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CAJA Environmental Services, LLC <br />9410 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Suite 101 <br />Chatsworth, CA 91311 <br />Phone 310-469-6700 Fax 310-806-9801 <br />260: Recreational Home, which is defined as either (1) a second home used by its owner periodically for <br />recreation or (2) a home rented on a seasonal basis. No additional trip generation data or studies were <br />available from other sources that would be more applicable to an STR ban. Thus, the recreational <br />homeland use (Land Use 260) from the ITE Trip Generation Manual is the most appropriate representative <br />land use for the purposes of analyzing trip generation for STRs. Recreational homes generate less trips <br />than hotels.48 <br />Given the evidence that hotels generate more traffic than STRs, which due to STR ban may result in a <br />significant increase in VMT, the City should evaluate these potential impacts in an EIR. Further, because <br />California state and local policymakers and agencies are sensitive to transportation system and VMT <br />impacts, an expert study should be conducted by a recognized transportation specialist using established <br />travel demand and VMT methodologies to include in the EIR. This analysis should estimate the individual <br />vehicle trips and average trip lengths associated with STRs in Santa Ana, compared with those associated <br />with hotel stays in Santa Ana, to evaluate the increase in VMT from eliminating STRs in the City. This <br />would use the ITE model to quantify the VMT associated with the current baseline conditions where STRs <br />are permitted, with regional travel demand based on residential use and proximity to tourist areas. This <br />should be compared against a scenario where STR uses have been eliminated and there is an increased <br />demand for hotels further from tourist areas. <br />If the increase in VMT from an STR ban exceeds the applicable threshold, transportation impacts could be <br />significant and mitigation measures would need to be provided to reduce impacts to less than significant. <br />Absent any feasible mitigation, impacts to transportation (VMT) could be significant. <br />Increased VMT— New Hotels <br />Based on the locations identified in the City's General Plan, Specific Plan, and Zoning Code as locations <br />for development of new hotels, depending on the availability of land suitable for hotel development in these <br />areas, there is a reasonable possibility these new hotels would be constructed farther from a city center or <br />tourist destination, resulting in greater urban sprawl and VMT, which could result increased traffic. Thus, <br />for the reasons discussed above regarding existing hotels, the City must analyze potential VMT impacts <br />associated with potential new hotels. <br />Tribal Cultural Resources <br />Overview <br />An STR ban may significantly impact tribal cultural resources from the reasonably foreseeable construction <br />and operation of new hotels to accommodate patrons who would have previously utilized STRs. Santa <br />Ana has extensive tribal cultural resources which heighten the risk of impacts from new construction. The <br />Addendum fails to address any of these potential impacts, concluding without supporting evidence that the <br />Proposed Ordinance would "only affect existing structures" and therefore, there would be no change in <br />48 ITE 2021. <br />32 <br />