YOUR WILDFIRE COMMENTS ARE NEEDED @ CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS: 1/14 & 1/28, 6PM

In response to the catastrophic wildfires, please attend tonight’s city council meeting and/or the meeting on Tuesday, January 28th, to speak about our concerns around the fire danger presented by the Orange Heights development. We’ve all seen the horrifying pictures from the Los Angeles firestorms that have engulfed the Palisades and Altadena. That exact type of fire could occur on the proposed Orange Heights site and in fact, multiple recent fires have burned on or close to this location.

There are still steps the City of Orange can take to oppose the project. We hope you will attend the meeting, this evening at 6 pm in the City Council Chamber at 300 E. Chapman Ave and/or in 2 weeks at the same time and location. Please be prepared to speak for two to three minutes during the public comment period. Following are some of the messages we hope you might speak to:

• We are deeply concerned that this development, which is in a “very high fire hazard severity zone,” has received sufficient approval to move forward, despite the fact that the environmental review of the project, which included evaluating fire risk, took place many years ago. The State of California recently updated its wildfire regulations for the wildland-urban interface. This project has not been analyzed under those new regulations, and it should be.
• [Speak from your own experience, if you’ve had to evacuate from a wildfire, or if you know someone personally who has been affected by the fires in Los Angeles.]
• A recent lawsuit has helped to stall ground-breaking on this project, as the California Department of Fish and Wildlife evaluates the status of an important pollinator species, the Crotch’s bumble bee, that lives on the property. If the lawsuit is successful, the court could require CDFW to rescind the species “taking” permit until a further analysis is prepared. The City could join the lawsuit or send a letter of support.
• We have approached the Irvine Company regarding a potential conservation acquisition of the property.  There is a plethora of wildlife in the area. If the City is willing to weigh in to support the proposal to conserve the property, that would be helpful.
• The City should look at the permits it already issued to the Irvine Company to determine if any of them have expired. If so, the City could require a supplemental environmental impact report to update the wildfire impacts analysis before considering renewing or reconsidering the approval.
• In conclusion, this is a poorly conceived project that was approved many years ago. Regulations and the climate have both changed since that time. The dangers presented by the project are higher in the current moment, where it is hotter and drier and these areas are highly likely to burn in the coming years. The risks are simply too great. 
• We still have an opportunity to get this right, to protect public safety and prevent the destruction of property. As representatives of this community, you can stand up and take action to stop this development from happening.

Please arrive a few minutes early to find parking and fill out a comment card to be submitted to the city clerk.  If possible, email me to confirm your participation in the meetings.  Comments can also be sent via email ccpubliccomment@cityoforange.org

Thank you!

Barefoot Joel Robinson
No Orange Heights (NOH)
714-798-4392 (text/voice from my laptop)
714-639-8480 (landline)
jrobinson@naturalist-for-you.org

 
Petition
Instagram
Irreplaceable Short Film
Take-Action Checklist