Anaheim : Developer to Withdraw Plans for Apartments

About 125 people attended a Planning Commission meeting Monday to protest a proposed 40-unit apartment in their predominantly single-family residential neighborhood near Stoddard Park, but the developer said he already had decided to withdraw his application.

Magdy Hanna, president of Newport Pacific Funding Corp., had been seeking zoning changes to allow him to build the apartment complex. He said he changed his mind after he learned that 255 people had signed a petition against development in their neighborhood.

Members of the residential community just west of the Anaheim Convention Center said they were concerned that the proposed 1.4-acre apartment complex at Wakefield Avenue and 9th Street would bring down the quality of life some of them have enjoyed for decades.

Terri Lavoot, who has lived in the 2000 block of South Gail Lane for 20 years, said she was afraid that the apartment complex “will cause transient problems.”

Toni Lamkins, who has lived in the 2000 block of South Waverly Avenue for 15 years, said she also was afraid that the apartment complex would cause a drop in property values, increased traffic and would affect academic standards by bringing in more children to already overcrowded classrooms in the area.