25 (049)Some people who received this message don't often get email from k_hines@charter.net. Learn why this is important
Date:3/20/2026 1:59:47 PM
From:"k_hines@charter.net" k_hines@charter.net
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 vot No on the Shea/Festival Center Apartments for safe ty reasons
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sender and are expecting the message.
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.
Our entire neighborhood was in a state of chaos, parents attempting to rescue their children from schools then getting stuck in standstill traffic with
nowhere to go.
Our neighborhood was completely closed in, told to evacuate but due to the location of the schools and no street outlets we were stuck.
The 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.
There is a pending road project for the 241 Toll Road to funnel Northbound traffic directly into the toll road East bound is only going to cause an
unforeseen domino effect just as prior efforts to divert the Riverside traffic have caused. That Riverside traffic is only going to get worse as more
housing developments are currently being built and will be ongoing until they run out of room on the 15 freeway.
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,
Katherine Hines
Stephen Waterman
1200 S Silver Star Way
Anaheim, CA 92808