The Rezoning of Santa Ana Heights
The core of Santa Ana Heights is being rezoned so that the airlines can make more money, the business community can make more money, the developers can make more money and the county can ultimately make more money.
The purchase-assurance program can serve as a tool for making amends to a victimized community. We have suffered from increased noise, traffic and stress due to inconsiderate planning by the Orange County Board of Supervisors and its staff.
However, the proposed appraisal procedure bases the buy-out on current market value under present adverse conditions. This is a farce. No one will pay top dollar for a home in an area destined for business and industrial growth, with traffic routed through it and over it, that can’t, by law, be rebuilt in the event of damages.
The appraisal guidelines should consider a scenario under legal noise parameters and normal residential neighborhood traffic, and arrive at the replacement value of the home within the sphere of influence and ocean breezes of Newport Beach.
It is time for the government of Orange County to do something for (not to ) the people of Santa Ana Heights. We challenge the county to devise a more equitable means of compensating those of us who are being displaced in the interests of progress. Do not add economic distress to an already difficult situation.
MARIANNE COX TOWERSEY
Santa Ana Heights
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