Item 34 - Public Hearing - Appeal Application No. 2024-01 for Construction of a 23’-4” Tall Accessory Building (2221 N Heliotrope Drive)

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Ocampo, Nuvia From: Leslie Kato <leslie.kato@sbcglobal.net> Sent: Sunday, August 25, 2024 2:18 PM To: eComments, PBA Subject: CUP 2022-06 - Agenda Item #3 - August 26, 2024 meeting Follow Up Flag: Follow up Flag Status: Flagged Attention: This email originated from outside of City of Santa Ana. Use caution when opening attachments or links I am writing in opposition to the Kieus (2221 North Heliotrope Drive, Santa Ana, CA 92706) request for variance to erection a 2-story structure measuring 23 feet, 4 inches in height that exceeds Santa Ana's City height and story limitations (15 feet, 1-story). If you grant this variance, you are setting a precedence that will not only allow others to erect structures exceeding City height/story limitations but the Kieus as well: A family who has blatantly ignored city regulations in the past. 1 - Their latest violation was in relation to a roofing project on the swim house structure in the backyard of the residence. 2 - They were denied approval to replace the house's original cast-iron windows but ignored the denial. They replaced all but one window under the guise of tenting the house for termites. They used the tent covering of the house to hide their actions of removing and replacing the windows. 3 - In front of the Historical Committee they pleaded poverty in their ability to repair the home's flat roof. They said that the cost to repair the flat roof was astronomical and the only feasible solution was to change the flat roof to a pitched roof. A gentleman who had examined the roof spoke saying that the flat roof was repairable at a nominal cost. Their request for changing the home's roofline was denied by the Historical Committee. The Kieus are not using their property to entertain friends and family. They host school visits, cultural gatherings, and festivals on the property. School buses and cars line the street, some even blocking neighbors' driveways. There have also been several instances when TV news vehicles have been present. The Kieus have publicly announced their intentions to designate this property as a Cultural Center. I admire their desire to persevere and share their Vietnamese history and culture. But the property is zoned residential. It was suggested to them in 2022 at a meeting with the Floral Park Association lead by then President Jeff Katz, that they should seek another location for their proposed Center outside of Floral Park. The Kieus will play out a sob story in relation to this current situation. They will state how they purchased this antiquity to save it from destruction. They may mention the costs they incurred purchasing, deconstructing, shipping, and storing the structure. All this should be moot in regard to the City's Regulations. There are historical structures being torn down/destroyed worldwide daily. There is nothing that makes this particular structure worthy of violating City Code. The Kieus should have been aware of the City's height/story limitations prior to the purchasing of this structure. The burden of costs incurred are of their own doing. Lastly, the original site for the erection of this structure was to be 2 feet from the wall enclosing their backyard facing North Heliotrope Drive. the structure would have been visible from the street, sidewalk, and surrounding homes. What also would have been visible would be the people who stood on the second story of the structure. People who could look into neighbors' yards. The proposed location on Santa Clara, along with the bamboo shield being grown by the Kieus will lessen intrusions. But if you give them this variance, they will use its precedence to erect more structures that exceed City limitations. And the bulk of the open area in their yard faces North Heliotrope Drive: the exact place where they originally wanted to erect this structure and the area with the most visibility.