Santa Ana : About 70 on Hand for 1st Westdome Hearing

Even though the turnout for the city’s first public hearing on the proposed Westdome sports arena was not overwhelming, spokesmen for two local citizens’ groups said Friday that they were satisfied with the crowd of about 70 people.

Bob Lopez, a member of Save Our Stadium, a group opposed to razing Santa Ana Stadium, also called Eddie West Field, to build the 20,500-seat arena, said the turnout was not disappointing.

“We did not make calls to bring out people because we recognized that (it) was only a scoping meeting and the City Council and city officials would not be there. We wanted to just make sure we were there to provide information for the record.”

Jim Lowman, a spokesman for the citizen group SAMSON (Santa Ana Merged Society of Neighbors) agreed that “the turnout was not stupendous by any means, but I think that (it) was probably in line with (the type of meeting that) we had.” SAMSON is a citizens’ group seeking changes in city government.

The hearing Thursday night was to get public opinion about an environmental impact report on the proposed $40-million arena at Flower Street and Civic Center Drive. Most of the 20 residents who spoke said that the study had not adequately addressed the increased traffic, crime, noise and limited parking that the center would undoubtedly cause.

The study by Phillips Brandt Reddick concluded that building on the downtown site would affect those environmental concerns, but to an “insignificant level.” Also listed in the study were so-called mitigation measures, such as street improvements and increased law enforcement, to offset those problems.

But many of the residents, like Bill Druitt, did not agree with the findings of the study. Druitt said the study “was done in an after-the-fact manner and was completed to justify a decision already made” by the City Council.

Similarly, Dr. Bruce Sinclair said: “If the City of Santa Ana determined that they wanted to build an Empire State Building, I’m sure they could hire Phillips Brandt Reddick or some other firm to come up with a report to justify it.”

But the study and the project did find favor in Jeff Crocier, who concluded that “most of the impact will remain the same . . . there would be constant noise regardless of what was built there.” If Santa Ana is to grow, he said, “certainly traffic will, too.”

Phillip Schwartze, a spokesman for Phillips Brandt Reddick, said the firm will respond to residents’ concerns in a report later this month.