary Sheriff
321 S Basil St, Anaheim Hills CA 92808