Hours of extensive debate ended Tuesday night with the Anaheim City Council’s narrow vote approving the redevelopment of part of the Anaheim Hills Festival center into housing.
In a decision that had been delayed a couple of times, the council voted 4-3 to allow a developer to replace the shuttered Regal Cinema at the southwest end of the shopping center, between Festival Drive and Roosevelt Road, with a 447-unit residential community.
Mayor Ashleigh Aitken and councilmembers Kristen Maahs and Natalie Meeks were opposed, sharing concerns raised by the dozens of residents who attended the Tuesday, March 3, meeting to convince the city not to allow more housing in an area that has seen wildfires in the past.
“I think there are some positives to this project,” Aitken said, referring to its fulfillment of some state housing requirements and adding park space to the city.
“But for me, I’m having a problem that none of these positives can really alleviate the concerns that I have around public safety,” she said.
What the council voted through was a four-story apartment complex wrapped around a five-level, 954-space parking structure. Plans include 45 moderate-income units and floor plans up to three bedrooms, ranging from 591 to 728 square feet, which would come with their own private balconies or patios.
Blueprints also include a clubhouse, courtyards, a fitness center, swimming pools and a public outdoor dog park, just steps away from the center’s Target, Nordstrom Rack and a handful of shops and restaurants.
But residents who raised their concerns with the council and sent several letters ahead of Tuesday’s meeting pointed out the housing would sit less than a quarter mile east of the Deer Canyon Park Preserve, an area that saw two major fires in 2017. They also raised concerns of traffic congestion in the area potentially hindering safe evacuations.
Residents noted about half of the property would fall in what the state fire marshal has designated as a “very high fire hazard severity zone” — a designation that does not block development, but requires extra precautionary measures to combat the area’s proneness to flames.
Among precautions proffered by the council is a “Know Your Way” evacuation and emergency preparedness plan, which staffers developed after the 2017 Canyon fires, and a weed abatement initiative, which would contract crews year-round to clear vegetation in the area.
As part of the deal, developers have also offered a $100,000 contribution to the Anaheim Fire and Rescue to fund wildfire prevention efforts, and recently added another $100,000 to go toward the Anaheim Police Department.
This is not the first time development plans for Anaheim Hills were met with fears of fire. In 2024, the council considered, but ultimately rejected, a 498-unit apartment complex in nearby Deer Canyon over those same safety concerns.
“This is a different project,” Councilmember Natalie Rubalcava said. “This is an infill project.”
“And I really do feel strongly about the fact that Anaheim needs to see a little more development,” she said, “and we need to spread our multi-family units across the city.”
The development agreement, along with zoning changes, will come back to the council later this month for a final required second vote.