The Anaheim City Council on Tuesday rejected a 498-unit apartment complex in the Anaheim Hills over concerns related to wildfire evacuations in the fire-prone area.
The Hills Preserve project proposed for Anaheim Hills’ Deer Canyon has seen contentious resident opposition from early on, but secured approval in September from the city’s Planning Commission. The project in its current form requests approval to build the apartment complex with high-end amenities and 40,000 square feet of commercial space.
The project would be built near the 91 Freeway off of Santa Ana Canyon Road.
Applicants SALT Development have touted benefits to the city such as opening up access to the underutilized Deer Canyon Park Preserve nearby and bringing needed housing to the region. The developers also upped their offer to $1 million from $500,000 to fund affordable housing elsewhere in the city. They’ve also promised to keep 50 acres of the total property undeveloped in perpetuity.
City staff had recommended the denial of the Hills Preserve over concerns that adding so many homes to the area would exacerbate the time it takes to evacuate during wildfires.
The vote was 5-2 Tuesday, with councilmembers Norma Campos Kurtz and Carlos Leon opposed to denying the project.
Councilmember Stephen Faessel said three years ago when the project was first proposed he liked it. But city staff recommending the project not be approved was important, he said, calling it a brave stance to take.
“Our staff … has never come before us with a project of this type and recommended against it,” Faessel said. “Yet they did this time, which means a great deal to me.”
Councilmember Natalie Meeks, who represents the Anaheim Hills area, said the fear during wildfire evacuations is real and it wasn’t right to put the buildings in an area designated by the state as a very high fire hazard severity zone.
Brian Hobbs, president and co-founder of SALT Development, argued that wildfire evacuation concerns had been exaggerated by people who didn’t want to see any development built near them.
“The opposition to this project is hammering away on fire safety and evacuation and inventing new facts and introducing new opinions because they know it’s emotional, scary and hopefully can scare the elected officials into rejecting a project,” Hobbs said.
SALT Development’s plans call for adding fire hydrants, reducing vegetation and building retaining walls to help reduce fire risk, the developers have emphasized.
The project still has paths to fruition even after the council’s denial. SALT Development can appeal the council’s decision and hold another hearing to try to win approval again.
The developers could also submit what’s known as a builder’s remedy proposal to the city, which could allow them to bypass existing density limits under the provision of the state Housing Accountability Act if the project meets certain criteria, which includes an affordable housing threshold. SALT Development notified the city in the past that if the Hills Preserve was denied it has builder’s remedy plans that call for 1,280 homes built on the site with 20% being affordable.
A spokesperson for the project said on Wednesday, “After last night, we are reviewing all of our options regarding the property.”
Deputy City Manager Ted White said the developers told city officials a smaller project wouldn’t be feasible. The city’s current zoning allows for 93 single-family homes to be built on the land.
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