3 - WORK STUDY_114 AND 117 EAST FIFTH STREET_COMMENT

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Planning Commission Study Session for the Toll Brothers / First American Title Project October 14. 2019 submitted by Jeffrey Dickman 1218 N. French Street Santa Ana, CA 92701 714 240 0883 Dear Ms. Bernal, please accept the following comments concerning the Toll Brothers / First American Title Company Project. My concerns pertain to the Project's failure to follow key Goals and Polices contained in the Transit Zoning Code EIR, in its Cultural Resources section. I ask that the City respond to my comments about how it will require the Applicant to comply with the the adopted guidance found in City's General Plan, and in its Land Use Element and the Urban Design Elements. THE LAND USE ELEMENT OF THE CITY'S GENERAL PLAN City Goal 3 The preservation of existing neighborhoods (pages 4.4 -13 – 4.4-14 of the Transit Zoning Code) COMMENT: The project fails to follow Goal 3, because it does not contribute to the preservation of existing neighborhoods, nor the antique Downtown. Instead the project introduces out-sized massing with an over-sized scale, which is far and away different from the original houses and apartments in the surrounding neighborhoods. REQUEST #1. Direct the Applicant to redesign the project so it preserves the integrity and character of surrounding neighborhoods, with different massing, a smaller scale, and an architectural design which supports communities instead of threatening them. City Policy 3.1 Support development which provides a positive contribution to neighborhood character and identity. COMMENT: The project does not contribute to the character or identity of the Downtown. Instead the project detracts from the Downtown's mostly 2-story, low, and intimate scale. Most of the antique buildings in the Downtown are taller than wide and share common walls. The largest of these structures covers the corner of one block, which is unlike the massive Toll Brothers development project which is planned to cover the entire First American block. The Downtown includes an array of historic brick and mortar buildings distinguished with different facades which include columns, pediments, and other decorative elements, including a clock tower. These architectural elements are expressed through an array of diverse architectural styles unique to the Downtown. Instead of incorporating these styles and elements, the Toll Brothers project brings forward a building that is not even remotely reflective of any original architectural styles in the Downtown.