4February
2025

Regular City Council Meeting · One key issue

It voted four to three to approve the environmental finding for the Fairview Street improvements, over objections that the design was not finished.

Check this moment · 2:34:00

5.1 hours 23 agenda items 8 located in video 72% attributed to a named speaker

Brief

What happened

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

01
It then disbanded all three of its own standing subcommittees, including the one working with the school district, after the clerk reported that two of them had met once or twice in three years.
3:49:19
Youth & education Homelessness Public safety Parks & libraries

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Related agenda item 18
Appoint Members to the Joint School City Council Standing Subcommittee and Disband the Legislative City Council Standing…
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Member positions

Benjamin VazquezVoted no
Said the committee was planning a park at an elementary school in an underserved area, and that disbanding it would cost direct access to the superintendent.
3:51:44
Jessie LopezVoted no
Agreed the work had been slow but said direction given at those meetings was meant to produce action, not just be noted.
4:00:59
Johnathan Ryan HernandezVoted no
Supported keeping the schools committee, saying it gave him a route to the city manager's office and the superintendent.
3:58:14
Valerie AmezcuaVoted yes
Said she had asked for updates for two years and never received any, and that it was unfair to staff.
3:56:12
Thai Viet PhanVoted yes
Supported disbanding the two dormant subcommittees and questioned the schools committee's output.
4:04:46
Phil BacerraVoted yes
Moved to disband all three, saying the committees were duplicative and the only work being done was posting agendas and cancellation notices.
3:51:19
David PenalozaVoted yes
Said a committee must meet and report back to be worth having, and that it covered only one of the city's three school districts.
4:09:52
02
A motion to keep the schools committee failed three votes to four, and the wider motion to disband everything passed four to three.
4:19:31
Homelessness Public safety Parks & libraries Youth & education

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Related agenda item 18
Appoint Members to the Joint School City Council Standing Subcommittee and Disband the Legislative City Council Standing…
Open agenda item →

Member positions

Benjamin VazquezVoted no
Said the committee was planning a park at an elementary school in an underserved area, and that disbanding it would cost direct access to the superintendent.
3:51:44
Jessie LopezVoted no
Agreed the work had been slow but said direction given at those meetings was meant to produce action, not just be noted.
4:00:59
Johnathan Ryan HernandezVoted no
Supported keeping the schools committee, saying it gave him a route to the city manager's office and the superintendent.
3:58:14
Valerie AmezcuaVoted yes
Said she had asked for updates for two years and never received any, and that it was unfair to staff.
3:56:12
Thai Viet PhanVoted yes
Supported disbanding the two dormant subcommittees and questioned the schools committee's output.
4:04:46
Phil BacerraVoted yes
Moved to disband all three, saying the committees were duplicative and the only work being done was posting agendas and cancellation notices.
3:51:19
David PenalozaVoted yes
Said a committee must meet and report back to be worth having, and that it covered only one of the city's three school districts.
4:09:52
03
The council repealed the 2019 environmental approvals for a development that neighbours had fought, which Councilmember Bacerra called a testament to the neighbourhood's effort.
4:21:03
Environment & water

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Related agenda item 19
Resolution Repealing Resolution No. 2019-107 Regarding 2019 Environmental Approvals for Project Located at 2525 North Main Street
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What councilmembers said
Representative transcript excerpts—not inferred positions.

Phil BacerraCouncilmember
NEW SPEAKER BESSERA THANK YOU, MADAM MAYOR. THIS ITEM IS BEFORE US TONIGHT IS VERY SYMBOLIC. IT IS A TESTAMENT TO THE EFFORT OF A NEIGHBORHOOD WORKING WITH OTHER ADJOINING NEIGHBORHOODS IN REGARDS TO A PROJECT THAT DID NOT WORK, DID NOT FIT IN THE LOCATION…
4:21:03
Thai Viet PhanCouncilmember
Thank you, Mayor. I WILL BE REQUESTING MYSELF FROM ITEM NUMBER 19 AS I BELIEVE THE PROPERTY OWNER VINEYARD DEVELOPMENT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE 2525 NORTH MAIN STREET PROJECT. AND SO WHILE THIS DISCUSSION IS OCCURRING, I WILL LEAVE THE DIAS. I THINK THAT'S IT.…
4:20:38
Valerie AmezcuaMayor
ITEM 19 AT THIS TIME. COUNCILMAN BESSERA, PLEASE.
4:20:59
04
It also gave first approval to an ordinance banning the city from awarding contracts or grants to the immediate family of the mayor, councilmembers or city officials.
4:23:31

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Related agenda item 20
Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Santa Ana Amending Chapter 2 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code by Adding Section 2-112…
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What councilmembers said
Representative transcript excerpts—not inferred positions.

Valerie AmezcuaMayor
well, so I want to thank them. And the Police Officers Association was there also to support and the Orange County Labor Federation. And so also I want to thank Assemblyman Avalina Valencia and Congressman Correa because they've been working very closely and…
4:52:57
Johnathan Ryan HernandezCouncilmember
In the case of the individual who was carrying a toy rifle, I would want to see us de-escalate those situations just like we did the case where there was an individual on 17th and Tustin who walked into a salon with a firearm. And our Santa Ana Police…
4:29:41
Benjamin VazquezMayor Pro Tem
THANK YOU MAYOR PRO TAN VASQUEZ THANK YOU STAFF THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO THE MEETINGS have been going great you guys have been doing a great job i mean like i appreciate it how smooth we run and now we've even uh now we're a a city uh staff on steroids…
4:39:44
Phil BacerraCouncilmember
over the last couple of months. And we've been able to not only have productive discussions, but be able to get through them in a reasonable time. So I wanna say thank you to our staff in that. And I also wanna give a specific shout out to our Public Works…
4:45:59

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. 8 uncited sentences were withheld from this page.

Focus

Where they differed

Splits in votes or reasoning

Split voteon “California Environmental Quality Act Environmental Determination for the Fairview Street Improvements Project from 17th Street to…”2:26:00

The council divided four to three on the environmental finding for the Fairview Street improvements. Those against wanted the design finished first; those in favour said environmental review needs a defined scope, not final engineering.

Jessie LopezVoted no2:23:56

Pressed on how pedestrian and vehicle impacts in heavily trafficked areas would actually be addressed.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezVoted no2:34:00

Voted no; the recording does not capture a stated reason.

David PenalozaVoted no2:26:00

Said he would vote against because the design phase was incomplete and such phases drag on for years.

Valerie AmezcuaVoted yes2:21:58

Confirmed on the record that homes on the route would be bought at market value.

Thai Viet PhanVoted yes2:31:06

Said the item was a categorical exemption for a project whose scope is already clear.

Phil BacerraVoted yes2:27:30

Raised the same concern, then accepted that environmental review requires a full scope rather than final engineering.

Split voteon “Appoint Members to the Joint School City Council Standing Subcommittee and Disband the Legislative City Council Standing…”3:51:19

The council split over whether to keep the standing subcommittee that works with the school district. Everyone agreed the other two subcommittees had stopped meeting; the argument was whether the schools one was doing real work or simply generating agendas.

Benjamin VazquezVoted no3:51:44

Said the committee was planning a park at an elementary school in an underserved area, and that disbanding it would cost direct access to the superintendent.

Jessie LopezVoted no4:00:59

Agreed the work had been slow but said direction given at those meetings was meant to produce action, not just be noted.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezVoted no3:58:14

Supported keeping the schools committee, saying it gave him a route to the city manager's office and the superintendent.

Valerie AmezcuaVoted yes3:56:12

Said she had asked for updates for two years and never received any, and that it was unfair to staff.

Thai Viet PhanVoted yes4:04:46

Supported disbanding the two dormant subcommittees and questioned the schools committee's output.

Phil BacerraVoted yes3:51:19

Moved to disband all three, saying the committees were duplicative and the only work being done was posting agendas and cancellation notices.

David PenalozaVoted yes4:09:52

Said a committee must meet and report back to be worth having, and that it covered only one of the city's three school districts.

Public voice

Recurring resident concerns

Repeated themes only

This section omits one-off remarks. It appears only when several separate public-comment voice tracks return to the same topic, or repeated comments connect a councilmember with criticism or calls for accountability. It is not a representative survey of residents.

Immigration10 recurring voice tracks

Several public comments returned to immigration.

…know the students of Santa Ana organized a walkout in support of our immigrant community. We had some students tell us that the word was going around at their school. Saddleback Saddleback High School administration was upset and would potentially…
1:39:17
…for Mayor Emescu. Is it true that you plan to collaborate with ICE to deport residents of Santa Ana, while knowing that Santa Ana is a sanctuary city and that you yourself come from Hispanic roots. I asked due to the recent editorial that has…
1:45:03

How recurring concerns are selected

The prototype groups unidentified speech inside the general public-comment block by transcript voice track. A topic must recur across at least three tracks; criticism involving a named councilmember must recur across at least two. Voice tracks are an approximation and may include interpretation of another speaker, so excerpts remain linked to the recording.

Agenda

Every item

23 items in agenda order

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Closed Session Items