2024-053 - Final Supplemental for The Related Bristol Specific Plan Project

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The Project site is within 4 miles of 6 existing fire stations and the Project site is within a developed area that is currently served by these stations. The two nearest serving stations (Station 76 and 77) are slightly under and slightly over the response time standard 901h percentile of 8:30 minutes. The calls for service from the additional population at the Project site could result in an increase in response times, and result in Station 76 exceeding the existing standards for service or result in Station 77 further exceeding the existing standards for service, if the calls coincide with other calls for service. However, fire protection equipment and staffing can be augmented by the City as needed (with assistance from revenue provided by the proposed Project and the fire facilities fee required per Chapter 8-46 of the Municipal Code) to expand fire protection and emergency medical staffing and equipment provided from existing stations and better accommodate simultaneous service calls. Chapter 8-46 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code requires a fire facilities fee be paid prior to the issuance of building permit for construction of buildings exceeding two stories in height, such as the buildings included in the proposed Project. The purpose of the fire facilities fee is to improve fire stations in the City and provide revenue for equipment needed to fight fires in buildings over two stories in height. The proposed Project would be required to pay a fire facilities fee to fund the improvement of existing fire facilities and provision of any needed equipment. Additionally, the proposed Project would remove the existing buildings, which were constructed pursuant to fire code standards of the early 1970s and 1980s and develop new building structures pursuant to the most recent California building and fire codes, which would improve the fire safety of the Project site compared to the existing buildings. California's building/fire codes are published in their entirety every three years and were most recently updated in 2022. As all projects within the City, the proposed Project would be required per City permitting to comply with existing regulations, including the Santa Ana Fire Code and the OCFA Fire Prevention Guideline B-09, Fire Master Plans for Commercial and Residential Development. Overall, with the six existing fire stations within approximately 4 miles of the Project site, and the first and second responding stations 0.5 mile and 2.2 miles from the proposed Project, the area has adequate nearby fire facilities to serve the proposed Project in addition to the existing service needs of the area; and construction of a new or expanded fire station would not be required as a result of the proposed Project. As provided by the OCFA 2022 Statistical Annual Report, OCFA fire stations responded to 30,604 incidents resulting in 40,244-unit responses. Of the calls for service, 75 percent (22,835) were for emergency medical calls, 2 percent (734) were for fire incidents, and 23 percent (7,035) were for other incidents, which includes: cancelled service calls, ruptures, hazardous conditions, false alarms, and miscellaneous calls. Thus, the proposed Project would not result in substantial adverse physical impacts associated with the provision of, or the need for, new or physically altered fire protection facilities. Also, existing fire protection facilities, equipment, and staffing could be augmented as needed, as disclosed within the GPU FEIR (with assistance from revenue provided by the proposed Project and the fire facilities fee required prior to the issuance of building permits per Chapter 8-46 of the Municipal Code) to expand fire protection and emergency medical staffing and equipment provided from existing stations as the stations have capacity for additional staffing. Therefore, impacts related to fire protection services would be less than significant and consistent with those identified in the GPU FEIR, which determined