The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County owns the property through a wholly owned subsidiary.

Kisco is an owner and operator of several senior living communities in six states and has been retained by the Diocese to assist in the planning, design, construction, and operation of the community.

Senior living communities provide housing and services for residents sixty (60) years old and older. By definition, senior living includes independent living (IL), assisted living (AL), Memory Care (MC), Skilled Nursing and Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC).  The Diocese is proposing an independent and assisted living community; there will not be any skilled nursing or special memory care on site.  The senior living planned for the site is further described below.

Independent living (sometimes referred to as a “congregate care”) is intended for individuals that are presently able to manage an independent lifestyle.  IL residents are provided with services, such as: dining, housekeeping, transportation and recreational activities.

Assisted living includes all the services on independent living and may provide for assistance with daily activities, such as: monitoring of medications, dressing, bathing and eating.

The current General Plan Designation is Suburban Residential which is characterized by a wide range of housing types and permitted institutional uses. The North Tustin Specific Plan, adopted in 1982, designates the property for residential and also allows for the development of a church and/or a school.

Although the proposed project is consistent with the General Plan, it will require a zone change and a use permit to specifically allow for a senior living community. The intent of the modification to the zoning would be to specifically limit the use on the site as a senior living community.

A change in zoning and approval of a use permit will specifically restrict this site for senior housing. Any other projects in the area will require a separate application and approval or denial on the merits of that project.

Growth Inducing Impacts is a term from the California Environment Quality Act (CEQA) which, in layman terms, requires that an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) examine the potential for certain projects or improvements to make future growth more feasible. Examples are as follows: expansion of a roadway capacity or of water capacity in an area of relatively undeveloped land where, without such improvements, individual projects probably would not be feasible. Therefore, the planned senior living community is not growth inducing because the infrastructure in the neighborhood already exists in the arterial streets.

The Orange County Planning Commission records, and those of many municipalities, contain multiple references of how each land use case is decided on its own merits, that one decision does not influence a subsequent decision and that precedence is not a factor. In fact, specific findings must be made that relate solely to each property in question describing the particular and unique circumstances that apply to each application and each Commission or Board action. It was made clear in records evaluating the proposal for the Sunrise Senior Living on Newport Avenue had no bearing on future land use proposals.

The zoning codes across the State are very clear that senior living, congregate care or continued care retirement communities are residential uses.  In fact, the County approved a county-wide zone change in 2008 (Zoning Code Amendment CA 08-01) to more carefully define and allow the emerging forms of senior living housing.  That ordinance continually refers to “residents” which is an acknowledgement that the County sees such uses as residential and that seniors want to live in a residential community The Diocese has indicated that upon approval of the project, they will be willing to deed restrict the site to prevent the senior living community from transitioning into a standard apartment project.

Designed appropriately, senior living communities are a compatible land use. They are residential in design and are safe, quiet, and do not impact the infrastructure of a community including: traffic, parks, and/or schools.  Additionally, based on input from our numerous neighborhood workshops, we have integrated development guidelines (beyond what is required by the County ordinances or the North Tustin Specific Plan) into the design of the proposed senior living community, including the following:

• All parking is designed to be handled on site without interfering with the surrounding neighborhood. Parking is designed to be predominately underground in a subterranean parking garage which allows approximately ninety-five (95) parking stalls to be removed from the surface of the site.  A formal parking analysis will be provided in the EIR.
  
  
• Vehicular circulation and other traffic will be limited and controlled through several vehicular gates on the property with  limited hours. Additionally, all vehicular egress traffic will be off Newport Avenue without access through the property to Ervin Lane.
  
  
• Security is an important amenity for our residents and for the community. Based on neighborhood input, the proposed senior living community will also include security decorative fencing to deter pedestrian access through the property.
  
  
• Lighting will be downward facing, on a pedestrian level, and carefully designed so as it will not impact the surrounding neighborhood.
  
  
• Audible alarms will be restricted internally within the building and not audible to the neighbors.

All employees will have designated parking areas underground in the subterranean parking garage and will be required to park on site. It should be noted that a number of employees commute by bus.

The proposed project includes nineteen single-story bungalows, fifty-five assisted living units in the central building and seventy-nine independent living residences in the central building.

Based on our due diligence investigation, we have learned that the surrounding neighborhood does not have any existing underground storm drains. Water drains on the street surfaces and sometimes passes through culverts (concrete drainage channels) and slowly makes its way from the north to the south causing street flooding during heavy rains. It is our intent that the project will not increase any drainage flows into the adjacent neighborhood.

The project site is higher in the northwest corned than the south west corner. Also, it is seven feet higher on the north side versus the south side. Our objective will be to minimize slopes or retaining walls around the perimeter of the project site and find a balance between the grade changes to minimize grade changes between the project and our neighbors.

In our experience, senior living communities do not create a lot of traffic particularly at peak hours. The community will provide residents with scheduled transportation to stores, doctors, etc. The County engaged a traffic consultant to analyze the traffic of the proposed project and project alternatives. The findings show minimal impact of the proposed use to the community. Further details are noted in the EIR section of this document and on the County’s website.

Consistent with the design features described, we have integrated numerous development standards to alleviate the impact from the proposed senior living community (many incorporated as both a design feature and an operational feature), as follows:

• Parking has been designed to be predominately underground in a subterranean parking garage which removes approximately ninety-five (95) parking stalls from the surface of the site. A formal parking analysis to ensure adequate parking will be provided for residents, families, guests employees and invitees.

• Vehicular circulation and deliveries will also be limited and controlled through several vehicular gates on the property and hours of delivery. Additionally, all vehicular ingress and egress traffic will be off Newport Avenue with no access through the property to Ervin Lane.

• A fully enclosed and ventilated central trash area has also been designed into the community to limit the number of required pick-ups. The project will be equipped with an on-site trash compactor to reduce the total of trash pick-ups to once or twice a week.

The community will have 24 hour security, 7 days per week.

Based on the size of the community proposed, we would anticipate approximately 3-5 staff members on the evening shift and 16-20 people for the lunch and dinner shifts.

The project will be professionally maintained through the operation team at the community.

Just like the many congregate care homes in North Tustin, this senior living community requires a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE) license with the California Department of Social Services for the assisted living residence and a County business license.

Yes, the senior living community will pay property taxes based on the then improved value of the improvements.

A change in zoning and approval of a use permit will specifically restrict this site for senior housing. Any other projects in the area will require a separate application and approval or denial on the merits of that project.

The design of the project is a high quality community respecting the surrounding residential homes. Based on initial feedback from the neighborhood, the architectural vernacular will be Craftsman which is consistent throughout the community.

Our objective is to minimize the impact of the project from the adjacent homes even more than if the site was developed as single family homes. Since the property varies widely in elevation, the site plan took into consideration the various grade changes. For example, there is a fourteen foot grade difference from the high point on the northeast corner of the site to the southwest corner; we will therefore step the building at the high point while introducing one-story structures on the southwest corner. Additionally, the north side of the site averages approximately seven feet higher on the north property line to the south line; therefore, we are proposing a greater setback on the south property line.

We intend to comply with the existing thirty-five foot height restriction on the property, which is equivalent to a two-story home.

A variety of technical questions have been asked about specific issues which will be analyzed in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has being prepared by the County. The EIR is a full-disclosure document which summarizes technical studies and analyzes any potential impacts associated with a proposed project and evaluates alternative land uses for the site. The Draft EIR was released for a 45-day public review period in May, 2010The public has an opportunity to ask additional questions or make comments to the County regarding the EIR and its findings through June 18, 2010. Those comments will be evaluated, questions will be answered and a final EIR will be published. The EIR will be reviewed by the North Tustin Advisory Council (NTAC), the County Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors as part of their consideration of the proposal.

The EIR includes topics such as:

• Land Use
• Hydrology, Drainage & Water Quality
• Traffic
• Air Quality
• Noise
• Aesthetics
• Public Services

Findings of the EIR are summarized in the document below which compares the proposed project with the alternatives as required by the California Environmental Quality Act.

Comparison of Project Impacts