Hours of extensive debate ended Tuesday night with the Anaheim City Council\u2019s narrow vote approving the redevelopment of part of the Anaheim Hills Festival center into housing.<\/p>\n
In a decision that had been delayed a couple of times<\/a>, the council voted 4-3 to allow a developer to replace the shuttered Regal Cinema at the southwest end of the shopping center, between Festival Drive and Roosevelt Road, with a 447-unit residential community.<\/a><\/p>\n Mayor Ashleigh Aitken and councilmembers Kristen Maahs and Natalie Meeks were opposed, sharing concerns raised by the dozens of residents who attended the Tuesday, March 3, meeting to convince the city not to allow more housing in an area that has seen wildfires in the past.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there are some positives to this project,\u201d Aitken said, referring to its fulfillment of some state housing requirements and adding park space to the city.<\/p>\n \u201cBut for me, I\u2019m having a problem that none of these positives can really alleviate the concerns that I have around public safety,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n What the council voted through was a four-story apartment complex<\/a> wrapped around a five-level, 954-space parking structure. Plans include 45 moderate-income units and floor plans up to three bedrooms, ranging from 591 to 728 square feet, which would come with their own private balconies or patios.<\/p>\n Blueprints also include a clubhouse, courtyards, a fitness center, swimming pools and a public outdoor dog park, just steps away from the center\u2019s Target, Nordstrom Rack and a handful of shops and restaurants.<\/p>\n But residents who raised their concerns with the council and sent several letters ahead of Tuesday\u2019s meeting pointed out the housing would sit less than a quarter mile east of the Deer Canyon Park Preserve, an area that saw two major fires in 2017<\/a>. They also raised concerns of traffic congestion in the area potentially hindering safe evacuations.<\/p>\n Residents noted about half of the property would fall in what the state fire marshal has designated as a \u201cvery high fire hazard severity zone<\/a>\u201d \u2014 a designation that does not block development, but requires extra precautionary measures<\/a> to combat the area\u2019s proneness to flames.<\/p>\n