Referendum - Stop Santiago Creek Development

Like our website
& we’ll send you updates!

 5/5

Get updates and learn how you can help
Join our Facebook page for updates

November 3, 2020

NO on measure AA

Thank you to the 13,381 voters in Orange that signed the Referendum Petition.

updated 09/01/20

On December 4, 2019 Orange Citizens delivered 13,381 signatures to the Orange City Clerk. The Clerk determined that 13,192 signatures were complete. The City Clerk forwarded those signatures to the OC Registrar of Voter’s (ROV) office for certification. The ROV has until Jan 17, 2020 to certify the signatures.

UPDATE:
Our signatures were certified as valid by the Registrar of Voters and will be on the November 3, 2020 ballot.

We are protesting the City Council’s approval of a large housing development on the Sully Miller site.

On October 22, 2019, the developer was granted a General Plan Amendment as part of its plan to build 128 houses on the site.

The City Council’s action more than doubles the area open to housing development—from 15.4 acres to 40.7 acres.

This change to our General Plan is a “sweetheart deal” for out-of-town investors.

- The City Council’s approval of the General Plan Amendment will allow too many houses.
- The size and scale of the housing project threaten the rural character of our community. This “country” character is what makes our area unique.

The project represents poor land use planning for our City.

Even though the Council had the discretion to vote NO they ignored Orange Citizens, our property rights and sided with Milan. The actions taken by the City Council can be reversed though the referendum process. This is called direct democracy.

SIGN THE REFERENDUM PETITION

Milan investment group is seeking to rezone 40 acres, designated as permanent open space, to make way for 128 new homes and an estimated 1,000 more car trips per day. The City Council is not obligated to grant a rezone of this site. Citizens have the right to challenge rezoning.

It's time for our City Council to use their "enforcement authority" and halt the unlawful concrete crushing/stockpiling operation on the former Sully Miller site.

Orange Citizens Retain Prevailing Attorney in
High-Profile Rock Quarry Lawsuit
Orange, CA, September 23, 2019 – An Orange citizens group has announced it has retained the San Francisco law firm of Edgcomb Law Group, LLP (ELG) to represent it in response to the City of Orange’s failure to close concrete-crushing operations on the former Sully-Miller site.
Read Press Release

There is Strong Opposition to the
"Trails at Santiago Creek" Development on the Sully Miller Site

Letters

Support

OPPOSE

Agencies or no position taken

Orange Citizens say “No!”

In April of 2018, there were 131 letters submitted to the City of Orange in response to Milan’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). Nearly every letter opposed the project. Milan did not respond to any of the comments, but due to deficiencies in their DEIR, they were forced to revise it.

A Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report (RDEIR) was released in November 2018. Over 300 letters were submitted; 275 opposed Milan’s project.

The roar of the crowd Click here to read more ... Foothills Sentry, March 2019

BEFORE JMI/Milan purchased the Sully Miller site

AFTER JMI/Milan purchased Sully Miller site

Forty-foot towers of building debris and waste concrete mark the building site of this proposed 128-home development near the busy intersection of Santiago Canyon Road and Cannon Street. West of the site are active methane vents, remnants of a landfill that operated there years ago. The landowner and Investment Group Milan acknowledges that new homes built on the proposed site will require methane gas detectors to monitor dangerous levels of methane.

This land, the last large parcel of open space left in the City of Orange, backs to Santiago Oaks Regional Park. This is part of the Santiago Creek watershed that is home to Villa Park Dam, a flood control dam located downstream from Santiago Dam. In February of 1969, massive rainstorms and floods created one of the worst natural disasters in Orange County history. The Villa Park Dam & the Santiago Dam overflowed causing widespread damage and loss of lives.

Click here to learn more about the flood of 1969.

Seismic activity can also compromise dam structures, resulting in catastrophic flooding. There are several earthquake faults located in close proximity to these dams, putting hundreds of thousands of nearby residents within inundation zones.

In October 2017, the Canyon 2 Fire, a fast-moving brush fire, forced the evacuation of more than 16,000 Anaheim Hills, Orange and Tustin residents. It decimated Santiago Oaks Regional Park and burned along Santiago Creek, close to the building site of this proposed new 128-home development. In all, the Canyon 2 Fire burned more than 9,000 acres, damaged 55 structures and destroyed 25.

Historically this area is high risk for wildfires. Before the turn of the century, the Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889 (previously called the Great Fire of 1889) that began in Santiago Canyon, burned at least 300,000 acres in Orange, Riverside and San Diego Counties. Until 2018, it was possibly the single largest wildfire in the recorded history of California.

Click here to read more about the Canyon 2 Fire and California’s worsening wildfires

So, you ask, who would propose building houses in a flood plain that is downstream from two earthen dams inviting flood risk, is next to a landfill which contains methane gas, and is prone to high-risk natural hazards such as wildfires, earthquakes, and liquefaction?

Answer: Investor group Milan REI X, LLC, a California Limited Liability Corporation

It would be hard to find a more dangerous site to put 128 new families.

More Traffic

More Traffic According to the draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) on the proposed development, adding 128 new homes will have a negligible impact on traffic. During rush hour at the already congested intersection of Santiago Canyon Road and Cannon Street, cars frequently back up to the Holy Sepulcher Cemetery on...

Fire and Evacuation

During the recent Canyon 2 Fire, traffic hindered East Orange residents’ efforts to evacuate. Many encountered roadblocks and were forced to turn around as authorities tried to manage the thousands trying to flee. Parents were prevented from reaching their children at schools. Heavy smoke made it difficult to see and...

Unknown Impacts

No One Really Knows How Many Houses Can Be Built. One of the worse aspects of this proposed development is all of the UNKNOWNS. No one knows how many houses a developer could squeeze on the Sully Miller site. In 2010 there was a proposal for 450 units. It was...

Orange Residents Have Property Rights Too

Milan also has the right to build homes on the OPA horse arena site, the 7.6 acres on Santiago Canyon Road. In 2018 the City Council approved Milan’s proposal for six homes.

There's a long list of reasons to deny the "Trails at Santiago Creek" proposal:

Nothing has changed since the City Council denied a project on the same property in 2014

Both the City Council and the Planning Commission denied Milan’s Rio Santiago project. Milan has continued to use this as a dumpsite for concrete waste and other unknown materials. Recently citizens have uncovered, through the Public Record Act, more alarming information about the site. Actually the more that is uncovered the more we are convinced that it is irresponsible and dangerous to rezone this site to residential.

The project does not reflect the goals and policies of the Orange General Plan

The Project conflicts with fundamental policies of the General Plan and would violate California Planning and Zoning Laws. The Orange General Plan does not promote changing designated Open Space to residential zoning.

The project violates the East Orange and Orange Park Acres Specific Plan

The project is directly at odds with the goals and policies of the East Orange General Plan and OPA Plan. These plans do not promote changing Open Space to Residential.

The public benefits are backloaded with strings attached

The list of “community benefits” are based on city approvals to rezone the property to residential which violates existing plans. Any rezone will have detrimental impacts to neighboring communities. This is not good planning.

Investors are not entitled to build here; the city is not obligated to approve the project

Milan bought this property without entitlements for housing except for 12 acres north of the creek. They can build across the creek. This development proposal infringes on our property rights and forces all of the impacts to our neighborhoods.

Our City Council has full discretion under the law to deny this up zoning request. Milan has no legitimate expectation that these approvals would be granted.

The proposed project is located at the former Sully Miller site.

Watch the videos

Milan’s consultants speak at a community meeting but are unable to provide true impacts.

One admits any agreement can be changed and he has no idea how many houses could be built.

The other said their traffic impacts do not matter.

Like our website& we’ll send you updates!