Item 27 - Appeal Application Nos. 2020-03 and 2020-04 - Central Pointe Mixed-Use Development

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to essential staff. Due to these emergency circumstances, the City's response to your Public Records Act request will be delayed. Thank you for your patience in these unprecedented times. From: John Hanna <jhanna@swcarpenters.org> Sent: Monday, October 26, 2020 2:17 PM To: eComment <ecomment@santa-ana.org> Subject: Public Comment on Regular Hearing agenda Item 1 Central Pointe Project- In support of continuing the matter My name is John Hanna and am writing on behalf of the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters including those members who are residents of the City of Santa Ana. We urge the Planning Commission to continue this Public Hearing or in the Alternative, begin the Public Hearing and hear or read public comment tonight but continue the Public Hearing for another session between 30-60 days from now. There is much to like about this project in terms of its location and adding new housing stock to the city. However, certain deficiencies exist which are curable. They are: 1) Providing a public benefit of affordable housing, either as part of the project or providing an in lieu fee. While the requirements of the Housing Opportunity ordinance are not triggered, it doesn't look like staff even broached the subject of some effort by the developer. Staff pushed back on other areas, including commercial, but not affordable units or some fee, despite the fact that quality affordable housing is a city priority. 2) Provide some measure of a local skilled and trained workforce. As the economy continues to slide into a longer and deeper recession, Santa Ana residents are hurting, including many who have been educated and trained at Santa Ana Unified and Rancho Santiago Community College District programs. While I'm all for conditions of approval concerning the size and height of palm trees, providing a good local job for Santa ana residents and graduates of local school and college districts seems to me something that would fit nicely into a development agreement. 3) 115,130 feet enough commercial space? The staff is to be commended for urging the applicant to increase the commercial component of the project and the applicant did make a good faith effort to comply with that request, increasing it by 40%. The viability study however said the area could support up to 21,000 square feet of commercial space . This part of the city screams for commercial development so that people who will reside in these units and their neighbors to the north will have something local. More commercial would decrease the use of longer drives for residents as well as reduce the likelihood that residents will live in Santa Ana but shop in Tustin. Respectfully, these issues and perhaps others raised by others, could very well be worked out with a 30-60 continuance and that is our request.