Diocese of Orange remains committed to providing needed faith based senior housing for Orange County residents At the core of the mission of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange is to provide care and the love of Christ to vulnerable populations within the communities we serve. Each year we are confronted with a growing need among our aging populations for safe, secure and convenient assisted living care where faith is ever-present. For nearly 10 years, the Diocese of Orange has been planning a first-of-its-kind Catholic faith-based senior living community on a 7.25 acre site that it has owned for more than 50 years in north Tustin. This important mission of mercy to the elderly and infirmed is to be called the Springs at Bethsaida. The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved the Springs at Bethsaida project on a 4-1 vote more than three years ago on March 13, 2011. The Orange County Supervisors largely agreed with the Environmental Impact Report and staff analysis, concluding that 153 unit senior living community is compatible with the County General Plan and the North Tustin Specific Plan that govern development in this area. In an unprecedented move, a newly elected group of Orange County Supervisors revisited the approved senior living facility and proposed a zone change to the site that would permanently end the effort to build this important facility. This proposed zone change was sent to the Planning Commission by the Board for their review prior to final approval. The Planning Commission responded in November, 2015 by again recommending that the project move forward and that the zone change not be reversed. The Diocese of Orange remains committed to ensuring that seniors benefit from a caring and loving environment where the celebration of faith can remain at the center of their lives as they age. The Springs at Bethsaida is a key project in fulfilling the Church’s mission to the elderly and we continue to pray that this project will become a reality. On Tuesday December 15, the Orange County Board of Supervisors will make its final decision on the future of this project.  We need your support and attendance to show how important this facility is to seniors and the community.  In honor of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception we ask that you prayerfully consider attending this important meeting in solidarity with our seniors and aging clergy. The Board of Supervisors meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. at the County Hall of Administration (10 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana). For More information Contact: Julie Cavanaugh, Phone: (949) 689-8654 email: [email protected] Key messages

• Accept the Planning Commission’s recommendation and reject the zoning change action.
• The Project, as recently stated by the County Planning Commission, is designed to be compatible with the residential nature of North Tustin and will provide a beautiful place for North Tustin seniors to retire.
• The project does not set any precedents for commercial development in the area
• The project conforms with the spirit and goals of the North Tustin Specific Plan