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Letter to City of Santa Ana <br />February 28, 2014 <br />Page 2 <br />ISSUE 3: In terms of modifying the plan in a way that allows the Bristol Street Coalition businesses to stay on their properties, we <br />believe this is very unwise and urge you not to reduce the width of the Bristol as planned. <br />Leaving the buildings means narrow sidewalks, reduced plantings, and is just bad planning. Increased risks to vehicles, bicyclists <br />and pedestrians alike, and may leave the City open to liability when accidents occur. No matter how Bristol is configured, these existing <br />structures will be too close to the street and would create a safety hazard for vehicles coming and goingfrom their properties. In addition, <br />there is a lot of foot and bicycle traffic along Bristol, much from Santa Ana College. Not doing a "full- take" puts pedestrians and cyclists <br />on a crowded sidewalk that is too narrow, too close to the street, with no room for a buffer. <br />From an aesthetic and historical point of view, the plan to remove the buildings allows future development that will be consistent <br />and complimentary in appearance with the revisions done by Santa Ana College across Bristol and the newer buildings at the corner <br />of 17th and Bristol. There is nothing of architectural distinction or historical significance about the businesses'buddings that wouldjustify their <br />preservation. <br />Leaving them in place leaves no room for landscaping along the stretch of Bristol either. We want that part of the street to finally <br />look attractive and we think the City wants that too! Ideally we would like the edge of our neighborhood to look like the beautifully <br />landscaped and lighted area on South Bristol. <br />We are sympathetic to the owners of these businesses. They have made their living by providing professional services in the City <br />of Santa Ana for many years and we applaud them for it. We hope that the City will provide them generous assistance in relocation, <br />preferably within Santa Ana. <br />ISSUE 4: The former H. Salt site on the North corner of Washington and Bristol. <br />Washington Square waited patiently for years while toxic soil abatement was conducted because a gas station was once on the <br />site. The City continuously spends a lot of money to maintain the chain -link fencing and green wrapping around the lot. It is regularly <br />breached, torn, and graffitied. We have been told that it will be remediated when the widening occurs. But it looks like that is going to <br />be later rather than sooner. This is fiscally unwise for the City and really unfair to us! The lot is a major entrance to our neighborhood; <br />it looks terrible and negatively affects our property values. <br />We urgently request The City to remove the fencing clean up the lot, and create a clean open space with grass and landscaping This would <br />be a huge improvement and will solve the problem of people jumping the fence and doing as they please, shielded from view by the <br />wrapped fencing. <br />Please reply to this e- letter to let us know you have read it. You will have overwhelming support from Washington Square resi- <br />dents to implement these actions and changes. Please send your response to these issues and your ideas of how we can work together to <br />solve these problems. <br />Sincerely, <br />Bristol Street Widening Ad Hoc Committee <br />Washington Square Neighborhood Association <br />an all volunteer 501(c)(3) in Santa Ana, California <br />55C -91 <br />