Johnathan Ryan HernandezOpposed
6:40:38Said the 2022 law was written to bring vendors into the permit system, and that enforcement first punishes immigrants and refugees rather than the corporations behind the stands.
7February
2023
2023
Regular City Council Meeting · One key issue
Public comment ran for two hours and was dominated by restaurant owners, several of them thirty years in business, saying pop-up taco stands outside their doors are taking their trade and leaving oil and rubbish behind.
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7.3 hours
38 agenda items
33 located in video
56% attributed to a named speaker
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What happened
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
- 01
Councilmember Bacerra's item on unpermitted sidewalk vending then drew the sharpest split of the night.
▶6:12:04Explore this issue
Related agenda item 32Open agenda item →Discuss and Consider Directing the City Manager to Direct Staff to Draft a Resolution Stating the City of Santa Ana’s Opposition to…
Member positions
Benjamin VazquezRaised concerns6:32:23Wanted a permitting pathway giving Santa Ana residents priority rather than removal.
Jessie LopezRaised concerns6:48:30Asked what is actually failing in enforcement and whether an ordinance would change anything.
Valerie AmezcuaSupported6:18:18Backed it at length and said residents are afraid to complain publicly.
Thai Viet PhanSupported6:27:32Supported enforcement and asked that the resolution also lobby the state legislators who wrote the law.
Phil BacerraSupported6:12:04Brought the item and asked for enforcement plus a resolution seeking local control back from the state.
David PenalozaSupported6:35:16Listed more than twenty junctions and said the county health department must act.
- 02
He asked for enforcement of the rules already on the books and a resolution asking Sacramento to hand local control back, and Mayor Amezcua, Councilmember Penaloza and Councilmember Phan agreed.
▶6:18:18Explore this issue
Related agenda item 32Open agenda item →Discuss and Consider Directing the City Manager to Direct Staff to Draft a Resolution Stating the City of Santa Ana’s Opposition to…
Member positions
Johnathan Ryan HernandezOpposed6:40:38Said the 2022 law was written to bring vendors into the permit system, and that enforcement first punishes immigrants and refugees rather than the corporations behind the stands.
Benjamin VazquezRaised concerns6:32:23Wanted a permitting pathway giving Santa Ana residents priority rather than removal.
Jessie LopezRaised concerns6:48:30Asked what is actually failing in enforcement and whether an ordinance would change anything.
Valerie AmezcuaSupported6:18:18Backed it at length and said residents are afraid to complain publicly.
Thai Viet PhanSupported6:27:32Supported enforcement and asked that the resolution also lobby the state legislators who wrote the law.
Phil BacerraSupported6:12:04Brought the item and asked for enforcement plus a resolution seeking local control back from the state.
David PenalozaSupported6:35:16Listed more than twenty junctions and said the county health department must act.
- 03
Councilmember Hernandez argued the opposite, that the newer state law is meant to bring vendors into the permit system and that enforcement first punishes very vulnerable people.
▶6:40:38Explore this issue
Related agenda item 32Open agenda item →Discuss and Consider Directing the City Manager to Direct Staff to Draft a Resolution Stating the City of Santa Ana’s Opposition to…
Member positions
Johnathan Ryan HernandezOpposed6:40:38Said the 2022 law was written to bring vendors into the permit system, and that enforcement first punishes immigrants and refugees rather than the corporations behind the stands.
Benjamin VazquezRaised concerns6:32:23Wanted a permitting pathway giving Santa Ana residents priority rather than removal.
Jessie LopezRaised concerns6:48:30Asked what is actually failing in enforcement and whether an ordinance would change anything.
Valerie AmezcuaSupported6:18:18Backed it at length and said residents are afraid to complain publicly.
Thai Viet PhanSupported6:27:32Supported enforcement and asked that the resolution also lobby the state legislators who wrote the law.
Phil BacerraSupported6:12:04Brought the item and asked for enforcement plus a resolution seeking local control back from the state.
David PenalozaSupported6:35:16Listed more than twenty junctions and said the county health department must act.
- 04
A second run of speakers asked the council to hold back a zoning code update that would stop a nonprofit health clinic opening, but the city attorney said an urgency ordinance already in force made that pointless, and the second reading passed six votes to one.
▶5:08:42Explore this issue
Related agenda item 6Open agenda item →Adopt ordinance no. ns-xxxx – zoning ordinance amendment no. 2022-03 – an ordinance of the city council of the city of santa ana…
Member positions
- 05
The council approved a $305,895 contract for the rent stabilization registry portal four votes to three, the dissenters objecting that start-up money is being borrowed from the housing fund with no certainty it can be paid back.
▶5:41:19Explore this issue
Related agenda item 20Open agenda item →Approve Agreement with 3Di, Inc. for the Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance Rental Registry Portal (Non-General…
Member positions
Valerie AmezcuaVoted no5:39:53Said she lacked the history behind the decision and wanted the background first.
Phil BacerraVoted no5:32:43Called the programme a boondoggle and noted the fund it borrows from has taken in nothing since April 2022.
David PenalozaVoted no5:29:11Objected to the vagueness of a plan to explore reimbursement rather than guarantee it.
Thai Viet PhanVoted yes5:38:31Moved approval, noting the council sets the fee and so controls whether the fund is repaid.
Jessie LopezVoted yes5:30:13Said the city spends far more elsewhere with less to show for it.
- 06
It kept the $500,000 of food distribution money with the two highest scoring bidders, after a long argument about whether a third group that had left parts of its application blank should be carved back in.
▶6:04:43Explore this issue
Related agenda item 22Open agenda item →Approve Agreements with Delhi Center and Seva Collective for Food Distribution Programs for a One-Year Term in an Aggregate Amount…
Member positions
Benjamin VazquezRaised concerns5:46:25Said no two organisations can cover the whole city.
Jessie LopezRaised concerns5:41:42Pulled the item and asked what happens to the 700 families the group feeds each week.
Johnathan Ryan HernandezRaised concerns5:55:24Moved to carve out $83,333 for United Across Borders, then withdrew it to let the item move.
Valerie AmezcuaSupported5:52:52Cited the reporting scores and the risk of having to repay federal money out of the general fund.
Thai Viet PhanSupported5:58:37Said a bid with blank answers should have been ruled non-responsive and that personal experience cannot decide contracts.
David PenalozaSupported5:56:30Moved the staff recommendation and asked the city to help weaker applicants improve next time.
- 07
It also disbanded its school collaboration subcommittee, because the other school districts had stopped answering invitations.
▶6:09:36Explore this issue
Related agenda item 31Open agenda item →Review the City Council Standing Subcommittees Interest List and Appoint Members
What councilmembers said
Representative transcript excerpts—not inferred positions.
Valerie AmezcuaMayor6:14:31In addition to those health dangers that these vendors pose, they also create more dangers by forcing people to not be able to use the sidewalks, but rather to walk into traffic. And we've seen these vendors, where are they at? On many busy streets. They're on…
Kristine RidgeCity Manager6:08:25Let's prepare to vote. So let me see if we have this. Madam Clerk, we have, because I have a question here. So we have the Public Safety and Homelessness City Council Subcommittee, that is Councilman Hernandez, Councilman Becerra, and myself. The Legislative…
Norma OrozcoCity Clerk6:11:13Councilmember Peñalosa is absent. Councilmember Fan? Yes. Councilmember Vasquez? Yes. Mayor Potem-Lopez? Mayor Amesqua?
Sonia R. CarvalhoCity Attorney6:06:17For purposes of conflict of interest analysis under the Political Reform Act, money that is received as salary from a public agency is not defined as income. And so it does not create a conflict under the Political Reform Act. Perfect. Unless there's some…
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 zoning update passed six votes to one, with Councilmember Vazquez holding out for a continuance so a health clinic could close escrow.
The rental registry portal contract passed four votes to three, with the dissenters objecting to borrowing start-up money from the inclusionary housing fund on an uncertain promise of repayment.
Said she lacked the history behind the decision and wanted the background first.
Called the programme a boondoggle and noted the fund it borrows from has taken in nothing since April 2022.
Objected to the vagueness of a plan to explore reimbursement rather than guarantee it.
Moved approval, noting the council sets the fee and so controls whether the fund is repaid.
Said the city spends far more elsewhere with less to show for it.
Whether a third food distribution group whose application had blank sections should still be given a share of the $500,000.
Said no two organisations can cover the whole city.
Pulled the item and asked what happens to the 700 families the group feeds each week.
Moved to carve out $83,333 for United Across Borders, then withdrew it to let the item move.
Cited the reporting scores and the risk of having to repay federal money out of the general fund.
Said a bid with blank answers should have been ruled non-responsive and that personal experience cannot decide contracts.
Moved the staff recommendation and asked the city to help weaker applicants improve next time.
Whether the answer to pop-up sidewalk food vending is enforcement of the rules already on the books, or a route into the permit system as the state's 2022 law intends.
Said the 2022 law was written to bring vendors into the permit system, and that enforcement first punishes immigrants and refugees rather than the corporations behind the stands.
Wanted a permitting pathway giving Santa Ana residents priority rather than removal.
Asked what is actually failing in enforcement and whether an ordinance would change anything.
Backed it at length and said residents are afraid to complain publicly.
Supported enforcement and asked that the resolution also lobby the state legislators who wrote the law.
Brought the item and asked for enforcement plus a resolution seeking local control back from the state.
Listed more than twenty junctions and said the county health department must act.
Agenda
Every item
38 items in agenda order
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…
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.21:22
Closed Session Items
▶14:13 Closed-session conference with legal counsel
- The council met privately about whether to file a friend of the court brief in two appeals against the city of Costa Mesa brought by sober living home operators.21:22
Ceremonial Presentations
▶5:08:32 Proclamation presented by Mayor Amezcua to the American Heart Association declaring February 2023 as American Heart Month
Ceremonial Presentations
Not located Proclamation presented by Mayor Pro Tem Lopez to the Santa Ana Unified School District and the Santa Ana Youth Mental Health…
- Mayor Pro Tem Lopez presented a proclamation declaring February 2023 We Care Month, marking the school district's suicide prevention and youth mental health campaign.3:14:48
- Staff and the district's representatives said the campaign has run since 2015 and is about making help easy for young people to reach.3:15:23
Ceremonial Presentations
Not located Proclamation presented by Councilmember Hernandez and Mayor Amezcua to the Second Baptist Church of Santa Ana and the Orange County…
- Councilmember Hernandez and Mayor Amezcua presented a proclamation declaring February 2023 Black History Month to the Second Baptist Church of Santa Ana and the Orange County Heritage Council.2:59:42
Consent Calendar
▶4:49:24 Excused Absences
- A routine item excusing members who missed earlier meetings, approved with the rest of the consent calendar.5:06:51
Consent Calendar
▶4:49:24 Adopt ordinance no. ns-xxxx – an ordinance of the city council of the city of santa ana disestablishing the downtown santa ana…
- Second reading of the ordinance dissolving the Downtown Santa Ana Business Improvement District, completing what the council began in January.5:06:51
Consent Calendar
▶5:08:35 Adopt ordinance no. ns-xxxx – zoning ordinance amendment no. 2022-03 – an ordinance of the city council of the city of santa ana…
- Second reading of the wide ranging zoning code update the council had approved in January, covering daycare, signage, massage businesses, synthetic turf and which uses are allowed in the professional zone.5:08:42
- Staff, board members and patients of the nonprofit Share Ourselves asked the council to pull the medical office provisions, saying the clinic has been in escrow on a Santa Ana building for months and the change would stop it opening.4:30:44
- Its board chair said the wording would also cost the city millions a year in federal community health centre funding, and that the provision had been added too late for the planning commission to hear public comment on it.4:31:02
- Councilmember Vazquez asked for a continuance so the clinic could close escrow.5:07:01
- The city attorney answered that the same restrictions are already in force under an urgency ordinance adopted separately, so pulling or amending this one would change nothing.5:09:44
- The second reading passed six votes to one, with Councilmember Vazquez against.5:11:14
Consent Calendar
▶4:45:38 Appoint Isabella Guerra Nominated by Mayor Amezcua as the Mayoral Representative to the Youth Commission for a Full-Term Expiring…
Consent Calendar
▶4:44:30 Appoint Various Boards and Commissions Members Nominated by Councilmember Vazquez as the Ward 2 Representatives for a Full Term…
Consent Calendar
▶1:14 Appoint Jennifer Oliva Nominated by Councilmember Penaloza as the Ward 6 Representative to the Planning Commission for a Full-Term…
Consent Calendar
▶5:11:56 Receive and File Citywide Field Renovation Schedule
- The citywide field renovation schedule for 2023 and 2024, pulled by Mayor Pro Tem Lopez, who asked that closures be announced on the city channel rather than left in a report residents have to go and find.5:11:57
- Councilmember Penaloza asked that the notices say how long a closure will last, which is what residents ask him.5:12:18
- Councilmember Phan warned that overlaying pickleball courts on tennis courts will be much noisier for the homes around them.5:12:51
- Being a receive and file item, it needed no vote.5:13:35
Consent Calendar
▶4:49:24 Receive and File Trash Enclosure Update
- An informational update on trash enclosures, received and filed with the consent calendar.5:06:51
Consent Calendar
▶5:13:48 Quarterly Report for Housing Division Projects and Activities for the period of October 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022
- The quarterly housing report, pulled to ask whether any developer has paid into the inclusionary housing fund since the council loosened the housing opportunity ordinance in April 2022.5:13:50
- The housing manager answered that no project has paid the in lieu fee since the amendment, so nothing at all has gone into the fund in that time.5:15:01
- Staff agreed to show that figure in future quarterly reports.5:14:44
Consent Calendar
▶5:05:00 Amend Blanket Order Contract with Home Depot for Construction, Maintenance, and Repair Materials and Supplies to Extend Term for an…
Consent Calendar
▶4:49:24 Approve a Purchase Order in the Amount of $282,171 to Musco Sports Lighting, LLC. for LED Sports Lighting with Related Supplies and…
- A purchase order of $282,171 to Musco Sports Lighting for LED floodlights at Santa Ana Stadium.5:06:51
Consent Calendar
▶5:16:13 Award Purchase Order to Penske Chevrolet of Cerritos in the Amount of $346,134 for One 2023 Chevrolet Colorado Crew Cab Short Bed…
- A purchase order of $346,134 to Penske Chevrolet for six trucks for public works.5:16:14
- Councilmember Bacerra thanked the public works director for approaching the Santa Ana Chevrolet dealership beforehand and walking them through small business certification, and urged other local firms to get in touch.5:16:14
- Councilmember Hernandez said he had hoped the order would go to the local dealer, and was glad the trucks are at least American and union built.5:17:37
Consent Calendar
▶4:49:24 Award a Purchase Order in the Amount of $399,274 to National Auto Fleet Group for Eight Chevrolet Colorado Trucks for the Public…
- A purchase order of $399,274 to National Auto Fleet Group for eight Chevrolet trucks for public works.5:06:51
Consent Calendar
▶5:18:03 Approve Appropriation Adjustment Recognizing $674,887 in Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Account Funds and Spending Plan…
- An appropriation of $674,887 in state supplemental law enforcement money, pulled by Mayor Amezcua so the police chief could explain what it buys.5:18:32
- The chief said it covers radios, vehicles, building security, lapel microphones, frontline training and overtime, and cannot be used to hire officers.5:19:05
- Asked what the specialist training is, he named sex crimes, crimes against children, domestic violence, homicide, gangs and active shooter response.5:20:11
- It passed without opposition.5:21:03
Consent Calendar
▶5:21:14 Approve Appropriation Adjustment to Recognize Remainder Disbursement of Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program Funds –…
- An appropriation of the remaining $8,232,281 of round three state homelessness money, released after the governor's hold.5:21:18
- Mayor Amezcua asked that the city publish what the money is being spent on, and staff agreed to show it alongside every other homelessness funding source.5:22:08
- It passed without opposition.5:22:57
Consent Calendar
▶4:49:24 Approve Appropriation Adjustment to Recognize Permanent Local Housing Allocation (Non-General Fund)
- An appropriation of $4,795,654 in permanent local housing allocation money from the state, to be spent on homelessness.5:06:51
Consent Calendar
▶5:23:06 Approve Agreement with 3Di, Inc. for the Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance Rental Registry Portal (Non-General…
- A three year contract of up to $305,895 with 3Di to build and run the rental registry portal for the rent stabilization and just cause eviction ordinance.5:23:13
- Councilmember Penaloza pulled it over one line in the report, that staff would explore reimbursing the inclusionary housing fund once registry fees start coming in.5:23:13
- Staff confirmed about $53,000 of start-up cost would be borrowed from that fund and repaid only if the fees turn out to cover it.5:24:29
- He said the council was being asked to borrow money against revenue nobody can promise, and that the vagueness, not the amount, was his objection.5:29:11
- Mayor Pro Tem Lopez said the city routinely spends far more with far less to show for it, and that this is money residents will see the benefit of.5:30:13
- Councilmember Bacerra called the programme a boondoggle and noted the fund being borrowed from has taken in nothing since the council loosened the housing ordinance.5:32:43
- Councilmember Phan established that the council itself will set the fee, so whether the fund is repaid is the council's own decision, and moved approval.5:38:31
- Mayor Amezcua said she would not support it because she had not been on the council for the earlier decisions and wanted the history first.5:39:53
- It passed four votes to three.5:41:19
Consent Calendar
▶4:49:24 Approve a First Amendment to the FY 21-22 Agreement with Habitat for Humanity to Administer the Residential Rehabilitation Grant…
- An extra $11,000 for Habitat for Humanity of Orange County to run the residential rehabilitation grant programme.5:06:51
Consent Calendar
▶5:41:40 Approve Agreements with Delhi Center and Seva Collective for Food Distribution Programs for a One-Year Term in an Aggregate Amount…
- One year agreements worth $500,000 in total with the Delhi Center and Seva Collective to run food distribution.5:41:42
- Mayor Pro Tem Lopez pulled it because a third group, United Across Borders, had scored 51 out of 100 and been left out, and asked what happens to the 700 families it feeds each week.5:41:42
- Staff said the group had skipped whole sections of its application and wrongly stated it had never had federal money, scoring 44 per cent on data and reporting against 100 per cent for the two winners.5:44:28
- Councilmember Hernandez moved to carve $83,333 out of the two contracts for United Across Borders, matching what it received in the first round.5:55:24
- Mayor Amezcua opposed that, saying the money is federal, the city will be audited, and a reporting failure would have to be repaid out of the general fund.5:52:52
- Councilmember Penaloza made a substitute motion for the two recommended groups, asking that the city help organisations like United Across Borders write better proposals next time.5:56:30
- Councilmember Phan said she had seen the group's work herself but that a bid with blank answers should have been ruled non-responsive, and that personal experience cannot be the basis for awarding contracts.5:58:37
- Councilmember Hernandez withdrew his motion and the substitute passed, recorded first as six to one and then corrected to unanimous.6:04:43
Consent Calendar
▶4:49:24 Approve a Master Renewal Agreement with System Innovators for Citywide Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (“EMV”) Chip & PIN Credit Card…
- Agreements with System Innovators worth up to $765,032 and $592,946 to upgrade and then support the city's cashiering system for chip and pin card payments.5:06:51
Consent Calendar
▶4:49:24 Approve Agreement for City Clerk Appointment
- An employment agreement appointing Jennifer Hall as city clerk.5:06:51
Consent Calendar
▶4:49:24 Approve Amendment to Agreement with Axon Enterprise, Inc. in the amount of $376,379 for Interview Room Camera System (Non-General…
- An extra $376,379 to Axon Enterprise for interview room camera equipment for the police department.5:06:51
Consent Calendar
▶4:49:24 Amend Agreements with GK & Associates; Interwest Consulting Group, Inc.; Penco, a Cannon Company; Project Partners, Inc.; and…
- An extra $2,500,000 shared between five firms providing on-call engineering and technical support.5:06:51
Consent Calendar
▶4:49:24 Approve Agreement with TrueLine Construction and Surfacing for Outdoor Sports Court Resurfacing Citywide in an Amount Not to Exceed…
- An agreement with TrueLine Construction and Surfacing to resurface outdoor sports courts across the city.5:06:51
Consent Calendar
▶4:49:24 Approve Agreement with FieldTurf USA, Inc. for Artificial Turf Sports Field Maintenance Services in an Amount Not to Exceed $520,800…
- An agreement with FieldTurf USA to maintain the city's artificial turf sports fields.5:06:51
Consent Calendar
▶4:49:24 Adopt a Resolution Approving the Construction Installment Sale Agreement with the California State Water Resources Control Board for…
- A resolution approving a state water board financing agreement of up to $10,117,365 for the automated water metering project.5:06:51
Consent Calendar
▶4:49:24 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.5:06:51
Business Calendar
▶6:05:43 Review the City Council Standing Subcommittees Interest List and Appoint Members
- Members put their names to the council's standing subcommittees.6:05:45
- The city attorney confirmed that Councilmember Vazquez being a teacher is no bar to sitting on the joint school subcommittee, because a public salary is not income for conflict of interest purposes.6:06:17
- Nobody wanted the separate school collaboration subcommittee covering charter and other districts, and Mayor Pro Tem Lopez said those districts had not responded to the city's approaches, so it was disbanded.6:09:36
- Three subcommittees remain and the appointments passed without opposition.6:11:30
Councilmember Requested Items
▶6:17:09 Discuss and Consider Directing the City Manager to Direct Staff to Draft a Resolution Stating the City of Santa Ana’s Opposition to…
- Councilmember Bacerra asked the council to back enforcement against unpermitted stationary sidewalk food vending and to prepare a resolution opposing the state law that limits what the city can do.6:12:04
- He drew a line between mobile vendors with county health permits and pop-up stands that block pavements, cook over open flame beside traffic and sell food inspectors have found unfit to eat.6:12:04
- Mayor Amezcua backed him at length, describing Bristol Street after dark and saying residents who complain are afraid to be named.6:18:18
- Councilmember Phan supported enforcement and asked that the resolution also press the city's lobbyist and state legislators to amend the law, and that residents stop buying from the stands.6:27:32
- Councilmember Vazquez said he supports the vendors he grew up with and wants a route to permits for Santa Ana residents rather than removal.6:32:23
- Councilmember Penaloza read out more than twenty junctions where the stands operate and said the county health department should be made to act.6:35:16
- Councilmember Hernandez opposed the enforcement first approach, arguing the 2022 state law was written to move vendors into the permit system through cheaper equipment rules, shared commercial kitchens and education rather than sweeps.6:40:38
- Mayor Pro Tem Lopez asked staff to come back explaining why enforcement stops at the city boundary, what the police role is, whether the county is helping, and whether an ordinance would fix anything at all.6:48:30
- The city manager was given direction to return with a staff report and a draft resolution.6:57:16
Council Comments Ab1234 Disclosure
Not located 1. February 1-3, 2023 Mayor Amezcua — League of California Cities New Mayors and Council Members Academy in Universal City, CA
- Mayor Amezcua reported attending the mayors' conference in Washington and the League of California Cities academy, including a meeting at the White House.7:10:40
Consent Calendar
▶7:02:58 Excused Absences
- A routine item excusing absent members of the housing authority board.7:04:38
Consent Calendar
▶7:02:58 Quarterly Report for the Housing Choice Voucher Program for the Period of October 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022
- The quarterly report on the housing choice voucher programme for the last three months of 2022, received and filed.7:04:38
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