Valerie AmezcuaRaised concerns
5:25:58Said a two bedroom house in Santa Ana is hard to find under $600,000 and asked staff to do better than $530,000.
17January
2023
2023
Regular City Council Meeting · One key issue
Restaurant and food truck owners filled the chamber to say that unpermitted taco stands outside their doors are driving them out of business, one of them saying she had already closed and told her son to suspend his college studies.
▶ Check this moment · 3:36:28
6.3 hours
43 agenda items
33 located in video
56% attributed to a named speaker
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What happened
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
- 01
They said code enforcement, the police and the health department had all helped and it had not been enough, and asked the council for a meeting to hand over what they had gathered.
▶3:16:35Explore this issue
Related agenda item 10Open agenda item →Award a Purchase Order to Long Beach BMW Motorcycles in the Amount of $185,639 for Six BMW RT-P Motorcycles (Specification No.…
No named councilmember contribution could be reliably linked to this item.
- 02
The council renewed its deportation defence contract with Immigrant Defenders Law Center at $400,000 over two years, and told staff to put a further $100,000 out to tender for immigrant residents who do not speak Spanish.
▶4:25:46Explore this issue
Related agenda item 24Open agenda item →Approve an Amendment to the Agreement with Immigrant Defenders Law Center For Immigration Legal Defense Services for a Two-Year Term…
No named councilmember contribution could be reliably linked to this item.
- 03
On police oversight the council chose to engage the independent oversight director on an outside contract rather than as an at-will city employee, so the post cannot be ended on a whim.
▶4:52:16Explore this issue
Related agenda item 29Open agenda item →Police Oversight Commission Informational Report
No named councilmember contribution could be reliably linked to this item.
- 04
It voted to begin condemnation of a house needed for the Warner Avenue widening, over the owner's objection that the city's $530,000 offer was below what it had offered him before.
▶5:31:07Explore this issue
Related agenda item 31Open agenda item →Public Hearing: Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the Condemnation of the Entire Real Property Located at 2245 South Halladay Street…
Member positions
Thai Viet PhanRaised concerns5:18:05Noted the offer had fallen with the market while negotiations dragged on, and established that nothing had stopped the owner renting the house out.
Benjamin VazquezRaised concerns5:24:48Questioned whether the appraisal fairly reflected a house the owner had no reason to repair.
Phil BacerraRaised concerns5:14:14Objected to being told the schedule would slip if the council did not act that night, then moved the resolution himself.
- 05
It held the first reading of an ordinance dissolving the Downtown Santa Ana Business Improvement District, which the merchants themselves had asked to be rid of.
▶5:03:29Explore this issue
Related agenda item 30Open agenda item →Public Hearing: Consider an Ordinance to Disestablish the Downtown Santa Ana Business Improvement District
No named councilmember contribution could be reliably linked to this item.
- 06
Mayor Amezcua won unanimous backing to have staff draft an ordinance creating a senior citizen commission.
▶5:47:42Explore this issue
Related agenda item 34Open agenda item →Discuss and Consider Directing the City Manager to Direct Staff to Prepare an Ordinance Establishing a Senior Citizen Commission –…
What councilmembers said
Representative transcript excerpts—not inferred positions.
Valerie AmezcuaMayor5:50:49THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER FONT FOR YOUR COMMENTS. I JUST WANT TO JUST THROW SOMETHING OUT THERE. SO WITH THIS, MY THOUGHTS WERE, AND MAYOR PROTEM, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD PROPOSED THIS PREVIOUSLY. BUT FOR EXAMPLE, AS COUNCIL MEMBER WAS INDICATING HIS PARENTS GO…
Phil BacerraCouncilmember5:54:50maximum of two continuous blocks, that they shall be applied to a single street, and that two signs shall be installed on an existing pole at either end of the section of the street designated. And by the way, the action that I'm proposing tonight would not in…
Thai Viet PhanCouncilmember5:49:40THANK YOU. COUNCILMEMBER FAM. THANK YOU. I AM SUPPORTIVE OF THIS ITEM BUT I'D LIKE to see I know we're discussing and directing staff to see what we can do here one concern that I have you know with the Youth Commission is because they're not old enough to…
Norma OrozcoCity Clerk5:47:33Discuss and consider directing the city manager to direct staff to prepare an ordinance for establishing a senior citizen commission?
- 07
Councilmember Bacerra's move to cap ceremonial street names at two blocks drew majority support, with Councilmember Hernandez objecting that the longer stretches honouring Black history in the city had been asked for by the community.
▶6:01:21Explore this issue
Related agenda item 35Open agenda item →Discuss and Consider Directing the City Manager to Direct Staff to Amend the Quantity of Signs to be Installed at a Section of…
Member positions
Johnathan Ryan HernandezOpposed5:58:08Said the longer run of signs at Willits and Raitt was requested by the Black community and that the council should keep its discretion.
Valerie AmezcuaSupported5:55:48Extended her support for the item.
Benjamin VazquezSupported5:56:16Supported the rule and asked for signs at both ends of the streets already named.
Phil BacerraSupported5:53:02Asked for a two block cap with one sign at each end, citing Chicago.
David PenalozaSupported6:00:33Said that without a limit every street will end up cluttered.
How this brief was made
The current summaries were prepared during an in-session review of the transcripts. This prototype shows only sentences with a timestamp citation. 0 uncited sentences were withheld from this page.
Focus
Where they differed
Splits in votes or reasoning
The condemnation passed unanimously, but four members put on the record that the city's $530,000 offer looked low and that the item had reached them too late to do anything about it.
Said a two bedroom house in Santa Ana is hard to find under $600,000 and asked staff to do better than $530,000.
Noted the offer had fallen with the market while negotiations dragged on, and established that nothing had stopped the owner renting the house out.
Questioned whether the appraisal fairly reflected a house the owner had no reason to repair.
Objected to being told the schedule would slip if the council did not act that night, then moved the resolution himself.
Whether ceremonial street names should be capped at two blocks, or left to the council's judgement so that longer stretches can honour a community's history.
Said the longer run of signs at Willits and Raitt was requested by the Black community and that the council should keep its discretion.
Extended her support for the item.
Supported the rule and asked for signs at both ends of the streets already named.
Asked for a two block cap with one sign at each end, citing Chicago.
Said that without a limit every street will end up cluttered.
Agenda
Every item
43 items in agenda order
Closed Session Items
Not located Closed-session conference with legal counsel
Closed Session Items
Not located Closed-session labor negotiations with city employee organizations
- The council met privately with its labour negotiator about talks with the police officers association, the service employees union and two other city employee groups.20:46
Closed Session Items
Not located PUBLIC EMPLOYEE EMPLOYMENT/APPOINTMENT pursuant to Government Code 54957 Title: Clerk of the Council
- The council met privately about the employment of a clerk of the council.20:46
Closed Session Items
Not located Closed-session labor negotiations with city employee organizations
- The council met privately with its labour negotiator about the unrepresented clerk of the council post.20:46
Closed Session Items
Not located THREAT TO PUBLIC SERVICES OR FACILITIES pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 54957 of the Government Code: Consultation with Santa…
- Mayor Amezcua announced at the start of the evening that this closed session item on a threat to public services was being held over to the meeting of 7 February 2023.19:33
Ceremonial Presentations
Not located Certificate of Recognition presented by Mayor Pro Tem Lopez to Rachael Cianfrani for Outstanding Contributions to the Community
- The certificate of recognition for Rachael Cianfrani was not presented because she had already left the chamber.2:58:41
Ceremonial Presentations
Not located Proclamation presented by Councilmember Phan declaring January 22, 2023 as Tet / Lunar New Year
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Excused Absences
- A routine item excusing members who missed earlier meetings, approved with the rest of the consent calendar.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶4:27:27 Adopt ordinance no. ns-xxxx – an ordinance of the city council of the city of santa ana approving amendment application no. 2022-01…
- Second reading of the ordinance rezoning three properties on East Garry Avenue from professional to light industrial.4:28:23
- Councilmember Phan told the council after the consent vote that she should have been recused because the applicant is a client of her law firm, so the council reconsidered the item and took the vote again without her.4:26:03
- On the second vote it passed six votes to nothing.4:29:41
Consent Calendar
▶3:56:53 Appoint Various Boards and Commissions Members Nominated by Mayor Amezcua as the Mayoral Representatives for a Full Term Expiring…
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Housing Successor Annual Report for FY 2021-22 – Low and Moderate Income Housing Asset Fund
- The council received and filed the annual report on the city's low and moderate income housing asset fund.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Authorize Exchange of Storm Drain Easements within 1202 West Edinger Avenue (Applicants and Owners: Mater Dei High School)
- The city swapped storm drain easements with Mater Dei High School on West Edinger Avenue.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Award a Purchase Order to VMI, Inc in the Amount of $61,319 for Audio Video Equipment for the Council Chamber, Playback Room and…
- A purchase order of $61,319 to VMI for audio and video equipment in the council chamber and control room.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Award a Purchase Order to RDO Equipment Co. in the Amount of $201,757 for One Vermeer Wood Chipper and One Vermeer Stump Grinder for…
- A purchase order of up to $201,757 to RDO Equipment for a wood chipper and a stump grinder for the tree crews.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶3:57:56 Award a Purchase Order to Long Beach BMW Motorcycles in the Amount of $185,639 for Six BMW RT-P Motorcycles (Specification No.…
- Councilmember Bacerra pulled the purchase of six police motorcycles to ask why the city was buying from a Long Beach dealer when there is a BMW dealership in Santa Ana, and was told that dealership does not sell motorcycles.3:57:55
- He asked that economic development help find local firms before bids close rather than assume they will spot a notice online.4:00:18
- Staff confirmed only one bid had been received, which Councilmember Penaloza said should have been stated in the report as it normally is.4:01:20
- The purchase of $185,639 passed without opposition.4:02:45
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Award Contracts to Dooley Enterprises, Inc. and Miwall Corporation for Training and Duty Ammunition in the Annual Aggregate Amount…
- Contracts with Dooley Enterprises and Miwall Corporation for police training and duty ammunition, up to $105,000 a year.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶4:03:07 Approve an Appropriation Adjustment and Capital Improvement Project Amendment for the King Street Urban Greening Project (Project…
Consent Calendar
▶4:02:50 Approve Appropriation Adjustment to Recognize Grant Revenue from State of California Resources Recycling & Recovery for Senate Bill…
- Councilmember Bacerra pulled this $435,450 recycling grant to argue that the state's organic waste law is an unfunded mandate whose costs land on renters and small businesses rebuilding their bin enclosures.4:02:56
- Staff said the grant can only pay for outreach and education, not for construction.4:04:42
- The council asked staff to come back on 7 February with whatever help might exist, and approved the money.4:10:48
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Approve Budget Reallocations and Amendment to the Project Cost Analysis to Increase Project Construction Funding for the South Main…
- Budget reallocations and extra contingency for the South Main Street corridor improvements, taking the estimated construction cost to about twenty four million dollars.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Approve an Additional Contingency Funds in the Amount of $165,000 for an Existing Construction Contract with Allinone Construction…
- An extra $187,500 for the third floor tenant improvements at city hall.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Approve an Appropriation Adjustment Accepting the FY 2022 Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant
- A federal grant of $14,378 towards police body armour.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Amend Agreement with Adams Streeter Civil Engineers, Inc. for On-Call Development Plan Checking Services by an Additional $50,000…
- An extra $50,000 a year for on-call development plan checking by Adams Streeter Civil Engineers.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Amend the Agreement with Blueray Management, LLC to Provide Pool Maintenance at Various City Pools by Extending the Term for an…
- A six month extension and $200,000 more for maintenance at the city's swimming pools.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶5:08:42 Approve Purchase Agreement in the Amount of $740,000 for Full Real Property Acquisition for Warner Avenue Improvements Phase 2…
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Amend the Agreement with Alliance Consulting Services, Inc., to Increase the Total Agreement Amount by $72,000 for Right-of-Way…
- An extra $72,000 for right of way coordination by Alliance Consulting Services.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Amend Agreement with DMS Facility Services, to Increase the Contract Amount by $545,800 for Enhanced Landscape Services of City Park…
- An extra $545,800 for landscape maintenance at city parks by DMS Facility Services.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Amend an Agreement with Bucknam Infrastructure Group, Inc. to Increase the Total Agreement Amount by $66,286, for a Total Amount not…
- An extra $66,286 for pavement management and mapping services by Bucknam Infrastructure Group.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Approve and Amend a Three-year Agreement for Volume Licensing and Maintenance for Microsoft Software and Products through Software…
- A three year Microsoft licensing agreement worth up to $1,500,000.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶4:11:14 Approve an Amendment to the Agreement with Immigrant Defenders Law Center For Immigration Legal Defense Services for a Two-Year Term…
- Councilmember Vazquez pulled this item to ask why the immigration legal defence fund had once been $300,000 and was now $200,000, saying Cambodian, Vietnamese, Sikh and Arab residents were not being reached.4:11:15
- The city manager said the contract itself had always been $200,000 and that a further $100,000 sat in the budget unspent.4:11:44
- Staff confirmed that spare money could be put out to competitive tender for a second provider.4:15:20
- Councilmember Phan, who had pushed for the larger budget in the first place, said the provider does excellent work but has little reach into the Vietnamese community, and asked that any tender cover immigration legal services broadly rather than deportation defence alone.4:17:23
- Mayor Pro Tem Lopez asked that the tender favour providers based in Santa Ana and avoid duplicating work the county or the state already funds.4:23:13
- Residents who had been held in immigration detention described the organisation's lawyers as the reason they were back with their families.3:41:56
- The two year renewal and the direction to tender passed six votes to nothing with Councilmember Bacerra out of the room.4:25:46
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Approve Amendment to the Agreement with The Counseling Team International in the amount of $6,145 for Law Enforcement Psychological…
- An extra $6,145 for psychological services for police officers.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 City of Santa Ana Updated Hazard Mitigation Plan
- Adoption of the city's updated hazard mitigation plan for submission to the federal emergency management agency.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Adopt a Resolution Approving the Application for Grant Funds from the Urban Greening Program
- A resolution applying for state urban greening money for the Bristol and Tolliver street project.3:56:06
Consent Calendar
▶3:52:50 Teleconferencing for Meetings of City Council and All Boards, Committees, and Commissions Pursuant to the Provisions of Assembly…
- A resolution continuing remote participation in city meetings for another thirty days.3:56:06
Business Calendar
▶4:30:05 Police Oversight Commission Informational Report
- Staff set out the timetable for standing up the police oversight commission, with commissioners appointed by June 2023 and the body operating by July.4:30:32
- The one decision needed that night was whether the independent oversight director should be a city employee who could be dismissed at any time, or an outside contractor on a fixed agreement.4:30:03
- Councilmember Phan argued against an at-will employee, saying the post has to survive a change in the political weather.4:34:16
- The city attorney explained that the charter leaves the council only a narrow power to hire independent investigators, and suggested a contract that renews automatically unless the council gives notice.4:37:37
- The city manager recommended the contract route, saying the work needs an attorney and the city would struggle to recruit one as a full time employee.4:39:21
- Councilmember Bacerra said all seven members had voted for oversight twice and that fears of a future council unwinding it were not borne out elsewhere.4:44:51
- A policy director speaking for a community group asked for the contract route and for a public forum where residents could question candidates.3:30:31
- Councilmember Penaloza moved the contract route, an ad hoc interview panel was raised and then dropped, and the director's term was pushed from six months to a year.4:40:20
- The city manager confirmed she would return with a tender and a draft agreement for the council to approve.4:52:16
Public Hearings Public Comments
▶5:03:10 Public Hearing: Consider an Ordinance to Disestablish the Downtown Santa Ana Business Improvement District
- This was the first reading of an ordinance dissolving the Downtown Santa Ana Business Improvement District, the next step after the council's resolution of intention in December.5:00:31
- A downtown merchants group said the district had taken their money for years while working for outside investors rather than for them.4:56:42
- An east side resident urged the council to disregard what she called scare tactics and to build something better with the merchants instead.4:58:50
- The first reading passed without opposition, with a second reading set for 7 February.5:03:29
Public Hearings Public Comments
▶5:03:52 Public Hearing: Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the Condemnation of the Entire Real Property Located at 2245 South Halladay Street…
- A hearing on condemning the whole of 2245 South Halladay Street, a house needed for the second phase of the Warner Avenue widening.5:03:53
- The owner told the council he did not oppose the widening but wanted to keep a twenty foot strip at the back that is covered by a ninety nine year lease, and said the city's latest offer of $530,000 was lower than its earlier ones.5:05:31
- He also said the city had paid his tenant to move out in 2020, leaving the house empty for more than two years.5:08:38
- Staff said the appraisal had fallen with the housing market, that a full take was needed because a trail is planned on the land left over, and that negotiation would continue.5:09:33
- Councilmember Bacerra objected to being told the construction schedule would slip if the council did not act that night, saying the item should have reached them weeks earlier.5:14:14
- Councilmember Phan established that no agreement had stopped the owner from renting the house out in the meantime.5:24:10
- Councilmember Vazquez and Mayor Amezcua both said $530,000 looked low for a two bedroom house in Santa Ana and pressed staff to keep negotiating.5:25:58
- The resolution passed six votes to nothing with Mayor Pro Tem Lopez absent.5:31:07
Public Hearings Public Comments
▶5:32:37 Public Hearing: Adopt a Resolution Vacating a Portion of Edendale Court behind 1222 and 1226 South Birch Street, Abandonment 22-01
Public Hearings Public Comments
▶5:33:39 Zoning Ordinance Amendment No. 2022-03: Updates to Various Sections of Chapter 41 (Zoning) of the Santa Ana Municipal Code (SAMC)…
- A wide ranging zoning code update covering family daycare, signage, massage businesses, electric fences, synthetic turf and retail in industrial zones.5:33:42
- Councilmember Bacerra checked that treating artificial turf as landscaping would not let a front garden be covered entirely, and was told trees and shrubs are still required.5:37:03
- He struck a clause letting the planning director decide what counts as a regional institution for signage, and a clause adopting future state law changes automatically.5:44:21
- Massage businesses will now need a conditional use permit, with fuller rules including distance buffers promised later in the financial year.5:40:49
- The amended ordinance passed without opposition.5:45:25
Councilmember Requested Items
▶5:46:08 Discuss and Consider Directing the City Manager to Direct Staff to Prepare an Ordinance Establishing a Senior Citizen Commission –…
- Mayor Amezcua asked staff to draft an ordinance creating a senior citizen commission, saying the city has a youth commission but no equivalent voice for older residents.5:47:42
- Every member spoke in support.5:48:27
- Mayor Pro Tem Lopez noted she had put the same idea on the agenda in her first year and it had drawn no support then.5:49:23
- Councilmember Phan backed it but asked staff to define the commission's remit so that it does not end up reviewing everything.5:49:40
Councilmember Requested Items
▶5:55:57 Discuss and Consider Directing the City Manager to Direct Staff to Amend the Quantity of Signs to be Installed at a Section of…
- Councilmember Bacerra asked staff to amend the code so a ceremonial street name covers at most two blocks of a single street, with one sign at each end.5:53:02
- He pointed to Chicago, which limits namings the same way and has honoured almost two thousand people in forty years, and confirmed the change would not touch names already approved.5:57:52
- Councilmember Hernandez opposed it, saying the longer run of signs for Helen Shipway and Black History Square at Willits and Raitt had been asked for by the Black community and that the council should keep that discretion.5:58:08
- Councilmember Penaloza supported the limit, saying that without one every street will end up cluttered.6:00:33
- The city manager recorded majority support for capping the number of signs.6:01:21
Council Comments Ab1234 Disclosure
Not located 1. January 17-20, 2023 Mayor Amezcua — The United States Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C
- Mayor Amezcua took part in the meeting from Washington, where she was attending the United States Conference of Mayors.6:09:34
Consent Calendar
Not located Excused Absences
- A routine item excusing absent members, taken up at the end of the meeting with the successor agency calendar.5:46:55
Consent Calendar
Not located Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule for the period of July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024
- The payment schedule for the former redevelopment agency's remaining obligations, covering July 2023 to June 2024.5:46:31
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