Hello City Council and City Planning members, 

We, the residents of Parkside Place, and surrounding areas in San Juan Capistrano write to express our strong opposition of the proposed new twelve unit development, called CAMINO TWELVE located on the .61 acre parcel at 25642 CAMINO DEL AVION. The new development would have a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact upon the physical environment of our neighborhood, and would result in significant effects relating to traffic, noise, and our quality of life.  We therefore urge the City to reject the numerous undue exemptions, waivers, bonuses, and other actions requested by the developer in connection with this project.

First, the proposed 12-unit structure would be excessively large and tall, and cause a jarring lack of transition in our neighborhood’s scale, density, and character.  Our area of San Juan Capistrano is characterized by single-family homes no taller than two stories, which would be dwarfed by the 3-story structure being proposed. The tower would not only be a blight on our street, but would also cast a literal shadow over the neighboring homes.  The nearest buildings remotely resembling the proposed development are all the way on Calle Arroyo—a busy, freeway neighboring street that is more appropriately suited to the type of structure proposed.The developers will try to convince you it is resembling the homes on the “The Farm” development; however, these units are significantly taller and do not have the same single family provisions e.g. front yard, back yard, community spaces, through streets, parking, etc.  

Second, the proposed development would strain our neighborhood’s already inadequate parking situation—as well as dangerously increase traffic on one of the town’s busiest cross streets.  As it is, street parking is minimal in our neighborhood.  The addition of a densely populated new structure that offers tandem parking would only exacerbate this problem: inevitably, visitors and tenants without guaranteed spaces will proliferate through the surrounding streets in search of parking, further straining a limited resource and worsening gridlock. Unsafe streets due to congestion are particularly concerning in light of the multiple schools within 650ft of the property.

Third, if the tower were approved, the process of construction would cause significant disruption to the neighborhood, including noise, dust, street closures, increased traffic, and workers looking for parking, which would negatively impact our quality of life.  Del Avion is simply not equipped to handle the large trucks and equipment that would be needed for such a project.

Fourth, given the location of the proposed development, there is no way for the residents to make a left turn to exit their neighborhood, despite the fact that most community resources (grocery store, restaurants, freeway, gym) are to the left of the property. Meaning, residents of the new neighborhood would need to make a right turn into our neighborhood, then U-turn on a driveway or down the cul-de-sac to exit and make a left, increasing traffic and introducing unnecessary risk to the child-populated community. 

Fifth, given the height of the proposed development and location to existing homes, the new neighbors would have direct visibility into our homes. The new developers will try to explain that their canted angle design will mitigate that; however, humans do not only look straight ahead; in fact, we have an almost 190 degree field of view and although the new design has a slight angle, there would be direct visibility into the bedrooms of kids and adults.  

Sixth, as there is only one way in and out, a severe fire hazard is being introduced as there could potentially be scenarios in which residents could not flee should an emergency occur.

In conclusion, the proposed development would have a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact upon the physical environment of our neighborhood, and would result in significant effects relating to traffic, noise, and quality of life.  We therefore urge you to take our concerns seriously, and to reject the exemptions, waivers, bonuses, and other actions requested by the developer in connection with this project.  Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

The Residents ofParkside Place (and surrounding areas) in San Juan Capistrano