8.1. Public Hearing to consider adoption of a resolution approving the demolition of an existing 40,000 square foot (SF) manufacturing facility and site redevelopment with a 57,900 SF truck terminal that includes 52,900 SF of warehouse space, 5,000 SF of office space, and an accessory 5,400 SF maintenance building located at 534 W. Struck Avenue; certifying Environmental Impact Report No. 1870-20; and adopting all findings and a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program. (Applicant: Prologis, L.P.)
Mayor and members of Orange City Council,
I am John Underwood, supporter-advocate for a number of homeless individuals form Orange County and the City of Orange. I am deeply concerned for the welfare of those unhoused individuals who still frequent the homeless services center and food kitchen on Struck Avenue known as the Hub. On Tuesday August 22 it is the recommendation of your staff to certify the Environmental Impact report prepared by T and B Planning Consultants regarding the planned demolition and reconstruction of a 57,000 square ft. trucking and logistics operation at the end of Struck Avenue right next door to the existing and operating homeless service facility you authorized to replace the previous Mary's Kitchen. You will do so without the benefit of review or consideration of the potential impacts the demolition, construction, and operation of a 24-hour Prologis trucking operation will have on pedestrian traffic attempting to make its way up Struck Avenue mainly on foot, on bicycle, and often in wheelchairs to reach the Hub kitchens. Examination of the proposed EIR pepared for you by T and B has omitted any reference to the potential impacts this project will have on humans on foot (approximately 30-40 per day) approaching or departing the Hub or any provisions for remediation of this soon to be very busy street which terminates at a cul-de-sac allowing only one way in or out.
This is an unacceptable oversight on the part of the planners and a blind spot in the scope of this EIR project that will most certainly jeopardize the safety and very possibly the lives of individuals simply trying to work their way toward the Hub. In all my years of familiarity with EIRs and their potential impact sections I have never seen a scope of study that did not include an assessment and mitigation of pedestrian traffic. . . until now. Pedestrian traffic moving up Struck Avenue to receive much needed services is a well established pattern, and has been so for decades. For your EIR team to simply omit it from consideration as potentially impacted stakeholders is to deny the obvious and potentially may even recklessly open the city to future wrongful injury litigation. So unless you plan to scuttle the Hub and its homeless services the way you hastily terminated Mary's Kitchen, I suggest you forgo voting to certify this flawed EIR until which time as you can properly evaluate and ensure proper safety measures and mitigations on behalf of the human beings who continue to traverse Struck Avenue to reach the services you have promised them, without endangering their lives.
Mayor and members of Orange City Council,
I am John Underwood, supporter-advocate for a number of homeless individuals form Orange County and the City of Orange. I am deeply concerned for the welfare of those unhoused individuals who still frequent the homeless services center and food kitchen on Struck Avenue known as the Hub. On Tuesday August 22 it is the recommendation of your staff to certify the Environmental Impact report prepared by T and B Planning Consultants regarding the planned demolition and reconstruction of a 57,000 square ft. trucking and logistics operation at the end of Struck Avenue right next door to the existing and operating homeless service facility you authorized to replace the previous Mary's Kitchen. You will do so without the benefit of review or consideration of the potential impacts the demolition, construction, and operation of a 24-hour Prologis trucking operation will have on pedestrian traffic attempting to make its way up Struck Avenue mainly on foot, on bicycle, and often in wheelchairs to reach the Hub kitchens. Examination of the proposed EIR pepared for you by T and B has omitted any reference to the potential impacts this project will have on humans on foot (approximately 30-40 per day) approaching or departing the Hub or any provisions for remediation of this soon to be very busy street which terminates at a cul-de-sac allowing only one way in or out.
This is an unacceptable oversight on the part of the planners and a blind spot in the scope of this EIR project that will most certainly jeopardize the safety and very possibly the lives of individuals simply trying to work their way toward the Hub. In all my years of familiarity with EIRs and their potential impact sections I have never seen a scope of study that did not include an assessment and mitigation of pedestrian traffic. . . until now. Pedestrian traffic moving up Struck Avenue to receive much needed services is a well established pattern, and has been so for decades. For your EIR team to simply omit it from consideration as potentially impacted stakeholders is to deny the obvious and potentially may even recklessly open the city to future wrongful injury litigation. So unless you plan to scuttle the Hub and its homeless services the way you hastily terminated Mary's Kitchen, I suggest you forgo voting to certify this flawed EIR until which time as you can properly evaluate and ensure proper safety measures and mitigations on behalf of the human beings who continue to traverse Struck Avenue to reach the services you have promised them, without endangering their lives.
Respectfully,
John Underwood