Jessie LopezVoted no
3:14:26Voted against dissolving the commissions.
16June
2026
2026
Regular City Council and Special Housing Authority Meeting · One key issue
The council voted five to two to abolish five of its citizen commissions, covering arts, environment and transport, historic buildings, parks, and youth.
▶ Check this moment · 3:14:26
3.8 hours
28 agenda items
8 located in video
55% attributed to a named speaker
Brief
What happened
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
- 01
Mayor Pro Tem Penaloza and Councilmember Lopez voted against, arguing it was one more step in a long pattern of narrowing how residents take part.
▶3:08:38Explore this issue
Related agenda item 20Open agenda item →Dissolve the Arts and Culture Commission; Environmental and Transportation Advisory Commission; Historic Resources Commission…
Member positions
David PenalozaVoted no3:08:38Said it fits a decades-long pattern of minimising public input, and pointed to the council having just cut public speaking time from three minutes to one.
Valerie AmezcuaVoted yes3:11:47Said residents can take part in many other ways, and that she shortens comment only occasionally to stop meetings running five and a half hours.
Thai Viet PhanVoted yes3:10:20Voted for it after getting confirmation that the commissions' work would continue in meetings open to the public.
Benjamin VazquezVoted yes3:13:37Seconded the motion to dissolve the commissions.
Phil BacerraVoted yes3:14:26None
Johnathan Ryan HernandezVoted yes3:14:26None
- 02
Councilmember Phan asked staff to confirm the work those commissions did will still happen and still be open to the public, and was told it will.
▶3:10:20Explore this issue
Related agenda item 20Open agenda item →Dissolve the Arts and Culture Commission; Environmental and Transportation Advisory Commission; Historic Resources Commission…
Member positions
Jessie LopezVoted no3:14:26Voted against dissolving the commissions.
David PenalozaVoted no3:08:38Said it fits a decades-long pattern of minimising public input, and pointed to the council having just cut public speaking time from three minutes to one.
Valerie AmezcuaVoted yes3:11:47Said residents can take part in many other ways, and that she shortens comment only occasionally to stop meetings running five and a half hours.
Thai Viet PhanVoted yes3:10:20Voted for it after getting confirmation that the commissions' work would continue in meetings open to the public.
Benjamin VazquezVoted yes3:13:37Seconded the motion to dissolve the commissions.
Phil BacerraVoted yes3:14:26None
Johnathan Ryan HernandezVoted yes3:14:26None
- 03
The council also backed Councilmember Bacerra's request to oppose a federal plan to weaken drinking water rules, and to require any change to the city's own water standards to be voted on in public.
▶3:14:38Explore this issue
Related agenda item 21Open agenda item →Discuss and Consider Directing the City Manager to Direct City Staff to: (1) Draft a Letter from the City of Santa Ana Expressing…
What councilmembers said
Representative transcript excerpts—not inferred positions.
Valerie AmezcuaMayor3:42:57I mean to hear from the county and to look at again why is Santa Ana, why are they looking at Santa Ana? There's other places they can go to. So I look forward to coming back and reporting on what is the outcome and hopefully the Board of supervisors will be…
Phil BacerraCouncilmember3:29:45I would like to ask my colleagues tonight to adjourn our meeting in the memory of Sandy Fainberg. She passed away on June 12th at the age of 96. Sandy was born in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. She moved to LA with her family at the age of 10. After earning her…
Johnathan Ryan HernandezCouncilmember3:32:26okay I'll be brief I just want to thank members of the public for tuning in to today's council meeting I especially want to thank our staff for getting a balanced budget in front of us I know it was not easy special shout out to Alex and cat downs because you…
Jessie LopezCouncilmember3:20:25Yeah, no, thank you, and I appreciate hearing out loud the clarification that this isn't having any current impacts, which is, I think, incredibly important, and I believe that our water agencies, our two representatives on this board would let us know, and I…
- 04
Several tenants told the council about rats, mould and rent increases at their building, and the mayor directed staff to meet the families.
▶3:05:53Explore this issue
Related agenda item 1Open agenda item →Certificates of Recognition presented by Mayor Amezcua to Girls Fastpitch Santa Ana for Outstanding Athletic Achievements
No named councilmember contribution could be reliably linked to this item.
- 05
The budget for the year beginning July was given its final adoption.
▶3:08:15Explore this issue
Related agenda item 19Open agenda item →Final adoption: City Council Ordinance NS-3096 Appropriating Monies to the Several Offices, Agencies, and Departments of the City of…
No named councilmember contribution could be reliably linked to this item.
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 council split five to two over abolishing five citizen commissions, with the argument turning on whether it narrows how residents take part in city decisions.
Voted against dissolving the commissions.
Said it fits a decades-long pattern of minimising public input, and pointed to the council having just cut public speaking time from three minutes to one.
Said residents can take part in many other ways, and that she shortens comment only occasionally to stop meetings running five and a half hours.
Voted for it after getting confirmation that the commissions' work would continue in meetings open to the public.
Seconded the motion to dissolve the commissions.
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.
Housing3 recurring voice tracks
Several public comments returned to housing.
…big, but they're evicting us. They want to raise us $1,000 in rent. They want to remodel the building to raise us $1,000 in rent. They want us to enter as new tenants and earn $7,500 in monthly income to be able to stay in the building if we…
▶2:55:47…a single mom. I have no husband, just my kids. We're dealing with mold because they opened the track for the train track, and we've been dealing with those issues. issues, they've been asking us to pay $1,000 more to increase the rent and to…
▶2:57:27
Environment & water3 recurring voice tracks
Several public comments returned to environment & water.
…name is Suman Basin, and I'm a Santa Ana resident working with the Climate Action Campaign. I'm here tonight to urge this council to pass a resolution supporting Assembly Bill 2463, a critical piece of state legislation aimed at tackling…
▶2:34:53…members, and the community members. My name is Anthony Ogama with Climate Action Campaign, a nonprofit policy watchdog. If you see on the first page of the handout you were just handed, we're here because Southern California Edison's rates have…
▶2:38:08
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
28 items in agenda order
Closed Session Items
▶2:29:32 Closed-session conference with legal counsel
- The council met privately to discuss ongoing litigation against the city.20:38
Closed Session Items
Not located Closed-session conference with legal counsel
- The council met privately to discuss a second matter of ongoing litigation.20:38
Closed Session Items
▶20:48 Closed-session conference with legal counsel
- The council met privately about a lawsuit the city might bring itself.20:38
Ceremonial Presentations
▶2:29:32 Certificates of Recognition presented by Mayor Amezcua to Girls Fastpitch Santa Ana for Outstanding Athletic Achievements
- Mayor Amezcua presented certificates to a Santa Ana girls fastpitch softball team, recognising the players, families and coaches.1:47:26
Ceremonial Presentations
Not located Certificates of Recognition presented by Councilmember Bacerra to Santa Ana College Baseball for Outstanding Athletic Achievements…
- Councilmember Bacerra presented certificates to the Santa Ana College baseball team, state champions that year.1:55:10
Ceremonial Presentations
Not located Certificates of Recognition presented by Councilmember Hernandez to the Santa Ana Community Artist(a) Coalition’s Youth Restoration…
- Councilmember Hernandez presented certificates to a youth programme run by the Santa Ana Community Artist Coalition.2:06:35
Ceremonial Presentations
Not located Certificate of Recognition presented by Councilmember Lopez to Emad Dalati for Outstanding Contributions to the Community
- Councilmember Lopez presented a certificate to Emad Dalati for contributions to the community.2:25:39
Consent Calendar
▶3:07:21 Excused Absences
- A routine item excusing members who missed earlier meetings, approved with the consent calendar.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
Not located Minutes from the Regular Meeting of June 2, 2026
- The council approved the written record of its 2 June 2026 meeting.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
Not located Conflict of Interest Code Biennial Review
- The council completed the review of its conflict of interest rules that state law requires every two years.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
Not located Reappoint Members to the Workforce Development Board for Four-Year Terms
- Sitting members of the board that oversees the city's job training programmes were reappointed for four-year terms.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
Not located Appropriation Adjustment for Lease Payments for the Santa Ana WORK Center (Non-General Fund)
- Money was moved to cover the lease payments on the city's WORK Center, which houses employment services.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
Not located Purchase Order to CB Pacific, Inc. for Jail Security Control System Equipment (Specification No. 26-077) (General Fund)
- The council approved a purchase of replacement security control equipment for the city jail.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
Not located Agreement with the County of Orange for Law Enforcement Helicopter Services
- The city renewed its agreement with the county for police helicopter cover.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
Not located Purchase Order Contract to Avolve Software Corporation for Land Management Electronic Plan Review System (Specification No. 26-060)…
- The council approved software that lets building plans be submitted and reviewed electronically rather than on paper.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
Not located Approve Legal Services Agreements with (1) Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, APLC; (2) Carpenter, Rothans & Dumont, LLP; (3)…
- Several outside law firms were put under contract to handle specialist legal work for the city.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
Not located Facility Use Agreements with Golf Instructors for Golf Lessons and Programming at River View Golf Course
- Golf instructors were given agreements to run lessons and programmes at River View Golf Course.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
Not located Award $600,000 of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Formula Youth Funds for Program Year 2026-2027 (Non-General Fund)
- The council awarded $600,000 of federal youth employment money for the coming programme year.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
Not located Resolution and Appropriation Adjustment to Accept the State of California Volunteers Youth Service Corps Award Agreement…
- The council accepted a state grant for a youth service corps and adjusted the budget to receive it.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
Not located Resolution Approving the City’s Annual Statement of Investment Policy 2026-2027; Annual Statement of Investment Policy 2026-2027
- The council approved the policy setting out how the city may invest the cash it holds, which is reviewed each year.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
Not located Resolution Establishing the Appropriations Limit for FY2026-27
- The council set the annual ceiling on how much tax revenue it is allowed to spend, a limit required by the state constitution.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
▶2:30:38 Final adoption: City Council Ordinance NS-3096 Appropriating Monies to the Several Offices, Agencies, and Departments of the City of…
Business Calendar
▶3:08:21 Dissolve the Arts and Culture Commission; Environmental and Transportation Advisory Commission; Historic Resources Commission…
- The council voted to abolish five citizen commissions as a budget saving: arts and culture, environment and transport, historic resources, parks and recreation, and youth.3:08:21
- Mayor Pro Tem Penaloza said he had thought about it for weeks and would vote no, placing it in a long pattern of the city narrowing how the public takes part.3:08:38
- He pointed to shortened public comment and the years when notices of public hearings only reached people within five hundred feet.3:08:38
- Councilmember Phan asked the city manager to confirm that the work continues, that grants, parks business and historic building applications would still be decided in meetings the public can attend and comment on.3:10:20
- The city manager confirmed it.3:10:43
- Penaloza then noted the council had cut public speaking time from three minutes to one two meetings earlier, and said that undercut the argument that residents can simply come and speak.3:11:13
- The mayor replied that she had shortened it on occasion to avoid five and a half hours of comment, that the council had voted for it, and that residents can take part in many other ways including a budget survey more than two thousand people completed.3:11:47
- It carried five votes to two, with Penaloza and Councilmember Lopez against.3:14:26
Councilmember Requested Items
▶3:14:33 Discuss and Consider Directing the City Manager to Direct City Staff to: (1) Draft a Letter from the City of Santa Ana Expressing…
- Councilmember Bacerra asked the council to write to the federal environment agency opposing its plan to roll back drinking water limits on the chemicals known as PFAS.3:14:38
- He said drinking water standards used to draw agreement from both parties, and that the reversal was not something he expected to see.3:14:38
- His second request was an ordinance requiring that any change to the city's own drinking water standards be voted on in public, because today such a change can be made without notice or discussion.3:14:38
- Mayor Amezcua, who sits on the county water district board, supported it but was careful to say the federal change would not affect Santa Ana's water quality.3:17:09
- She said treatment plants are already being built at the city's wells to meet limits set in 2024 that are not changing, and that the city has won awards for its water four years running.3:17:09
- The council backed both requests seven votes to nothing.3:23:27
Council Comments Ab1234 Disclosure
Not located June 4-7, 2026 Mayor Amezcua – 94th Annual Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors, Long Beach, CA
- Mayor Amezcua disclosed attending the national conference of mayors in Long Beach.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
▶2:29:32 Excused Absences
- A routine item excusing absent members, approved by the Housing Authority.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
Not located Minutes from the Special Meeting of May 19, 2026
- The Housing Authority approved the written record of its 19 May 2026 special meeting.3:08:15
Consent Calendar
Not located Subordination Agreement and Lease Rider with the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development for FX…
- The Housing Authority agreed to let a state housing loan take priority over its own interest in a property, a step lenders normally require before funding.3:08:15
Full transcript
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