Read the September 17 meeting.

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Recording in progress.

Valerie Amezcua

Thank you.

Valerie Amezcua

You can go ahead, Mayor. Thank you. I hear by call the City of Santa Ana Council meeting to order. This meeting is taking place with in-person attendance. and by teleconference via Zoom. The public may access the meeting via the Saturday Nightingale YouTube channel or the city's website. Please bear with us as the technology may disrupt the flow of the meeting. Madam Clerk, please conduct the roll call.

Jennifer L. Hall

Council Member Becerra. Council Member Hernandez. Council Member Lopez. Council Member Penaloza. Present. Council Member Vasquez. Present. Mayor Pro Tem Fan. Here. Mayor Mesquia.

Valerie Amezcua

Present.

Jennifer L. Hall

You do have four members, that is a quorum.

Valerie Amezcua

Thank you, Madam Clerk. are there any additions or deletions to the closed session agenda there are not thank you do any council members need to announce our abstentions on closed session items hearing none madam clerk do we have any speakers for closed session mayor and city council we do not have any cards for

Jennifer L. Hall

speakers on closed session but we did receive one email pertaining to closed session item number two which was distributed to the council and posted online okay thank you we will now recess this

Valerie Amezcua

portion of the meeting to consider the closed session item agendas recording stopped

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Thai Viet Phan

Recording in progress

Thank you.

Valerie Amezcua

Madam Kirk, can we start the meeting? Yes, Mayor, go ahead, please.

Valerie Amezcua

Thank you. I hereby reconvene the Santa Ana City Council meeting to order. This meeting is taking place with in-person attendance and by teleconference via Zoom. The public may access the meeting via the Santa Ana YouTube channel or the City's website. Please bear with us as the technology may disrupt the flow of the meeting. As a reminder this is a meeting to conduct the business of the City. As mayor I am afforded the opportunity to call for a recess or a break or even to clear the meeting room if a meeting becomes too disruptive to properly conduct business. Warnings will be provided prior to any action being

Valerie Amezcua

taken, we appreciate your cooperation. For everyone's safety, per the Fire Marshal, please do not stand or place objects in the aisles, in front of the dais, along the back wall of the Council Chamber, or in front of the entrances and exits. Guidelines for members of the news media, anyone else who wishes to film or photograph the meeting are available in the lobby. During City Council presentations and oaths of office, guests of individuals being recognized are invited to come to the front to take photos. Madam Clerk, please conduct the roll call.

Jennifer L. Hall

Councilmember Becerra?

Phil Bacerra

Here.

Jennifer L. Hall

Councilmember Hernandez?

Johnathan Ryan Hernandez

Present.

Jennifer L. Hall

Councilmember Lopez? Here. Councilmember Penaloza? Councilmember Vasquez?

Benjamin Vazquez

Present.

Jennifer L. Hall

Mayor Pro Tem Fan? Here. Mayor Mesquah? Present. Six members present. That is a quorum.

Valerie Amezcua

Thank you, Madam City Clerk. At this time, we're going to do the Pledge of Allegiance. May I call up Ms. Susanna Rios, please, I think you're here somewhere, to do the Pledge of Allegiance.

Valerie Amezcua

Lift up the mic or whatever you need and there you go. Thank you.

I pledge allegiance to the flag to the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty justice for all. Thank you very much.

Valerie Amezcua

Words of inspiration will be provided by Pastor Matt Doan from Calvary Church Santa Ana. Sir please come to the podium.

You can stay seated if you'd like to.

Hi, everybody. Good evening. My name is, you said Mayor, is Matt Doan. I've lived here in Santa Ana for 22 years in Ward 3, and I've loved my time here, loved raising our family here. I'm a pastor, one of the pastors at Calvary Church, Santa Ana, which is on Tustin Avenue, a few miles from here. And it's actually been in the city since 1931. And I also serve as the board chair at OC Global Medical Center. So I send my greetings city leaders from our church family, as well as the hardworking staff over at OC Global. I asked my kids when I took them home from school today,

hey, what do you like about living in Santa Ana? And my nine-year-old said, I love that I know so many people, which she knows like 20 people. And she goes, I know that person, I know that person. and we're driving in our neighborhood, and she's pointing at different houses. And it just reminded me, one of the beautiful things about living in this city is that we have these relationships, right? We have people that we look forward to seeing, to running into long-term relationships. And I asked my seventh-grade son, what do you love about living in Santa Ana? And he goes, thinks for a moment in his deep, like, seventh-grade mind.

And he goes, it's just home. It's home. And so I love that we have this in common, right? Those of us that live here in this city is the relationships that we have. And we can go other places, but ultimately Santa Ana is our home. And so I know we have a thousand opinions about how we should conduct this city, but we're unified in the fact that we have these relationships and it's home. I hope that encourages each of us tonight as we discuss important matters. And I would just love the privilege just to pray to my God. and if you close your eyes, if you want to close your eyes, you can. If you wanted to stand or sit,

that's fine too. I'm pretty informal, but I'm going to pray. Thank you, God. I just thank you for all of our leaders in this beautiful city. Thank you for their hard work of long hours and meetings. God, I pray that you just continually bless them in both their public work and their private lives. And may you generously give to each of them wisdom tonight and discerning hearts as they govern the matters of our city. And I ask God that our mayor and our council and our city attorney and manager and clerk, God, would you give each of them the characteristics of Jesus tonight?

That they would have humility, compassion, truth, and courage. And God, I just pray that you'd give them all this so they can solve complex problems, distinguish between right and wrong and bring order and stability and peace and prosperity here to Santa Ana. And God, finally, I just thank you for every single person who calls Santa Ana home. All 300,000 plus of us, God, thank you for each of us. And God, I pray that you'd bless us, that you'd protect us, and you'd help us to know that we're wonderfully made and deeply loved by you. And I pray this in the name of the one I pray to, Jesus Christ, amen.

Benjamin Vazquez

Amen.

Thank you, everybody.

Valerie Amezcua

Thank you, Pastor.

Valerie Amezcua

Madam Clerk, are there any additions or deletions to the City Council agenda?

Jennifer L. Hall

Yes, Mayor and City Council, there is one. Item number 18, a construction contract related to the standard McFadden bikeways has been removed from the agenda for tonight's meeting and is not up for your consideration any longer.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Great. Thank you. At this time, we're going to go to presentations. I have the very first one with the Orange County Hunger Alliance declaring September 2024 as Hunger Action Month. If you want to come up and join me, please.

Come on up.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

Come on over here.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

All right. We're going to present this proclamation to the Orange County Hunger Alliance to Mark Lowry the director of the OC Food Bank to Ryan Larrico's did I say that wrong Ryan and I'm sorry can you share with us here Rebecca Burr and to Rebecca today the city of Santa Ana proclaims you want to stand here next to me right here please there we go because we like each other today the city of Santa Ana proclaims September 2024 as Hunger Action Month and presents its proclamation to the Orange County Hunger Alliance. Everyone needs nutritious food to thrive, yet

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

tons of millions of people in the United States face hunger daily. In Orange County alone, 330,000 individuals, including 85,000 children, are food insecure. In the first half of 2024, Orange County's two food banks, Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County and Orange County Food Bank, distributed a a combined total of, you want to share how many pounds of food you?

29 million pounds last year.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

That's right. Did everybody hear that? 29 pounds of food through their networks of food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, senior centers, schools, colleges, universities, and other community organizations across the county. Today we're calling on everyone to join the movement to end food insecurity. your voice action and commitment are crucial in ensuring that every community has the food they need to thrive when people are fed their futures are nourished throughout September let's come together food banks and the community alike to support our neighbors in need and I have a proclamation here

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

from the city of Santa Ana but I will just say that I want to personally thank

all of you because I know that when I have events or when I call upon you from

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

the mayor's office you are always there front and center assisting in any way and with families that we call for and I know you've worked with Claudia my aid very closely and so I really just want to say thank you for everything that you do and for feeding our families throughout the county who need it so thank you for all your work thank you mayor

Thank you, Mayor and City Council. And we know from the Orange County Hunger Alliance that hunger doesn't exist in a community like ours, in Santa Ana or in Orange County, because there's an absence of food. We have plenty of food in Orange County, but in Santa Ana and throughout our community, hunger is a symptom of poverty. We have almost 400,000 people in Orange County that are officially poor by the government standards who have inadequate financial resources to meet their most basic needs, including the need for food. So we have 400 organizations in Orange County that provide emergency food to people.

Between the two food banks and other partners, we'll distribute over 60 million pounds of food this year. Some of that food will go to people who are homeless. A little bit more of that food will go to people that are unemployed. A little bit more of those people are persons with a disability. But the two largest populations that receive food from our food banks and food pantries are the working poor, people working in full-time jobs that don't pay a living wage, and seniors on fixed incomes. So thank you for your city for shining a spotlight on important issues that affect your residents, including an issue like hunger. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

On behalf of the city of Santa Ana, we'll be giving them this proclamation. Let's take a picture, and then we'll do it alone, and then we'll call the council.

Thank you.

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Thai Viet PhanItem 1

Hi everyone. Hello. There's so many of you. Come on, let's be more excited than that. Yeah, that's right.

Thai Viet PhanItem 1

I'm always, I'm so nervous. There's so many eyes watching. All right. Hi everyone. My name is Ty. I'm the mayor pro tem. And today I am presenting the proclamation for World Alzheimer's Awareness month so may I ask Jocelyn Rubio Melendrez to come up and as she is making her way up here welcome

Thai Viet PhanItem 1

so September is celebrated as world Alzheimer's month and it's important to recognize the impact of this disease not only on individuals who have it but also our entire community and of course their families Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder that tragically robs individuals of their previous moments and leads to severe mental and physical impairments. This debilitating condition affects not just those diagnosed, but like I said, also their families and caregivers. In Orange County alone, get this, over 164,000 residents are living with Alzheimer's disease. That's one in every two

Thai Viet PhanItem 2

Santa Ana residents has Alzheimer's in Orange County and nationally more than six million Americans are affected it's a staggering number that highlights the widespread nature of this illness Alzheimer's disease is now the third leading cause of death in Orange County the statistic alone underscores the critical need for awareness research and support for those impacted by the disease here to accept this proclamation today is the Alzheimer's Association of Orange County since 1982 Alzheimer's Orange County has been dedicated to providing hands-on care and support they offer vital services such as information

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referrals education and resources to families dealing with memory loss Alzheimer's and other dementia in our community so thank you for your attention and commitment to supporting those affected by Alzheimer's disease and as a point of privilege I will ask that the city manager's office turn the water tower purple for World Alzheimer's Day on September 21st a blue for September 21st and would you like to say a few words Jocelyn?

Thank You Mayor Mesquah, Mayor Pro Temfan, Council members, staff and the City of Santa Ana for the proclamation. Alzheimer's Orange County has been and serving families in the area since 1982. We're here to support and to provide support and resources to those who are impacted by memory loss. Thank you for recognizing September as World Alzheimer's Awareness Month and for the work that we do at Alzheimer's Orange County. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Phil BacerraItem 3

So today, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of BAPS.

I know I'm going to butcher this, so I apologize in advance.

Phil BacerraItem 3

Swaminarayan, what he said, Sansa in the United States. So 50 years ago, His Holiness, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, okay, all right, established the first Baptist Hindu Mandir in New York City, laying the foundation for what has become a remarkable journey of faith and service. Today, BAPS Swaminadaya celebrates a half-century of unwavering dedication to fostering faith, inspiring service, and enhancing lives across our nation.

Phil BacerraItem 3

BAPS presence has grown significantly, with over 100 Mandeers now serving communities across the United States. These Mandeers are more than places of worship. They are vibrant centers of community life, offering spiritual solace, education, and a welcoming space for families. Through activities for youth and community initiatives, like health fairs, food drives, and disaster relief, BAPS brings to life the words of his holiness. In the words of, I'm sorry, in the joy of others lies our own. I like that. In the joy of others lies our own. It's such a great phrase.

Phil BacerraItem 3

So in Santa Ana, we are proud to witness firsthand the positive impact of BAPS Mandirs. They embody the rich diversity that makes our city special and contribute meaningfully to the well-being of our community. So as we celebrate this significant milestone, we acknowledge the selfless efforts of BAPS volunteers and their continued commitment to service. their work is a shiny example of unity compassion and civic engagement so today on behalf of the Santa Ana City Council I want to declare today as BAPS day in

Phil BacerraItem 3

Santa Ana as we celebrate the legacy of BAPS and look forward to their contributed contribution to our community in the years ahead so congratulations

Hello, hello. Well, thank you, Mayor, Mayor, Mayor, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, all the council members, and all of you. BAPS Sanstha, BAPS Swamina and Sanstha is spiritual, volunteer driven, and a non-profit organization. We believe in service, serving the community, and improving the society.

Our principles are based on Hindu values of faith, service, and most importantly, global harmony. This year marks 50th anniversary since the opening of the first BAPS temple in North America. We thank you, City of Santa Ana, for awarding us with this proclamation to BAPS, and most

importantly, invite each one of you to visit our BAPS temple in Chino Hills. We are looking forward to serving you every day and every time you come to the temple. Thank you very much.

Phil BacerraItem 3

There's a very important thing you have coming up in Chino Hills.

Absolutely. And we have a Diwali celebration. A Diwali celebration is the last day of the Hindu calendar. And the following day is Ankhud, which is the start of the Hindu New Year. It is fantastic. It's called the Festival of Lights. And I'm not kidding when I say lights. There are millions of lights around, millions of lamps are illuminated, and again, we look forward to seeing each one of you. It will be our service to serve all of you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Jessie LopezItem 3

Okay, good evening. We are going to wait for the health care agency team to come on up.

Jessie LopezItem 3

Great. Hi. And before we get started, I will have everybody introduce themselves so members of the public can know who's here.

Ian Kemmerer, Behavioral Health Director.

Ann Berger-Ditchin, Deputy Director for Health Care Agency.

Thai Viet PhanItem 4

Dr. Veronica Kelly, Director of the Orange County Health Care Agency.

Anthony Padilla, Planning and Grants Manager for Behavioral Health Services.

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Jessie LopezItem 4

very shy so much am friends coordinator thank you okay so today we are honored to address you as we gather to recognize and celebrate september as national recovery awareness month this month is a pivotal time for us to reflect on the journey of recovery the impact of substance use disorders and the crucial support that our community can provide. The Orange County Healthcare Agency is dedicated to promoting and protecting the health of our community through a comprehensive approach that includes both preventative and regulatory services.

Jessie LopezItem 4

Among the many vital services we offer, the Behavioral Healthcare Services Department stands out as a beacon of hope and support with a dedicated team of over 1,500 professionals who provide essential mental health services, substance use disorder treatment and crisis intervention to ensure that all individuals receive the care that they need our community is underscored by the growing need of these services as we reflect on the data from recent years it is clear that substance use related death in Orange County have become a significant issue from 2018 to 2023 the numbers of death from alcohol and drugs

Jessie LopezItem 4

have increased dramatically from 769 in 2018 to over 1,000 in 2023. This traveling trend highlights the urgent need for continued support, funding, and intervention. Nationwide, the statistics are equally alarming with one in four people age 12 or older using illicit drugs and more than one in six struggling with a substance use disorder. These figures are not just numbers, they represent individuals and families facing real challenges and enduring long-term health impacts. The effects of substance use disorders are far-reaching, affecting not only mortality but also the

Jessie LopezItem 4

quality of life. The long-term health consequences of these substances underscore the importance of prevention, treatment, and recovery. Through our combined efforts, we can help individuals achieve healthier lifestyles and improve their overall well-being. National Recovery Awareness Month serves as a pivotal platform to shed light on the effectiveness of treatment and recovery services. It is a time to educate our community about the signs of substance use disorders to encourage those in need to seek help and to break the stigma surrounding these conditions. The message of this

Jessie LopezItem 4

month, recovery is for everyone, every person, every family, every community reminds us that no one is alone in their journey towards recovery. It is through observances like the National Recovery Awareness Month that we spread hope, understanding, and support. We are reminded of the strength of our community and the collective responsibility we share in fostering an environment of empathy and assistance. In light of these considerations, it is with great pride and deep sense of purpose that we the City Council declare the month of September 2024 as National

Jessie LopezItem 4

Recovery Awareness Month throughout the City of Santa Ana let us use this month to reaffirm our commitment to recovery to support those affected and to continue working together towards a healthier more compassionate community thank you and now we will hear from the director

Thank you. Thank you Councilmember Lopez for having us and to the mayor and the rest of the City Council. Thank you. As Councilmember Lopez said, September is National Recovery Month. For us, it's a time to spread a message of hope that people do recover from substance use disorders and through treatment which is readily available and we want to get that message out to people about the services that we provide and how we provide them. In support of National Recovery Month and to ensure that no one suffers in silence, I encourage everyone to increase their awareness of the signs of substance use disorders, how

to engage in helpful conversations with those struggling, and the resources that are available for treatment and support. The OC Navigator, which we have, is a great resource for connecting people to those services. In support of recovery for all, words really do matter as well. It's important for us to use non-stigmatizing language to talk about people. For example, instead of saying someone's an addict, we say someone is a person living with addiction. Recovery Month is also a time to celebrate those of us who work in the community to support people in recovery.

Vuti is one of those very important people who does our events for us. and we want to talk a little bit about some of the events that we do. Just a little bit of numbers for you. We have several community forums where we distribute the life-saving medications Narcan and Clixado. Over the last few months, we've distributed over 17,000 boxes of Narcan. This is a medication that is easy to use, and when you recognize the signs of overdose, you can save a life. So we would love to see you at one of these events so you can get a free box of Narcan and be able to save the lives of those in the community.

Also, just recently, we hosted our second annual Recovery Matters picnic right here in the city of Santa Ana at Centennial Park. If you missed it this year, we're planning for the third annual, so hopefully you'll be able to come and join us for that.

Substance disorders affect all of us. this is something that's close to all of us. One in six people is affected with substance use disorders and so please we would love to see you out and looking for help from us.

As the council member said, recovery is possible for everyone, every family, every community and it reminds us all that we're not alone in this journey. So thank you for having us.

Jessie LopezItem 4

On behalf of the council, we want to present you with this proclamation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

ALL RIGHT, NEXT UP IS COUNCILMEMBER VASQUEZ. HE'S GOING TO PRESENT TO KIAWNES, LIONS, ELKS, AND ROTARY CLUBS.

Thank you so much.

Benjamin VazquezItem 4

Ladies and gentlemen, today we come to recognize and celebrate the invaluable contribution of the California Lions, the Kiwanis International, Santa Ana Tustin Rotary International District, and the Santa Ana Elks Lodge in Santa Ana. These esteemed organizations have been pillars of strength and compassion dedicated to enhancing our community through their unwavering commitment to service, charity, and fundraising. For many years, these clubs have played a pivotal role in fostering community development from construction of playgrounds to the support of educational programs and scholarships.

Benjamin VazquezItem 4

Their impact resonates throughout our city. They have generously contributed to food banks, homeless shelters, and disaster relief efforts, demonstrating the profound dedication to improving the lives and times of needs. Beyond their charitable endeavors, service clubs provide invaluable opportunities for personal professional growth. Their leadership development programs, they equip their members with essential skills and leadership team building and communication. These skills not only benefit their members but also empower them to make a positive impact in their

Benjamin VazquezItem 4

workplace and communities. Moreover, service clubs serve a vital hub for networking among professionals and community leaders. They facilitate meaningful connections that foster collaborate innovation, ultimately enriching the fabric of our civic life. Importantly, these organizations are dedicating to nurturing the potential of our youth through mentoring, leadership and training, scholarships and programs tailored to support underprivileged youth. They inspire the next generation of leaders and change makers. Above all, service clubs promote a culture of civic engagement and volunteerism by

Benjamin VazquezItem 5

encouraging individuals to give back to their community. They cultivate a spirit of unity and compassion that strengthens the bonds of our society. Today, as we acknowledge the profound impact of the California Lions, the Kiwanis International, Santa Ana Tustin Rotary International, and the Santa Ana Elks Lodge 794, let us reaffirm our support for the noble mission. Together we can continue to build a stronger, more vibrant Santa Ana where every individual has the opportunity to thrive. Thank you to all your members, volunteers, and supporters of our service clubs for your dedication and tirelessly efforts.

Benjamin VazquezItem 5

Your commitment to service exemplifies the true spirit of community and inspires us all to strive for a better tomorrow. Thank you so much.

Phil BacerraItem 5

Is anybody an exalted leader? Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor, Councilmembers. You know, what we do is we have a common goal, correct? We have a common goal. I've been proud to say that I've served for this community for many years, lived in this community, and been blessed by this community. And the one thing that we give back is just that. All the blessings that we've received over the course of our lives. As you look behind me, I'm honored to be part of this group and having that heartwarming notification of saying you know what our community our community needs help and we wholeheartedly

do it day after day after day so i'd like to thank the mayor council for all the acknowledgement and on behalf of my colleagues thank you all for having us thank you

Benjamin VazquezItem 5

i'd like to bring in michael moss who's the teacher in my high school i worked as a co-worker He was my counselor and vice principal and band leader as well, band instructor. So we worked a lot of times. He's retired now and doing really good work.

Thank you. Thank you very much. We want to thank our community. Before you, you see the top echelon of leadership for our service clubs. Now, service clubs in the past served a very important and a vital role in preparing young people to take leadership positions. Now, we're here to tell you tonight that we're still here. Our Rotary Clubs, our Lions Clubs, our Elks Clubs, and our Kiwanis Clubs, we're all here. Kiwanis has been here for 105 years. Elks, just a little bit longer. Just a little bit.

But we serve a vital role. There are over 86 recognized service organizations in the United States. Each year they serve over, and I had to write this down because I really couldn't believe the number, over 4.1 billion hours, that's with a B, billion hours of free service to our communities. The economic value of that is $123 billion.

That's a huge number. And our service clubs did not have a recognition.

Roy Jefferson, the governor for Rotary, really funny guy, he calls all of the leaders together and he says, you know, I was watching television, and they had a pomegranate day.

A pomegranate day. This is how he talks. Pomegranate day. And so I looked for a service day. I couldn't find one. I looked for a service month. I couldn't find one of those. So I looked up how to find and how to make a service month. And he says, you know what you do? He says, you pick a day and you market the hell out of it. And that's what we're going to do. And last year, we started a national campaign here in Orange County to have September recognized as service club month.

To date, including Santa Ana, thank you very much. We have 17 cities, we have two counties, we have Congressman Lou Correa, our state, senate, and assembly that have all recognized September as service club month. And what does that mean? That means that we are here to serve our communities, to change our world, one child and one community at a time, and we do it for free. We all do it for free. If you are a member of a service organization, regardless of the name of it, would you please stand?

Whether it's Lions, Rotary, Elks, I wrote some other ones down, Assistance League, Soroptimist, American Legion, VFW, take a look around. That's right. Yeah, take a look around.

This is the backbone of our community, ladies and gentlemen. And we want to thank the City of Santa Ana for helping us recognize the work that our tireless volunteers do. And one plug for the Little League umpires.

Please say thank you to them. Please say thank you to them. Thank you.

We're going to have a lady for this?

You guys want to come down?

Thank you.

I don't know.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 5

Okay, thank you for all the presentations. Madam City Attorney, do you have anything to report out of closed session, please?

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 5

Mayor, Council members and members of the public, the City Council met in closed session earlier this evening. they discussed four closed session items. We do have a portable action on the first item, which was conference with legal counsel on existing litigation. In the case of James Lacey versus Jennifer Hall, in her capacity as city clerk, the city council voted by a vote of 4-3, with Mayor Mesquia and Councilmembers Becerra and Penelosa voting no to resolve the issue of attorney's fees and to pay the award in the amount of $35,042.

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 1

dollars. That's all the reportable action we have. Thank you, Madam City Attorney. So we're going to

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

start with public hearing tonight, but before we do that, I'd like to go to consent calendar item number eight. Appointment of Alejandro Rodriguez nominated by Council Member Panalosa. Madam City

David PenalozaItem 8

Clerk, can you go take that, please? I'll make a motion to approve, Mayor. I wanted to read the

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

whole thing oh sure mayor yes thank you so for item number eight this is an

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

appointment of Alejandro Rodriguez nominated by councilmember Penaloza as the Ward 6 representative to the Historic Resources Commission for partial term expiring December 8th 2026 we do not have any speaker cards on this

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

item there motion or any comments make a motion to move the item I'll second the Motion by Councilman Hernandez, second by Councilman Panalosa. Let's prepare to vote, please.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Madam City Clerk, my system's not working here. Okay. We can do a roll call.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Or I'm a yes vote, so.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Okay. I'll mark that down. Councilmember Vasquez?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Vote is seven ayes, no nays. Motion carries. If Alejandra is here, she can come up.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Congratulations, Alejandra, come on up.

Thank you.

I, Alejandra Rodriguez, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California, that I take this

obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I'm about to enter.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Congratulations.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

If you all know the Youth Ambassador Jesse from Memorial Park this is his wonderful mother.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Okay, at this time we're going to go to the public hearing. We're going to hear public hearing item number 22, related Bristol. First Madam Clerk, please provide instructions to the public who would like to make a comment on this public hearing item only.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Thank you. members of the public who are joining us by way of zoom or conference call who would like to make a comment for public hearing item number 22 only please dial star 9 from your phone or select raise hand from zoom now thank you mayor

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

pro tem you have a comment yes thank you mayor pursuant to the political reform act because my excuse me the property owner the Callens trust is involved in this action and as a client of my employer, Rattan and Tucker, and because of that I will be required legally to recuse myself from this item. So I will step off the dice while this item is being discussed and come back when it is finished. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. Item number 22 is related to the related Bristol specific plan. Mr. City Manager, may we please have a staff presentation.

Alvaro NuñezItem 8

Yes, Executive Director of Planning and Building, Mr. Menthai, and the Planning Manager, I I will assist with the presentation, Mayor.

Thank you, City Manager. Good evening, Mayor and City Council. The related companies is requesting approval of a specific plan to develop a 41-acre.

Sorry, we're trying to get the presentation up.

Thank you.

Thank you. We're starting again. The related companies is requesting approval of a specific plan to develop a 41-acre site generally located at 3600 South Bristol Street into a new mixed-use urban village. The project site is located within the South Bristol Street general plan focus area. The requested application for tonight include a zone change, a development agreement, and a tentative track map. I must apologize first because tonight's project is complex and it's one of the largest in the city's history and the presentation while it strives to be brief it needs to be detailed and

we'll go over the go over the project and we'll leave plenty of time for questions and answer at the end the presentation will begin with the background and project information planning commission to recommend the provisions which I'll discuss later in the slides and followed by the staff resolution regarding three existing parking districts near the project site and will conclude with tonight's recommended actions let's begin with the project discussion and some background for context the city's general plan update was adopted in april of 2022 the update was a seven

year comprehensive effort to modernize the general plan and identify strategic areas throughout the city for new development opportunities creating mixed urban villages that promote employment residents and reduce driving for walkable communities the South Bristol Street focus area is one such district identifying the land-use element and from the general plan it states this area represents Santa Ana's southern gateway to create opportunity to transform auto oriented shopping plazas to walkable bike friendly and transit friendly urban villages that incorporate a mix of high intensity office residential living with

experiential commercial uses. To put the plan into context in light of the recent general plan update, the adopted general plan provides the policy and development vision which require implementation regulations generally contained in the zoning code or as part of a master design plan. For example, the comprehensive zoning code update and the public realm plan currently underway being led by the city are necessary implementation actions to carry out the vision of the general plan in addition the city will also likely be considering specific proposals such as the related

pistol plan which are also appropriate implementing tools to carry out the vision of the general plan as illustrated on this arrow image the site is known is shown in a salmon tan highlighted by the red arrow bounded between macarthur sunfire bristol and plaza drive located just north of the South Coast Plaza the project does not include any of the existing residential communities surrounding the project site here the project site is presented in more detail as well as the context to the South Bristol Street focus area the project site is designated as district center 5 by the general plan

which allows for a floor error ratio of up to 5.0 up to 125 dwelling units per acre and building up to 25 stories in height this focus area was established with a vision to complement the scale and intensity to capture and attract the commercial and economic activities of the area surrounding the South Coast Plaza. This focus area allows for its most intense development potential on and near the proposed project site as shown in dark purple and at the bottom of your screen. The area north of the project site as you move north on Bristol and away from the South

Coast Plaza are lesser in intensity and in scale as envisioned by the general plan.

This is the existing shopping center as improved today. The center contains approximately 460,000 square feet of commercial space occupied by a variety of national and local retail and service businesses such as Vons, Hobby Lobby, Chase Bank, LA Fitness, War Market, TJ's Maxx, and Robbins Brothers. The center is almost 50 years old and was developed under a ground lease. The various master and subleases on the site, according to the information available to us, are set to expire in 2025.

Moreover, changes in retail environment and shopping habits that began before COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated by the pandemic and have resulted in several portions of the center becoming vacant or underperforming. And in contrast, this image is from the general plan and it shows an illustrative concept of the types and intensity of development and vision for this portion of the South Bristol specific, South Norriso focus area.

As implemented, as an implementing tool of the general plan, the related Bristol specific plan proposes to revise the site into an urban mixed use village consisting of up to 3,750 50 residential units 200 senior continue care living units 250 hotel rooms 350 000 square feet of commercial space and 13.1 acres of public accessible open space with up to 6520 parking spaces constructed on site that can be maximized to up to 8940 spaces through valet or design options moving on to an overview of the specific plan california government code prescribed when and

why this plan is appropriate zoning document for a project and the minimum components of a specific plan the related bristol spitz plan has been drafted to comply with government codes and contain various chapters outlining the project's vision development plans the regulations as well administration and implementation of the plan. The next series of slides shows illustration from the proposed specific plan. This slide illustrates the proposed site showing the development of a mixed-use village on mostly grid-based system in the location with the location distribution and intensity of use. The

image on the left is the ground floor. As you can see the largest concentration of commercial uses color in orange and purple are located at the southern part of the project closest to South Coast Plaza and include a full-scale grocer at Cowan's Commons and then transitioning to a village style with commercial and mixed-use residential on the northern portion of the site. The image on the right shows what the typical upper levels could be, which is mostly residential except for the high-rises which would be proposed at the southern part of the site. This image shows the many one of many green spaces that are proposed

in the specific plan this is the central park area in the northern half of the project site this image shows what the bristol plaza would look like within the south commercial core of the project this image shows the bristol green which complements the image on the previous slide as another green space together the bristol plaza with the bristle plaza they form an area for community event and outdoor recreation in the heart of commercial core of the project

This image shows the plan's vision for a grocery store as part of a mixed-use building anchoring the corner of Bristol and Callens Commons in one of the early phases of development, providing what the applicant hopes to be an uninterrupted grocery service to the community on the project site. This image shows the Bristol Paseo, another important multi-use link between the open space component of the site with extensive landscaping, flexible roadways for events, strolling, shopping, and fostering of community activities.

The development vision and regulations proposed within the SPIC plan would lead to the development of a modern grid style infill development with mixed use commercial, housing, and open space. The intent is to create a dynamic mixed-use village that retains a significant commercial component and construct up to 13.1 acres of open space accessible to the community where none exists today. This plan would also establish development regulations and design guidelines that produce high-quality architecture amenities while respecting existing surrounding residential communities to the west, north, and north of the project site.

The regulation and vision of the Sub-Suppers Plan are consistent with the general plan and the vision of the South Bristol Street focus area. This image shows the proposed green spaces to be created by the project. Bristol Central Park, as it is known, would be the large green area at the top of the north end of the site, with significant green links traveling south, linking this area to the Bristol Green Plaza, located in the commercial core in the south end of the site.

Implementation of the plan. The plan is drafted to contain a robust implementation action that guides the implementation of the plan and the carrying out of projects in the various development phases. Once approved by this Council, subsequent individual projects would be submitted for staff-level review with certain thresholds requiring discretion action by the Planning Commission, such as the conditional use permit, variance, a period of staff report, and the likes.

To minimize impact from the phasing of construction of such a large project over time, the plan also contains rigorous property maintenance standards to minimize long-term vacancies of parcels and buildings through phasing of review and permitting of individual projects and requires that any vacancy be secure, fenced, monitored to avoid becoming a community nuisance of blight. An on-site police department substation has also been incorporated into the project. The substation would not be proposed for booking, but rather as an administrative office use, similar to what you would see in the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

It is anticipated that the project will be constructed in three phases. Phase 1 on the bottom half would commence as early as 2026 and be completed within four years followed by phase two and three wrap up by 2036 of note is the anticipated phase first phase at the bottom of the site which currently contain the remaining big spot retailers the northern portion currently contains more communities serve serving retail services business and grocery markets which won't be impacted until the second or later phases of the project and will remain

a service to the community this project has one of the most extended public engagement by the city as well as the applicant the project has its first sunshine meeting in September of 2022 and the second in November of 2022 the sunshine meeting attracted over 330 interested attendees the city also held a study session with the Planning Commission in March of 2023 as well as numerous meetings with residents, businesses, and other stakeholders during community events and at City Hall. Anyone who wanted to learn more about the EIR

specific plan and development proposal will welcome and met by staff at their convenience. For example, we met with representative of St. Albany condominium community at their meeting place to help answer questions about the project. We We also met with numerous parties who contacted the city at City Hall to walk them through the specific plan and the IR and share with them how to review such complex documents. In addition, the city's webpage was updated regularly and notification materials were sent to all interested parties within a 2,000-foot radius. That's a little bit less than half a mile from the project site.

Newspaper publication was also published in two major newspapers, the OC Reporter and OC register the applicant also conducted their own engagement and included beyond the minimum mandatory by the city they included on an on-site welcome center that was opened by the applicant where approximately 200 meetings took place there were also 200 meetings with local regional stakeholders and the applicant indicated that they met individually with 18 individual neighborhood Association that included Metro Classics, Sandpoint, South Coast, Rosewood Baker, Morning Sunwood,

Thornton Park, Wilshire Square, Floral Park, French Park, Republic Homes, South Coast Shores, as well as the St. Albans communities. They also met with 12 community and 11 business organizations as well as meeting with the various businesses on site. These are snapshot from the first sunshine meeting for the project held in an open house format in September of 2022. These are the second sunshine meeting held in a traditional community presentation and answer in question format. These are images of the engagement that happened at the Bristol

Welcome Center. Moving on to infrastructure and open space, on-site infrastructure for the project include new roadways wet and dry utilities storm water quality improvements and the likes off-site improvements include new water mains sewer lines and connections street lights medians trees and sidewalks as well as bike lanes traffic signals and street pavement improvements as part of the project the developer has agreed to enter into a right-of-way maintenance agreement with the city to maintain the new sidewalk and associated mentees and improvements this slide

shows the transportation alternative that will surround the project site with new bus stop bike lanes on three of the four furnish that are most heavily used as well as modified traffic signals for the project site the applicant will be responsible for constructing improvements at intersection within the vicinity of the project site as illustrated on this diagram in addition a comprehensive traffic study was prepared for the project that looked at 41 intersections in a broader vicinity of the project site the study identifies six intersections that are partially impacted and the project is required to pay its fair

share of contribution for making the necessary improvements. The study evaluates the standard and worst case scenario and identifies fair share of contribution anywhere between 2.5% to over 18% for funding of the improvements to the six intersections.

In addition, the study identified another intersection further east at Flower and MacArthur that will be upgraded with new signals by the project and another at spruce and seagestrom that has already been identified and prioritized by the city council for traffic improvement by the city this slide is illustrate the nature of the improvements and what they could look like the proposed project provide ample landscape buffer and room for outdoor dining plaza along major funnich like Bristol Street as well as new bike lanes and enhancements to medians. The project proposes an open space plan that will provide up to 13.1 acres of open

space accessible to the broader community. The urban mixed-use village core is in the center part of the proposed project will contain the Bristol Plaza, the Bristol Green as well as portion of the Green Link as well as additional 4.3 acres of parkways, programmable roadways for special events. So think about in your travels in areas and environment where you've seen bottlers and smart technology to help create flexible roadways for events or off during off hours be transformed for pedestrian or cycling use exclusively. The mixed-use residential north segment will contain the Bristol Central Park

and additional Green Link as well as more air goods for flexible program space in analyzing the project staff looks to the general plans vision and policy for guidance and consistency the general plan update was adopted by the City Council in April of 2022 and establishes a long-term development vision for the city and provide a vision for the site as a gateway into the city designated with high intensity mixed use as an urban village the land use This element contained five focus areas which are portions of the city that were analyzed through seven years of visioning with the community and evaluated for potential for

new or modified land uses. This project is located in the South Bristol focus area and represent a major gateway into the city with opportunity to transform the site for urban mixed use core village.

The South Bristol focus area envisions a built environment analyzed for over 5,200 housing units and the following components were considered such as vibrant outdoor open spaces, areas that are scaled to the size and type of project through dynamic and strong building design and creating distinct impressions and development with office and mixed use space similar to the scale though south of Sunflower. The city's intent for the build for the South Bristol objective street is to capitalize on the success

of the south coast metro and adjacent areas. This is a comparison of what the general plan allows within the South Bristol focus area in the middle of the column and as proposed by this plan in the right column. As seen on this table the SPICC plan proposed consistently lower in density and development intensity than what is permissible by the general plan. As one-third of the site is reserved for community open space, as previously mentioned, it is important to note that the general plan calls out adoption of updated zoning document and SPICC plan as means of implementing the general plan

through subsequent ordinances. The proposed plan is consistent with the implementing policy and does not exceed what is contemplated by this general plan the proposed plan is real and its related entitlements implement the vision of the South Bristol Street focus area in the image on the left left you can see the present zoning and violet and purple being general commercial and commercial residential and on the right and blue the proposed miss plan boundary noted dock here segment of the upper right corner of the site remaining C2 and violet this portion is owned by the orange county flood control district covering a channel beneath

this part is designated by the channel plan as open space and this business plan boundary do not include the parcel as part of the project development agreement the developer has agreed to work with the flood control district and obtain the ability to have the property be improved landscape complementing the project site that is to be maintained by the project

Development regulations that design guidelines post in the plan will ensure high-quality implementation projects are constructed within the project boundaries with standard in place to protect existing lower-density residential neighborhoods. So for example, the design guidelines and development regulations call for concentrating the tallest buildings and the most intensive mixed use on Bristol Street and the southern portion away from existing multifamily communities to the west and north. The plan envisioned commercial building formats that allow for community serving and regional

retail to take hold, such as large neighborhood serving grocer, restaurant and cafes, and service uses, which represent a blend of some of the existing uses also existing on site today. The plan also introduced and produced new open space on the site, as I mentioned, where none exists, approximately 13.0 an acre of open space, and will be accessible to the community and project residents this slide was prepared and presented to the Airport Land Use Commission to help their understanding of the tallest building on the site and is a good illustration showing the proposed

project in relation to what's already near the South Bristol focus area as proposed the majority of the retail on the southern and is only one story in height two high-rises are proposed the continual care and the hotel respectively are planned to be between 18 and 25 stories in height and deem allowable by the general plan the height of the remaining building on site are anticipated to be no taller than eight stories or 85 feet the varying of building heights from the southern to the northern portion of the site was strategically planned to minimize impact to the adjacent residential neighborhoods

to the west and north and to complement this guideline of the neighboring high rises within the Seagestrom Center the proposed project is located in a section of the city that is subject to the affordable housing opportunity ordinance also known as a hoko the applicant has opted to exercise the exemption option provided by the ordinance by entering into a development agreement with the city to provide public benefits and paying a fee and lieu at a rate of five dollars per square foot of hattable residential area to help contextualize the exemption section within the intent of the Ohoko the ordinance applies to

projects starting at five or more units this exemption was incorporated to allow for flexibility and tailing of the requirements to larger projects subject to a development agreement such as the one proposed tonight the project are often significantly larger and more complex and may offer additional community benefits through their agreement such as the direct payment of the $22 million by this project to a community benefit fund and other recurring employment and tax revenue opportunities. Based on the analysis of the project, the proposed project could yield between $9 million and

$18 million in lieu fee, depending on the final square footage configuration and the mix of units type.

New development, implementing the vision, and growth changes adopted in general plan are required to complete a benefit analysis showing the project's benefit to the community and positive contribution to the built environment. Analysis will complete for the project evaluating the overall economic impacts. Notable findings from the various analysis show that the residential units could be absorbed by the demand in the market area. And despite a loss of about 115,000 square feet of commercial square footage, the new commercial product could be absorbed into the market and could also

yield a higher rental price. The proposed hotel would be absorbed into the market given the low vacancy rate of hotel rooms in the area and the plan is targeting a four-star hotel. Other various economic and fiscal impact analysis conducted for the project also shows that the project would provide both qualitative and quantitative benefits to the city and these includes over 16 000 full and part-time jobs value at over 1.1 1.5 billion in labor income of these over 1500 will be permanent

and ongoing with a value of 30 337 million in labor income and despite a net decrease in on-site commercial space and increase in on-site residential units the project could use and then could result in a minimum of 3.39 million net direct annual fiscal benefit to the city as a first project the development project would also serve to spur new development and would enhance the key gateway into the city it would create a developer maintain 13.1 acre of new public accessible open space for the community and the payment of the new affordable in lieu housing fund could be used to create

affordable housing community throughout the city. The project, as I mentioned, would also be providing a new police substation at the southern portion of the site. I'll now go over the development agreement. The development agreement are essentially contracts that are negotiated between the project proponent and public agencies such as the city that governs the land use and it is regulated by the California government code. In addition to the requested entitlement the applicant requested approval of the development agreement and requires the

adoption of an ordinance to evaluate the applicant's proposed da and identify priorities for the terms the city council formed an ad hoc committee in october of 2023 comprised of three city council members this ad hoc committee met regularly until june of 2024 review and negotiation of the draft DA is a private negotiation contract however city staff completed extensive community engagement in groups and individual meetings seeking input from residents and businesses and routinely meet with city council members and planning commission members to ensure that community priorities were

effectively in community and communicated to the adult committee to inform the negotiation process the da is also consistent with the city's general plan the key terms of the da's are will be reviewing the next several live several slides and include addressing legal provisions as well as the recording of the document with the county the agreement has a term of 20 years and a one five five year extension option and similar to what you may recall for the main place small specific plan. This agreement also specified the timing and phasing for the release of

residential units in relation to the production of commercial square footages. It includes a number of community benefits which I mentioned previously as well as a $22 million community benefit payment which schedule being triggered by each project phase and last but not least a four-star hotel to be operated by an international brand or well-manitized specialty hotel brand.

in order for the 13.1 acres of old space to be satisfied as a fee requirement of the city as well as the city's park provision it must be available for public use and must be maintained by the developer these provisions are recorded as part of the public use easement on the property for as long as there are residential land uses on the property while the 13.1 acre is just shy of half of the 27 acre projected for the project based on the general plan aspirational goals of three acres per thousand residents the project will remain consistent with the general plan

how it is notable from the general plan that it discusses the challenges of implementing this aspirational goal and recognizes the difficulties in creating new open spaces in parkland in a built-out environment like santa ana accordingly it encouraged collaboration with property owners to provide public access and programming of on-site open space in new development projects. So to frame this in another way it is extremely difficult to create new open spaces in Santa because we're built out. The cost of acquiring land, demolishing the improvements, preparing and developing it

with park land and then maintaining for 99 years is very expensive as compared to if we were a row or green set greenfield setting community. Therefore Therefore, when a developer proposes to produce and maintain open space for project use instead of the city having to produce it, that effort is recognized by the general plan and is taken into consideration when weighing the total open space that a developer is proposing versus the aspirational goal as outlined in the general plan. As discussed in the staff report, the draft agreement also provides the developer with

the ability for early development of open space element without trading community benefit payment associated with each construction phase. This is one of two refinements that we'll incorporate into the draft agreement between the planned commission's hearing and tonight's meeting. This is a clarification to agreement and does not change the substance of the agreement as recommended by the commission. It is also a positive investment towards a public benefit and further commits the applicant to committing the project. project. The draft agreement also includes provisions specifying the inclusionary housing

fee at a rate of $5 per square foot, contingent upon the timely payment of the $22 million community benefit payment. For projects containing 20 or more units, the in-lieu fee can be as high as $15 per square foot or as low as $5 per square foot as determined by a development agreement or the use of a skill and trained workforce with the project. As mentioned earlier the $5 per square foot in Luffy could produce up to $18 million assuming a typical configuration of the studios one and two bedroom units in the project. The purpose of the second refinement to the agreement as

mentioned in the previous slide was triggered by the Planning Commission recommendation. The section has been refined to address the Commission's feedback and to clarify that only the senior continuum of care units are exempt from the in-lieu fee because it is a commercial component and that the fee would apply the units were to be converted into standard residential units or for independent living again this refinement is a clarification without changing the substance as recommended by the plan commission and has been incorporated into the draft agreement in addition to analysis that went into the specific

plan the state requires environmental review as well as consideration by the orange county airport land use commission when the general plan update was completed in 2022 the city council certified a program final program eir report as also referred to as a pir which identifies certain amount of square footage of mixed use and density such as those described for the south coast bristol So South Bristol Street focus area. The general plan PIR was proposed structure, a structure so that future projects in the future or in the area or citywide could be evaluated using a tiering method as permitted by CEQA.

This is a method that allows for proposed projects that are consistent with and analyzed in the PIR. There is no need to start the project from scratch. The project can start with the PIR information as a foundation for additional analysis in the supplemental EIR based on the specific and details of the proposed project like the one we have tonight. The supplemental EIR for this project was prepared pursuant to CEQA guidelines section 15162, which evaluate projects' level impacts. And now that the city has a project-level proposal, we can ask the question,

would the project result in new or substantially greater impacts than those identified by the general plan EIR. As a separate EIR for the project, the supplemental EIR analyzes short-term, long-term, direct and indirect cumulative impacts and applies mitigation from the general plan. It also identifies additional mitigation tailored specifically to the project in order to minimize or eliminate the incremental impacts the project has on the existing environment.

A notice of preparation was distributed beginning in March 17th of 2023, lasting through April 17th of the same year, and a scoping meeting was held for community members and approximately 60 members attended the meeting. Thereafter, a 45-day review period began on July 6th and ended August 21st of 2023. The city received 15 comments on the draft EIR and one after the deadline. The supplemental EIR was released on August 1st of this year. Mitigation measures were incorporated to address impact,

and a statement of Orion consideration has been prepared to support the City Council certification of the final supplemental EIR for the impacts that cannot be mitigated by the proposed mitigations. The SEIR finding touches on all chapters required by the State Environmental Quality Act. Most of the evaluation criteria found to have less than significant impact or less than significant impact with mitigation, as you can see on the left-hand side of the slide.

An example of a mitigation to reduce an impact, even though this height has been previously disturbed, it is often not known if sensitive artifact will remain maybe discovered during the construction process. So accordingly, a mitigation has been incorporated to further monitor the site through working and consulting with local tribes' representatives to ensure that any remain discovered during construction are documented and treated with respect. And such mitigation is often very common throughout the state. and as listed in the right hand column the project has an unavoidable air quality impacts specifically

resulting from the construction and operational admissions and conflict with regional air quality management plans the unavoidable air quality impacts are not unique to this project and are very common for larger projects to trigger within the south coast air quality management district which we are in this is due to a lack of compliance with the established air quality standard by the district the supplemental eir also identify a park and recreation as an unavoidable impact because the general plan identifies an aspirational goal of three acres per thousand

residents for the city as previously mentioned and explained while this project would not meet the ratio it is producing 13 acres of open space on a site where none exists today as this impact cannot be reasonably mitigated the approval of the project requires the adoption of the statement of or in considerations by the city council regarding the a luck over rule in accordance with the public utility code a project like this and specifically to do its location falls within the airport environs land use plan or also known as a loop for the john wayne airport the project required

consideration by the john wayne airport land use commission also known as a luck on july 20th of 2023 and after review of the draft specific plan the ALOC voted to find the plan inconsistent with the loop even with the information about the existing height provided by the city as shown in previous slide under the California Public Utility Code and pursuant to it the City Council voted on August 29th of last year authorizing staff to initiate and complete the procedure allowing for the city to consider the overruling of the ALOC decision of inconsistency if the

project is approved a notice of intent to overrule was provided to a luck with the city's finding and on october 24th the a luck responded to the city with a finding of inconsistency if the city council desired to approve the project tonight it will need to take an overruling action by a two-third affirmative vote we're almost done

on august 12 2024 the plan commission unanimously recommended that the city council approve the requested entitlements and development agreement and considering the following provisions first is to clarify the applicability of the inclusionary housing requirements to the senior continuum of care and this information was clarified as I mentioned and secondly for the City Council to consider creating and appointing a citizen oversight committee to make a recommendation on the 20 on the spending of the 22 million dollar community benefit payment the remaining slides will discuss a

resolution on permit parking district it is a there they'll be regarding the general plan implementation action that is being recommended by staff tonight so pursuant to article 11 of chapter 36 of the municipal code the city council is authorized to adopt resolution establishing permit parking district in which parking restriction may apply to all vehicles except those vehicles that have been issued permits by resolution number 91088 93076 and 200062 the city council established the following district south coast sandpoint and south coast

metro parking district residents in these districts may petition to impose parking permit restriction if desired by the property owner within this district as part of the general general plan outreach and the extensive engagement for the south bristol street focus area as well as through the various development project outreach that the city conducted we heard error residents express concern and feedback regarding the potential for new development in the south bristol focus area to impact parking in the residence in the residential neighborhood and requested for the city to take

action to alleviate such concern. The city is in the process of performing a citywide parking study that evaluates citywide permit parking program and modification. The study is not anticipated to be complete until fall of 2025. So while the various traffic studies for the general plan and the development project evidence no parking impacts from the development of this area and prior to the city completing its parking study staff is recommending that the City Council consider adopting separately and concurrently a resolution

to address resident parking concern as an implementation of the general plan amending the definition of a parking block within the established parking district the current regulation requires separate permit parking petition for each individual block which makes implementation parking restriction in a uniform manner and arduous tasks for residents the proposed amendment allows for a single permit parking petition to be considered for multiple contiguous contiguous residential block such that uniform parking restriction are open along multiple street segments at one time and now we're coming to

the recommend action for tonight tonight's recommended action for the city council are to adopt a resolution to certify the final supplemental environmental impact report, including the adoption of the environmental finding of facts pursuant to California environmental quality act, adoption of statement of overriding considerations, adoption of the mitigation monitoring reporting program, and approve the project, adopt an ordinance approving amendment application to establish the related Bristol specific plan and to approve the zone change for the property located 3600 bristol street from general commercial c2 and resident

a commercial residential to the related bristol specific plan adopt an ordinance approving the development agreement adopt a resolution proving the vested tenant track map number 2023-01 adopt a resolution overruling the orange county airport land use commission's determine determination that the project is inconsistent with the airport land use plan including the supportive findings and finally as a concurrent and separate implementation action the general plan of the general plan update in 2022

adapt a resolution amending resolution 91088 resolution numbers 93076 and resolution 2000 062 modifying procedures with participating in the South Coast Sand Point and South Metro Parking District before I end this presentation with me tonight I have the project manager for the project Ali Pescez Kapoor as well as our staff team that has been participating throughout this two years process we also have a consultant team here to ask any questions that the city council may have the applicant also is in the audience and they are also have their own

consultant team to ask any questions. That concludes my staff report. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Thank you very much for a very lengthy report. Thank you. That was a great report. Thank you. Really appreciate it. Do any members of the Council need to disclose ex parte communications. Are there any questions or comments by the Council at this time? I now open the public hearing from members of the public that would like to provide their comments in person and

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

virtually madam city clerk do we have any speakers yes mayor and council we do we will start with the applicant followed by members of the public who are here in person and then on zoom so if the applicant would like to come to the podium you'll have 10 minutes for your initial presentation

Thank you, Mayor Mesquah and Council Members. I'm Bill Witte, Chairman and CEO of Related California. And first I want to thank the staff for the considerable time and effort they've spent with us, as well as the ad hoc committee in arriving at the negotiation that we have before you tonight. I appreciate your consideration. I started Related California 35 years ago after a career in government, and over that time we've become one of the largest developers of affordable and mixed income housing in the state. But we've also taken on some large urban mixed use projects like our Grand Avenue project

opposite Disney Concert Hall and Grand Park in downtown LA. And this isn't our first involvement in Santa Ana, although it's much bigger. We, 12 years ago, finished the city's first affordable housing project in many years, the Triada Project, 134 units on what had been long vacant redevelopment sites on Santa Ana Boulevard, which we still own and manage. And we've just opened the Washington Crossings Project on city and county owned land, also at the end of Santa Ana Boulevard near the 5 Freeway. We have the grand opening a week from Thursday, to which I think and hope you've all been invited,

and we certainly look forward to seeing you there.

What I think, though, I want to say before I turn it over to Stephen O., our project executive, is I've been doing this a long time. We've done some very large projects in big cities, San Francisco, L.A. This is the most extensive community outreach project we've ever been involved in. And we hoped from doing that that we would learn. I think we tried to learn. You know, we're not perfect. We've evolved the plan based on that. And I think that's helped us to get where we are today. Last thing I'd say is in most of the things we've done, we're a long-term owner and stakeholder.

We're not just here to entitle this project and sell it off to, which is, you know, legally possible. But we tend to be long-term owners. We still own, as I said, Triada, and will continue to. And that is the mindset that we're bringing to you tonight. So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Stephen, our Executive Vice President and Project Executive. And thank you again.

Good evening. Before I get started, just a quick logistical question for the clerk. We submitted this presentation deck that I'm going to speak to. I just want to make sure that all the council members have copy. They do. thank you well again uh good evening um mayor mesqua and city council members on behalf of related thank you for having us and um and the opportunity for us to present related bristol for your consideration tonight we are delighted to be here

i'm sorry um specifically i also also wanted to um acknowledge and thank the city staff for their leadership and hard work and energy and their continuing commitment to make the city of santa a great city. Specifically, I want to acknowledge the Executive Director Min Tai, Planning Manager Ali Pejeskor, Public Works Director Nabil Saba, who is behind me, Deputy Director Rudy Rosas, the City Attorney Soler Calvaro, and countless other staff that have really contributed to this process and integral to the progress we've made to date. The City's vision for the future is

established in the forward-thinking general plan that was passed in 2022 and has really laid the foundation and the groundwork for projects like Relay to Bristol to be considered. And we thank you guys for that. Our entire team, including our president, Gino Conori, who is here today, would also like to thank the several thousand people, community members, stakeholders, that have been part of this process the last two and a half years and whose input have been so critical in shaping the project that is here before you today. We deeply appreciate their time and their effort in taking just time out of their busy

schedules to meet with us. I'd also like to thank and acknowledge our friends and our brothers and sisters from the Southern California District of Council of Laborers for being here today to support us. We are proud to be working alongside them, their members, to advance this project. Thank you for taking their precious time from their busy lives, I'm sure, to be with us today and really to send a message across to the council that they want you to please Please approve Related Bristol. Also like to, equally importantly, I also like to acknowledge and thank our friends,

our brothers and sisters from United Here Local 11 who are here to support our project. We are proud to be working alongside them as well, and they're sending the same message, please approve Related Bristol. Mayor and Council members, the Related Bristol project before you today reflects the work of years of work and thousands of hours of collaboration between ourselves, community stakeholders, community service organizations, neighbors, the city staff, who share really the vision of creating a new vision for a gateway for Santa Ana. I know I've got a short period of time, so I'm going to go fast here, but we're available

for questions. Our excitement, however, is shared also by the property owners who have owned this property for over 120 years. And I'd like to introduce Alice Callens, the matriarch for the Callens family, to speak to their history here in Santa Ana going back over 120 years. Alice.

Hello. My name is Alice Callens. I'm a proud member of the Orange County family that for generations has owned the property or are considering tonight as a future site of the proposed related Bristol development. More than a century ago in the early 1900s, my grandparents bought this land to grow sugar beets and lima beans. It is on this fertile land where our family chose to make its livelihood decades before there were homes, sidewalks, and retail stores. As a young girl, it is here with my siblings and cousins where we played in the open fields. Our family has a long farming history and

deep emotional ties to this property. As my grandparents and father often said, this is our dirt and we're fiercely proud of what we own. It is why in the 1960s and early 70s, rather than sell the land we decided as a family to build existing shopping center on 41 acres to serve the new and growing neighborhoods of South Santa Ana for the past 50 years we've done our best to operate maintain the shopping center for the local community but times changes as retail has changed and now people want to shop and live has changed what has remained constant is our family's

desire to own the land for the next 100 years to do that we choose to partner with Related California, a first-class local developer with an impressive history of creating high-quality communities to help us look to the future. Today we share the same long-term vision and commitment to create something very special for the local community, Santa Ana and Orange County, for generations to come. I am here this evening to urge you to approve the Related Bristol proposal. As a Callens family member, we are committed to work closely with you to make Related Bristol a model for future growth in Santa Ana. Thank you.

Thank you, Allison. Thank you for the Callens families for selecting Related and trusting us in this journey. You know, 50 years ago, they had the courage to reimagine the center from a farm to what it is today. And today we face a similar turning point, a major decision crossroads where the center, every single lease on the center expires next year. And so we collectively have an opportunity to imagine the future as the, this center will go through a change next year. The project vision that is before you has really been informed over the past two and

a half years for an engagement process focused on creating a welcoming destination for all dramatic walkability and a people first experience that prioritizes people over cars. A project that will be of the highest quality and design that will last a test of time. And most importantly, create a new gathering place unlike Orange County has ever seen. Over the last two years, we've met with hundreds of individuals, neighborhoods, community organizations. We've hosted 20 civic events. We've opened a welcome center, as I mentioned.

And we learned a few things, which has informed the project and the development agreement that is before you. In response to that input, we have worked with the city's ad hoc committee over the past year to finalize for your consideration tonight an unprecedented package of economic and community benefits. Globally, the project stands at $3 billion and continues to have the potential of being the largest private investment in the city's history. 155 years come October. Second, the development agreement before you outlines an unprecedented $544 million worth of community benefits, community benefit package.

That includes at a high level, 16,800 jobs, $500 million of annual net tax revenues to the city over the first 30 years of operations, 13 acres of open space, active programming, I mean, a public safety office if the city desires it, $16 million in affordable housing fees, and $22 million in the community benefits fund. In short, Alice said it best. We share the same long-term vision and commitment to create something very special for the local community and our city in Orange County. Yeah, for generations to come. She couldn't have said it any better.

Yes.

thank you

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

mayor and city council before calling the next speakers i'll report out the following summary of emails provided as of today 2 30 p.m 406 email comments were received related to this public hearing item those were distributed to the council and posted online on the city's website We do have several speaker cards for this public hearing and a few speakers on Zoom as well. We'll call the speakers in person first, followed by Zoom. Speakers will have two minutes for their comments. Please state your name and the warder neighborhood that you live in for the record. I'll call three names at a time.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

If you could please line up in the aisle behind the podium.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Lana Munholland, Doug Mangione, and Thomas Drennan.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Come on up and take the mic, put it where you need it so we can all hear you clearly. You have two minutes, please.

Good evening, Mayor and members of the Santa Ana City Council. My name is Lana Munholland and I'm the property manager for Metrotown Square Shopping Center south of Santa Ana. I'm here again tonight on behalf of the nearly 100 tenants at our center to thank you for holding this public hearing to consider Bristol-related redevelopment project. It will transform 50-year-old center into a new and far more attractive destination for our shoppers and tenants. And I am certain related Bristol will become a model for future development and growth

in Santa Ana. As you know, our aging 41-acre retail center, which has been one of the most important centers for generating sales tax revenue in Santa Ana desperately needs major change to prevent further store closures and sales decline. Related Bristol with its walkable design, 13 acres of parks, outline outdoor plazas and paesios, as well as apartments, new shops, restaurants, and everyday business services is the answer to what is troubling our center.

Almost all of the existing leases for our nearly 100 tenants of our center expire in 2025. As a result, Related Bristol, California has met with every single tenant for the past two years. related has presented the vision of the new look in the plan to phase the construction over 10 years beginning in 2026. Many of the tenants are excited and some have expressed a strong desire to be part of the new committee going forward. However, our tenants and our customers need certainty about

the future. We hope that tonight comes tonight with your approval of this project. We all know that the city is facing a major sales tax fall related as proposed.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Lana, your time is up.

Okay, boy, I gotta get ready.

Ready? Madam Mayor, Council, speaking today on behalf of the 2400 skilled and trained men and women of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 441 here in Orange County. IBW has been working in Santa Ana and in Orange County since 1928 when we were chartered, our local was chartered. Our apprenticeship OCETI is located in Santa Ana, our men and women train in Santa Ana and we are part of the Rancho Santiago Community College District. The The IBW, along with other trades, support the Building Trades MC3 programs at Century

High School in Santa Ana and at Rancho Santiago Community College District here in Santa Ana, giving young men and women in Santa Ana the opportunity to enter into a career in the Building Trades.

While we think Bristol-related is an exciting project for the City of Santa Ana, we are disappointed that this project is moving forward without an agreement with the LA and Orange County building trades. While some of the basic trades are signatory to the general contractor, the sub-trades are being excluded. Our local residents JWs and our local apprentices will not have the opportunity to work in the city they live and train in, and there'll be less opportunity for MC3 participants to slot into the trades. Also, without a pre-hire agreement,

you cannot guarantee local resident hire and veteran hire that we do with a building trade agreement. These agreements are not new, they're tried and true, and they have been adopted by the cities of Garden Grove, we're building a Civic Center, Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Santa Ana. We have agreements at Santa Ana Unified School District, just extended a 10-year agreement at Rancho Santiago. We have private agreements with OC Vibe, OC B-Well, Weston Hotel in Anaheim was built, Disney Parks and Resorts, the desal plant in Dana Point, Stanton Energy.

We feel if this was good enough for them, this should be good enough for the City of Santa Ana with this development. Thank you very much.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

The next three speakers, Thomas Drennan, Brent Beasley, and Michael Wingen.

uh good evening madam mayor city council i am thomas trend i'm business representative of the operating engineers local 12. i represent 20 000 members of local 12. we are hard working members we do not have many numbers as some trades do the nature of our trade we run cranes man lifts heavy equipment smaller equipment inspection and survey we support the much larger groups of hard-working trades on the ground iron workers trenches and high-rise buildings you build it we support it I am here before you asking you to postpone a vote and allow the LA Orange County building trades more time

to reach an agreement with Bristol related that will allow all trades to be part of this historic project in Santa Ana without a community workforce agreement there will be no guarantee of local hire veteran preference or MC3 or or any other community benefit. Area standards will not be met. Many trades have put time and effort into many projects in Santa Ana. Many trades have fought battles that were not ours. It's a fight, but we stand together. We are here. Only one, well, according to them, only one trade is pushing for this project to go through. I thought it was two, but it's just one. One is signatory to the

general contractor. Through their own admission, only one's here pushing it through. They cover both scopes, so they'll be doing most of the work. You know, look, they took time. They took two years to talk to the community. They didn't take no time to talk to any of the trades. I reached out to Bristol Related back in June, got no phone calls back. Finally got a phone call back on Friday after they were forced, basically told to call me back. When I did get a call back, it was basically, yeah, we got no interest in talking to you. We sort of agreement. I don't think that's fair to my members. I grew up in Orange County.

I've lived in Santa Ana. I was an outreach worker for the homes and the streets here. This isn't right and I think it should be postponed.

Madam Mayor, Honorable City Council people, my name is Brent Beasley. I'm the former business manager of Roofers and Waterproofed Local 220. I'm not going to repeat what my brothers just said I encourage a no vote on this project

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Michael Wingen followed by Randy wetmer and Roy a fugia good evening everyone my

name is Michael Wingen I've been in the city for 69 years and this is the craziest thing I think I've ever seen this isn't New York it's not LA it's not San Francisco. It's a quiet community that all of a sudden we're turning into LA South. We don't need it. There's one thing that hasn't been brought up in any of this. Reasonable parking. You want to take your groceries down an elevator to a parking garage that's probably full of homeless people to put your groceries in the car? And I can tell you, back in the

late 60s my mother was mugged in a parking lot in this city and had her purse stolen and that was at the shopping center on Edinger and Fairview this is going to turn into the same thing I'm sorry for the Cowens family you know too bad for them you want to hang on to it then make it something that's going to work for this city and this will not work and the great John McCain I I give it a thumbs down.

Please, think about it.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Randy Wettmer, followed by Roy Effugia and Jeff Ball.

Good evening, Mayor, Councilmembers. I can't top what Doug and Thomas and Brett said about this project. we're not in support of it without an agreement. We've already got our members driving to LA as it is. We've got roughly 200, 300 members that live here in the city of Santa Ana. They have their hopes up for this project. So without an agreement, it's just a dream. So we can't support this project without a labor agreement building trade. So that's it for me.

Good evening, Mayor. My name is Roy Afusia. I'm a business agent for Spring Coffin's Local 709, but tonight I'm not here speaking as an agent. I'm actually a resident of Sandpoint. Councilmember Becerra, he represents that ward. I live there and I shop there. this project is a great project but I ask you just wait on it and let them have an agreement with the building trades so it's it's kind of hard to to live there and knowing that you're not going to work there so I say you just hold off and I were not in support I'm not in support of this project thank you

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Jeff Ball followed by Giovanni Sobrano and Joshua Lopez Acosta.

Good evening, Honorable Mayor Mesquah, Honorable Members of the City Council, City staff that have worked so hard, and members of the public. My name is Jeff Ball. I am the President and CEO of the Orange County Business Council. The primary focus of our organization is economic development across Orange County. Economic development provides job opportunities, tax revenue, and improves our quality of life. The proposed Related Bristol mixed-use project is a distinctive opportunity that will bring significant economic and community benefits to Santa Ana and the entire region.

Related Bristol, with $3 billion in planned spending, private spending, would be the largest private investment in Santa Ana's history. You've already heard the numbers in terms of the jobs that it will create and the tax revenue that it will produce. With its combination of high-quality apartments, retail spaces, dining, and 13 acres of year-round active open space, Related Bristol will attract today's workforce and tomorrow's workforce to live and work in Santa Ana with many major employers nearby. This development exemplifies the kind of projects Santa Ana and Orange County need.

transforming outdated retail centers into vibrant spaces for our community. Related Bristol will serve as a smart, sustainable blueprint for future developments, and we are fortunate to have this opportunity here in Santa Ana with the proven entity behind it in Related California. This project clearly benefits Santa Ana and Orange County, which is why I am here speaking in full support of the project. I encourage you to do the right thing for our region and give your unanimous approval to the related Bristol project this evening. Thank you for your leadership and your commitment to the economic resourcefulness of our community.

A sound project, a proven developer, and it's time to do it now. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Giovanni Sobrano, followed by Joshua Lopez Acosta and Michael Hickson.

Hi, my name is Giovanni Sabarano. Good evening, Mayor. It's the first time actually to speak. I hope you understand. So I'm kind of, speaking of my head, I'm a resident, been over there 15 years, and I live in the same area across the South Coast Metro. I love that area. It's really quiet, and it's a nice neighborhood. But with this, the new project, it's like it's going to go for us as a hell, because the driving, the parking, the rent is going to raise for us. So that project is not good for us, actually. Thank you.

Hello, Mayor Muska and City Council members. My name is Joshua Lopez Acosta. I am 18 years old, a resident of Santa Ana all my life. and I work full-time for 24HRC. I am also a proud graduate of Santa Ana-based, non-profit organization, Hope Builders, a job training program that has saved my life. Like many of the graduates, I arrived at Hope Builders with very few options forward in my life. I had a troubled past and had no real skills to gain a steady job, and Hope Builders changed all that. Today with my job training and skills that I learned

And from there, I have a steady job, I can pay my rent, and I'm making plans for my future, such as saving up to buy a car. Hope Builders helped me prepare and find work because of the relationships they have with employers like Related California, which has a history of hiring Hope Builders graduates. I am here tonight to ask you to approve the Related Bristol project in South Santa Ana, as I believe it will create thousands of jobs here in our city. Jobs that future Hope Builder graduates just like me can pursue.

We need projects like Related Bristol that offer opportunity and hope right here in Santa Ana to those with few options that I had. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Michael Hickson followed by Miguel Bautista and Krista Sheehan.

Good evening. Madam Mayor and council members. Excuse me, I need some water, I think. But I'm almost a 51-year resident of Sandpoint. I moved there right after the project was completed and been there ever since. And we've stayed in Santa Ana all that time, not because of the neighborhood specifically, but because of the centrality of it. But we shop in Santa Ana. We spend a lot of time on Ms. Callum's side of the road and a lot of time on the other side of the road, too.

But in those 51 years, we've seen our neighborhood go from great to okay to troubled to better. And we have the opportunity now to see it go supercharged. What Santa Ana needs, I agree with the mayor and I agree with most of the council members, I believe, I think all of them based on the Planning Commission meeting, that Santa Ana needs an attractive entry into the city and it needs something that's going to benefit the people that live there and live nearby, as well as neighboring communities like Costa Mesa. Why drive to Costa Mesa for certain shopping?

but they drive up here to go to the entertainment district. So we need to create that place, and that place is Related's proposal. I'm all for it. Most of my neighbors are, I believe. It solves a lot of problems and adds a lot of attractiveness to the city of Santa Ana for people coming into it from the south. I know Related pretty well in my career several people that used to work for me want to work for Related. It's a quality company all the way. The projects are immaculate and well-maintained and well-managed.

And I'm looking forward to having a police substation in our neighborhood, too.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Michael, your time is up.

Thank you very much.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Miguel Bautista, Krista Sheehan, Dave Elliott.

Good evening, Honorable Mayor and City Council members. My name is Miguel Bautista. I'm here on behalf of Unite Here Local 11. I wanted to read a letter that we had sent to you guys. Unite Here Local 11 supports the related Bristol-specific plan. Contemplating the redevelopment of a 42-acre site located at 3600 South Bristol Street. Under the specific plan, the site would build significant housing, including up to 3,700 residential units and 200 units of senior condominium care.

The project has been improved and clarified since it was first proposed in a number of ways listed below. Analysis of jobs slash housing balance. Additional analysis shows that the project improves the city's jobs to housing balance and that the project will include between 9 to 19 million in in lieu fees to help construction, preserve affordable housing units in the city. Community benefit payment and new police substation as well as new park land.

And the project would add roughly 13 acres of parkland subject to public easement where currently none exists.

Would also further the city's interim goal of improving access from 1.2 acres per thousand residents to 1.5 acres per thousand residents. And where the community benefit payment would potentially offset credited parkland acquisition fees. public access parking plan and free city events additional air quality analysis and mitigation and other traffic improvements with the above improvements and clarifications local 11 supports the related Bristol specific plan and agenda item 22 tonight thank you guys for your consideration

Good evening, Madam Mayor and members of the City Council. My name is Krista Sheehan. I am the Deputy Director of Santa Ana-based Hope Builders. In every city in America, it's now a reality. Employers lack a skilled, reliable pipeline for middle-skilled jobs. Closer to home, Orange County employers are constantly seeking access to skilled talent and the need grows every year. At Hope Builders, established nearly three decades ago by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, we believe that the young adults needed to fill those opportunities in construction and healthcare are right here in our own backyard.

hard. Since 1995, Hope Builders has transformed the lives of more than 7,000 individuals, mostly from challenged and troubled backgrounds, by training and equipping them with job and life skills. The results are profound. 97% of our trainees are hired and 80% of them on average retain their employment. It's a remarkable human success story for our graduates and their families right here in Santa Ana. And this is why Hope Builders is excited about Related Bristol and the opportunity it presents to our community and especially to our trainees.

If approved, this mixed-use project will create 7,500 construction and permanent jobs. As important, the developer has committed to a first source hiring program where a portion of those hired are from Santa Ana or Orange County. And it's why Related Bristol and Hope Builders have and will continue to partner to utilize our graduates to construct projects of consequence right here in Santa Ana. Hope Builders exist to unlock the greatness of young adults. Many of them have only known poverty, drugs, and come from broken homes. Related Bristol won't solve these deeply rooted problems.

However, it will provide opportunity and optimism right here in Santa Ana. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

The next three speakers are Dave Elliott, Dale Helvig, and Irma Horagui.

So Hill Builders, if you're not familiar with them, is an outstanding organization right here in Santa Ana working with our kids. Good evening, Mayor Emesqua and honorable Santa Ana City Council members. Dave Elliott, President and CEO of your Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce.

We represent over 400 businesses and the business community here in Santa Ana and it is my privilege to share with you our support of the related Bristol project. We think it will be an outstanding project for our city, for the economy, etc. Very short, I want to share with you six words and I I hope that you'll just tuck them away. You've heard all the numbers. You have all the numbers. I don't need to reiterate all that. But there are six words that I think about with this project here in Santa Ana. Transformative.

Image.

Revenue. Housing. Jobs.

Opportunity. I urge you to not think twice and unanimously approve the related Bristol tonight. It is a golden opportunity with unprecedented benefits for our great city. It will send a loud positive message around the country, around our county, about the city's commitment to grow our local economy now and in the future. Thank you, and I hope that you will move forward with this project sooner than later. Thank you.

Dale Helwig, Park Santiago. Good evening, Mayor, Council Members, City Staff. During the last couple of years, I've come to work with or interact with Related of California, and I realize that they're a professional, classy organization, and we're fortunate that they're willing to do business in Santa Ana. They've dotted their I's, they've crossed their T's, they've worked extensively with the city staff, they've worked and interacted with the community,

but most importantly, they've listened and adapted and presented a project that is worth having here in Santa Ana. So I urge you to all approve the project. It's going to be a benefit to Santa Ana. Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council. My name is Irma Haraghi. Most of you know me. I'm a resident of Santa Ana since 1979. My husband and I have two businesses in construction, and I'm in financial services and real estate. We've raised two children here. I have been in Wilshire Square for the last 34 years. I've been an active member of the community, and everybody knows me. And one of the things, as I always look for the betterment in an efficient and effective way, there's nothing perfect. We know that in life. And, oh, by the way, the city staff, I am amazed. That complexity of that project is amazing.

I've also worked in one of the seven to bring the Pacific Park to fruition. For us to have the opportunity of a park is amazing. I will not repeat all the work, everything that everybody has said, but one of the things is the domino effect of a project of this magnitude that will bring to the city because this will create or give the opportunity to those entrepreneurs, those young people that want to have a job or create something are new that can design the design that cook that do things because the dollar amount of the peep not only as the project is being built but the people that will come and live they will come

with the funding to create more employment more tax revenue to have vibrancy the I've been here since 1979 and I've seen how the buildings and all our shopping centers become obsolete because it has changed so for that and related it reached out to us and listen that I was also impressed about looking to what Santa Ana is so for that I encourage you to approve related project

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

thank you the next three speakers Claire Charbonnet Nicole soy dem and Ruben Franco

Claire Charbonnet, St. Louis College of Public Affairs

Good evening. My name is Claire Charbonnet, a proud member of the fifth generation of the extended Callens family, owners of the 41-acre property that is being discussed tonight as the site of the proposed related Bristol development. I am here representing the younger generations of our pioneering family, which traces its roots to the city's earliest days more than a century ago. Our family began as farmers, working this property to build a life in the heart of Orange County. Through the years, our family developed a deep attachment to this site and the surrounding Santa Ana community,

working long hours to grow sugar beets and lima beans by day and serve as active civic leaders by night and on weekends. To this day, our entire family feels responsible for being good stewards of this property that we are fortunate to own. At a young age, my siblings and I learned from our parents and grandparents that if you have something of high value, you don't sell it, but keep it and grow it for future generations of family members. The time has come to reimagine Metro Town Square, the shopping center our family built on this site in the 1970s.

Our family met with six different firms to help us think about the future of our aging shopping center. In the end, Related California was the best. They are a first-class organization, and they are local to Orange County. They have a long history of building incredibly high-quality mixed-use projects in this market and across California. We realized very quickly that Related shared our vision for the project. They have become trusted partners. Through this process, we have watched Related go to extraordinary lengths to engage with local community, to listen, gather comments, and answer questions.

These are qualities of a good neighbor, one who cares and one who wants to consider all points of view. It is also part of our family's value system and approach to life.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Claire, your time is up. Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor Mesquah and City Council members. My name is Nicole Sudam. I'm the President and CEO for Goodwill of Orange County. It's great to be back again. As you know, Goodwill of Orange County celebrates 100 years of service to this community. We're headquartered here in Santa Ana. We have seven retail stores, donation centers, and of course several hundred employees based right here. We are in support of this project and enthusiastic of what Bristol Related is going to do for this community. We know that this is going to bring thousands of jobs to our community, and these are jobs

that my organization can benefit from for the people we serve. At Goodwill, our mission is to help people achieve their goals through a journey of personal support, work experience, and career development. That is the core of our work every single day, to connect people with opportunity. And these are jobs that will help the people we serve gain employment and sustainable careers. So for that, we are very excited to support this project and urge your approval tonight. There's no reason to delay. I have every faith in the leadership of Related Bristol and in their integrity to make sure

that they create great partnerships and negotiate the deals that still need to be done. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Next three speakers, Ruben Franco, Alex Zamora, Fernando Ochoa.

Good evening, Mayor Emesqua and Honorable Councilpeople, to the honorable, the great staff of the city of Santa Ana. Thank you for all your hard work. My name is Ruben Franco. I'm the president and CEO of the Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Our chamber represents over 30,000 Hispanic-owned businesses here in Orange County. Businesses are, you know, the lifeblood of our economy here in the county. 95% of businesses are small businesses. Santa Ana, by virtue of its rich history, is the heart of Orange County and has a large Hispanic population and always been vitally important to the city and to our efforts.

On behalf of our organization, our members, I'm here tonight in support of Related Bristol. This is a special kind of mixed-use project, development that marries the best of what we advocate for in local investment and in the community and significant job creation and access to new opportunities and experiences for all individuals. add to all this related commitment to hire locally where possible and the project stands to set a new standard for development in Santa Ana beyond the impressive economic and community benefits we believe related Bristol will create an ever-thriving city neat what the city needs and a new destination

where people can go to build community and learn about the new cultures or other cultures the The development will be truly a new gateway, South Bristol Street into Santa Ana, a city continuing to emerge as a central hub of employment, new businesses and vital growth for our county. The Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is proud to support related Bristol, and I humbly ask that you approve that tonight. Thank you for your time and thank you all for your leadership. Appreciate it.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Alex Zamora, Fernando Ochoa, Ed Noches.

Madam Mayor, Council members, staff, thank you so much for the time tonight. Again, my name is Alex. I'm a very proud member of LIUNA, the Labor's International Union of North America, Local 652 here in the city of Santa Ana.

not only that I'm a very very proud resident of Santa Ana and I'm very proud to say now 40 year resident as of the last few weeks so about eight or nine years ago when me and my wife decided we wanted to venture out into owning a home there was no question that we wanted to invest in this city this is where my in-laws live both sisters brothers everybody my parents we're very invested in this city in fact my wife has a business just minutes away from this project plan and today I'm of course I'm speaking in support of this project and of course I'm speaking in support of the developer because the

developer has invested in this city as well and not only that but they're invested into LIUNA the Laborers International Union North America and not just because by name or not just because of what we stand for but because we put the best of the best through our training centers which is state accredited to make sure that the highest level of responsibility and safe building goes into every project and that's exactly what's going to go into this I'm very proud to support this my family my wife everybody that is a lifelong Santa Ana resident is very proud of this project I hope there's no

delays we can hopefully move this forward as fast as we can and I know the The men and women of our union are very eager to get to work and build something. So very proud for this city. Thank you so much for the time, and everybody have a good night.

Good evening, Council Mayor. My name is Fernando Choi. I serve as political director for Smart Local 105. We represent 7,000 hardworking chief mental workers here in the area. First, I want to say thank you to all for standing with workers in your time as public servants in the City Council and serving as mayor. Every single time we've come to these chambers, you've come to bat for us, and so we hope you do so again tonight. With that, I want to respectfully urge you guys all to continue the vote, ask for continuation on item number 22. Unfortunately, working class community members like the ones we represent, who you can see

sitting in the back, the back couple rows are seating with us tonight after working long hours, working, some of them started their days at 4 a.m. this morning, and so they have not had their voices properly heard. And so the fact is that this development, without the community needs addressed, will do two things. One, it'll leave the majority of workers here in Santa Ana behind by not requiring local hire like they claim to say they're going to do. And two, it'll be built by majority non-signatory subcontractors, contrary to what some in the room are suggesting tonight.

This invites an opening for unsafe working conditions and wage theft. Again, Local 105 7000 members ask you all for a continuation on item number 22. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Ed Noches followed by Larry Marshburn and Leonard de la Rosa.

Good evening, Mayor of Mezqua. My name is Ed Nochez. I'm with Panko Builders. For the last 60 years, Panko Builders has been a general contractor signatory to laborers, carpenters, and cement masons. I'm here tonight to urge the yes vote and approval of the project. Related has a long history of including union general contractors and subcontractors into their projects. True to this story, we are excited that we've been selected as a general contractor for this project.

Additionally, we're also one of the three finalists bidding for the concrete structure work, three other signatory contractors as well. Panko has had a long history of partnering with Related on many of their projects, and we can attest to the firm's history as long-term owners, community builders, and their delivery of high-quality, best-in-class projects that survived the test of time. Related Bristol is exemplary of this. related Bristol represents one of the most exciting impressive mixed-use projects we've seen in Orange County in many decades again we urge the council to please approve related Bristol tonight thank you

good evening my name is Larry Marshburn Honorable Mayor Mezga nice to see you and all you council members thank you again for allowing us to do this this evening. I'm here tonight to urge you to approve the proposed related Bristol development project. It's going to be a short walk from my home. I live in South Coast Shores and my wife and I look forward to being able to have a place to go to. That's going to be a nice evening out and I like that. After much study of this project and spending time with related Bristol, because I had questions

about the project. I can see the significant impact that this project is going to have in our area, not only for the community as a go-to destination, but also what it's going to do to our property values, and it's going to increase the look of our community and the pride that we all take in Santa Ana. I've been a resident here now for 14 years, and this is where I'll probably die here in Santa Ana. What excites me most about the fact that they're doing this as a first responder retired from the fire department related to Bristol, I really was struck by the fact that

they're going to provide a tremendous amount of security and safety. The design of it to me is a gem as it relates to access and from the standpoint of public safety and having access is always, always, always important for how we approach anything that we do there. In addition, of course, we've talked about this a couple times tonight, and that is the security that they're going to provide 24-7. They're going to have that substation of police and law enforcement, and we look forward to having that. In closing, I want to also share how I'm impressed with what the City Council has done to widen Bristol.

That's always been attractive to me, the way you did that, and I look forward to that continuing down to this gateway. So I look forward to you and encourage you tonight, please, to approve this project and say yes. And one last thing I'd like to say, this other fellow mentioned a couple of words. This is transformational to me. This project is transformational. Thank you for your time.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Leonard De La Rosa, followed by Alex Gonzalez and Matt Ward.

Hello, Madam Mayor, City Councilmembers. My name is Leonard De La Rosa. I'm a representative with the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters, where I have the honor of representing hardworking professional union carpenters who call Santa Ana home. Regarding the Bristol-related project, we kindly ask you that you continue this at a later date. As we have unresolved concerns at this time, we appreciate your consideration for our request. Thank you so much.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Alex Gonzalez, Matt Ward, Art Lopez.

Good evening, Council. My name is Alex Gonzalez, and I'm an apprentice of the Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 105.

I'm here today to talk about the community workforce agreement that should be discussed before we move forward with this project. I respectfully and strongly encourage you to delay any kind of vote tonight as it would severely impact many Orange County residents who are a part of these unions.

I don't believe it's a good idea to have just one union working on the entirety of a project. We have specialties for a reason. Our trades exist for a reason. You wouldn't want a carpenter to do sheet metal for the same reasons you wouldn't want to hire the best plumber to do your sprinkler work in your backyard. You wouldn't want to hire a house painter to paint your house or to paint your car.

It's, I don't believe it's a good idea.

Supporting a community workforce agreement means that men like me who are residents of Orange County, members of a union, have the opportunity to spend time with their families. I have three kids and a, I have a terminally ill wife, and every day after work I spend two hours driving home, time I don't get to spend with my wife, time that is limited. And I know that doesn't entitle me to any kind of job anywhere in California, especially not so close to home. But what I would want is for the opportunity for me and my brothers

in the engineering and the electrical unions to have that same opportunity to be with their families. Thank you.

Good evening, Council. My name is Art Lopez. I am with the Smart Local 105 Sheet Metal Workers, Southern California. I am here representing over 7,000 hardworking sheet metal workers in the region. On behalf of the union, I am here to urge you to consider holding off on the voting for a related Bristol project. A project like Related Bristol isn't just about jobs, it's about livelihoods. The construction opportunities, if insured for the residents of Santa Ana, would bring stability for working class families that live here in Santa Ana.

It's important to think about the inclusivity and the opportunity with this project. union apprenticeship programs like the one I went through actively recruit and train individuals from diverse backgrounds such as women people of color and veterans providing them with the skills and opportunities they need to succeed in the construction industry so once again I urge you to consider holding off on voting on the related Bristol project until all Santa Ana residents concerns are addressed thank you guys

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

matt ward followed by chantelle andrews and john melendez

morning mayor excuse me good evening mayor it's been a very long night so i'll make it fast council members my name is matthew ward and i'm proud to be a journeyman of local 105 sheet metal workers union I am here today to express my discontent with the related Bristol project project will not provide fair wages and good benefits to all the workers or even ensure that these jobs are for local residents like myself on a personal level I've lived in Santa Ana and Orange County for next

year will be 36 years so I've spent almost my entire life here and this project will have a basically a daily impact on my life and if I'm not able to have an impact on a personal and professional level that just wouldn't make sense to me so I would once again urge you to hold off on voting until so all community concerns are safely heard. Thank you very much.

Good evening, Mayor Mesquah, honorable council members, members of the Planning Commission, and representatives from Related Bristol. I value this opportunity to stand before you this evening representing or being a resident of Ward 4 in the St. Albans community. As you prepare to consider approval of the resolutions and ordinances of the related Bristol project, I encourage you all to take a moment and make sure that you receive definitive information on the truck routes and before groundbreaking in an effort to mitigate some of the traffic issues and protect all neighborhoods that will be impacted in Ward 4 and beyond.

What measures will be in place before groundbreaking to mitigate the traffic issues? As an example, you mentioned stoplights. Where will they be installed? Will adjustments be made to the flow of traffic, etc.? Our youth have been left out of many conversations that have occurred, though I believe through inference that they have been included.

I do not... Oops, excuse me. I also encourage you to engage in a discussion with SAUSD to assess the impact of this project on our schools. I think eight in the immediate area, especially in light of the fact that we no longer, that you no longer finance our crossing guards. Shame on you all. Do not support, I do not support a police substation that was offered by the developers, and I highly recommend that even though you had been offered this opportunity, why you did not select to negotiate a community center,

a youth center, a library, a resource center, a senior center, an all-purpose center, which is greatly needed in Ward 4. Lastly, an oversight committee is a must. Selected with representatives selected by, okay, I should point out, community members selected from the respective wards to monitor this 22K. Thank you very much. Carry on.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

John Melendez followed by Ana Laura Padilla and Jason Guralnik.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council members. My name is John Melendez, proud sheet metal worker, local 105 member. While I don't live in Santa Ana, I live in Costa Mesa, I do own a building and operate a business in Santa Ana where I employ between 30 and 50 union sheet metal workers. I'm excited about the Related project. I think it's a great project. We come here and we shop often and, you know, entertain here. But I think we're missing a point. We talk about the quality that Related wants to bring.

I have no problem with the laborers union getting some of that work, but I think that if you want quality work and we want a quality project, ladies and gentlemen, we're not going to do it without quality union labor. We need our union sheet metal workers, our international brotherhood of electrical workers, we need our carpenters, and we need to employ the right people on this project. I think that it would be a shame for you guys to vote and let this go forward until relatives come to the table, talk to the trades, and we get good quality people working.

Some of the kids that, I forget the name of the organization, where they provide training, I applaud that. I encourage that. That's great. I didn't graduate high school. By God's grace, I learned to trade. I own a business now. I own a building. I'd like to see some of these kids be able to do the same thing. So please hold off on the vote. Give the trades an opportunity. We're going to build a great project together, related. Come to the table. We want to partner with you. We can bring great quality workmanship.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Ana Laura Padilla.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Jason Guralnik followed by Victor Mendez.

Good evening, Madam Mayor and ladies and gentlemen of the City Council. My name is Jason Guralnik and I am a real estate manager for Albertson Southern California Division. We also are the owner and operators of Vaughn's and Pavilion's grocery stores. while I'm not a resident of Santa Ana I do reside in Orange County just not just over the 405 and Huntington Beach our bonds on press on Bristol Street has been open for over two decades and during this time our store associates have taken an active role within the community but like other tenants at the shopping center our stores future is uncertain we support the related Bristol

project upon completion it will be a vibrant property with housing retail restaurants and green space, providing residents and visitors a place to relax and hang out. The related companies has thoughtfully planned this project by building the new grocery store as part of the first phase, while keeping the existing grocery store open as part of the second phase. This will ensure that groceries are available for the community, as well as our store associates have a place to work. Additionally, they have thought about security and offered to locate a police substation on site.

For these reasons, we support the related Bristol project and hope you do as well. Thank you.

Good evening. So I support this project in full. Listen, this is a huge project. It's complex, it's a lot of money, a lot of different parties. It's not, these projects of this nature are never, ever perfect. There's just no way you can ever get things down to perfection. You know, I think, though, on balance, you should just simply move forward. I think from what I'm hearing, these issues that they're talking about can probably work through substantially or to some type of substantial satisfaction. I think the cost and opportunity to hold back is significant, and you'll be probably worse

off in a lesser position by holding back than just trying to move forward and trying to see if these concerns from the parties can be addressed. It takes a long time to get the plans out, to get the specs out. There's a big, wide pathway that's involved here. And I think there's time to work through whatever issues are out there, at least from what I'm hearing. Again, this project will not be perfect. Things will happen. There will be accidents. Things can happen. It's just the nature of these projects. It's just a given. It doesn't mean you should accept it.

I just think, you know, things are just not going to probably always go as you like them to. But from what I'm hearing, there's enough here to go forward. I mean, the opportunity is there. Let's not put it off. Don't put off something today. Don't put off something to tomorrow, what you can do today. And I think this project is something you should do today. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Mayor and City Council, that concludes the speaker cards on the public hearing. we'll move on to the zoom speakers at this time so manuel araguin please unmute and make

your comments you will have two minutes to speak yes hi my name is manuel araguin and i am this is

this is off topic this is about the uh police oversight commission

I have waited a long time for this commission to be established and thought that all my complaints would now be reviewed by independent. Sir, your comments have to be regarding the public hearing related to the Bristol project. Oh, okay. Then I have none.

Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Madam City Clerk, I need to call a 10-minute recess, please.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Thank you. Thank you, Mayor.

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Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

As soon as Councilman Panalosa takes a seat, we will start the meeting again. Thank you very much for the recess.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Madam City Clerk, I believe you have two speakers left.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Yes, Mayor and City Council, thank you. The remaining speaker on Zoom did log off, but we do have two cards remaining. I apologize. If the two remaining speakers could please come up and make their comments at this time. Ana Laura Padilla and Patrick Strader.

Good evening, Mayor Mesquite and City Council. So I am here in support of this amazing project. I've been hearing many times in this dais that you guys are pro-business, and we're trying to be a more business-friendly city, and I think that this project speaks a lot to business community. I am a proud member of the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce, a proud member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. You have the two presidents also talking in support of this project. Other than revitalizing a plaza that is very important and crucial to our city,

I think this project is going to create that domino effect that someone else was talking early into bringing more projects like this to the city. And I feel it's very important that from now on we focus more on how to make more money because I think we got down on how to spend it. So I think we need to start looking into avenues to get that general fund. a little bit bigger.

So I just want to express my huge support. The Related Bristol family has always been part of community events. They're being very connected to the residents. They have always answered all the questions and been open to take any questions or suggestions to the project. And I really like to see that on a developer, that they attend to many city events, that that they attend to many community events, that they always have their table there with their flyers and their staff is super friendly and they're always up for negotiations and talking and answering questions. So just in big support of this project, thank you.

Thank you, Madam Mayor and Council. My name is Patrick Strader. I'm with Starpoint Ventures. I'm a consultant to the related team and I've been working on this project for over two years. I wasn't planning to speak tonight, but I did want to get up and just correct the record on some of the labor issues that have come up this evening. First and most importantly, we have been in constant communication with representatives of LA and OC building trades. It hasn't come together exactly the way everybody wanted it, as you've heard earlier this evening, but I needed to correct the record about the lack of communication.

We have reached out repeatedly. And one thing that was not pointed out to you tonight that I want to make sure goes into the record is that the city already does have a CWA agreement. And with the city's CWA agreement, any public works that are built are done utilizing that agreement and all of the requirements within it that this council approved. So every representative that got up this evening and said that there will be no work, that's patently false. There will be over $100 million of CWA-backed work that this project generates. If this project does not move forward, then there will be no work.

So in addition to the $100 million in CWA-guaranteed work, there is also a public realm financing plan that your staff is putting together. Because of the property taxes that will increase with this project, the city is going to go out and do another probably half a billion dollars worth of CWA-built work. And with regards to this project specifically, there are two contracts that are currently being, one has been led to Mr. Noches from Pankow who spoke to you this evening. He is a signatory with multiple of the unions. And the second one that is out is potentially three different union signatories. We've informed them about this.

We received a package that was modeled after OC Vibe. OC Vibe is a public-private partnership that has lots of city involvement, CFDs.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Patrick, your time is up.

Apples and oranges. So we encourage your approval this evening.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

We'll continue to dialogue, but thank you very much.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Mayor and City Council, that does conclude the Zoom and in-person speakers. At this time, if desired, the applicant can return to the podium to provide rebuttal comments.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Time limit is five minutes.

Five minutes. Thank you, clerk.

First of all, I just want to say thank you to everybody who is present today. Both comments, you know, and support and comments in terms of concerns. We appreciate everyone's input in this process because it's been an important process, first and foremost. There were a couple of things that were addressed that, you know, one of the things that my job here today is and my role is to be transparent and to be vocal in communicating from our company's experience as the largest mixed-use developer in the state one of the largest affordable housing developers in the state and we speak from experience as to more than probably more than

anybody else on this matter as to when something can work when something can apply and when something doesn't work it's infeasible and one of my roles is and the reason why it's important is for me to share with everybody, all stakeholders, and specifically you as decision makers to understand when something can and cannot work. It's a hard role. People throw darts at me all the time when I say we can't do it. It's just a fact, but that's okay. That doesn't change the fact that that's my role.

We are, this project has union participation and support. We have a long history as a company. As you guys know, we have two affordable projects in Santa Ana, including one that's opening next week, in building and hiring union contractors and subcontractors on our projects. And true to our history as a company, we're proud about advancing this project with the union participation and support. And I know everybody wants more. Look, everyone behind me wants more of something. I get that. But this project is, I will say, right now, we specifically have the participation and engagement.

We're proud to be partnering with PANCAL once again, a union signatory since 1963 as our general contractor on this project. Second, as many of us, a few people have stated, we are down to three finalists on the garage bidding process that includes three union signatory garage contractors. Additionally, we're proud to be advancing this project. PANCO is, as well as the three union signatories we have on the garage, are signatory to the laborers.

They're signatory also to the laborers, to the carpenters, and to the cement masons. Thank you, Gino. And so, there's a reason why they're here. Now, lastly, not lastly, but we're also proud to be advancing this project. So we're proud to be advancing the project with the support of the laborers. We're also proud to be advancing the project with an agreement with United Here Local 11 for the hotel. It's important that we all set the facts straight in terms of what we have to date.

Now, I'll also say it's, someone spoke about this earlier. It's important that we understand this is a private development. There were some comparisons made to OCVIBE. That is like comparing apples to oranges. And we have been in a conversation with the Orange County Building Trades. I don't expect everyone in the crowd to know that, but we know. We have been in conversations. OCVIBE is a true private-public partnership. That project is entirely intertwined with public financing.

There was a land swap using the surplus land act. There is $400 million of public financing through a tax bond revenue program the city is issuing for that project, for that infrastructure. And there's also a hotel TOT rebate program on that project. Lots of public financing that puts it in the realm almost as a public project, elements of it. This is very different. This is 100% privately funded on private land, a project that's very different than OCVI. And the reason why, and so to draw the comparisons,

everyone needs to understand that fact pattern, and that's what I'm trying to do, so that everyone understands the difference when you say, well, why can't you mimic OCVI? Because it's a very different structure. So, our entire team here has answered questions. I'm a little bit short in time. I'm happy to delve into this further, but just wanted to start with that. And then one thing that I wanted to perhaps conclude on is time is of the essence here. We spoke about the retail center. At this stage in time, two years ago when we started this process, we forewarned of a timeline and a deadline in 2025 when all these leases expire.

That timeline is upon us. It is not a prognosis, it is a fact that is facing us today. And so time is of the essence.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Stephen, your time.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

And Mayor and City Council, that concludes the speakers for this public hearing.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

With no further comments, I hereby close the public hearing. Do any council members have any additional comments or questions? If you'd like to speak, Council, please push the button.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

Yes, Madam Mayor.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Can you push a button so I can please go from here? The button's not working today.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

All right, Councilman Hernandez, did you push your button?

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

Yes, madam.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

I don't think it's working. Go ahead. Three minutes, three rounds, please.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

Thank you very much. First and foremost, I'd like to thank the community for coming out today, Related Bristol for doing your due diligence and meeting with the public and ensuring that they were provided all of the information necessary and for also bringing labor to the table. Although there are a couple of unions here at the table, Santa Ana's proud to be a union city. We are proud that this room is filled with working people who care about the city of Santa Ana. The highlights of this wonderful development is that there is going to be approximately 16,800 full and part-time jobs

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

valued at $1.5 billion labor income. That right there is generational wealth for our families. These are multi-generational jobs where there may be a father or a mother who's working on a job site whose child is a teenager who may join the trades and would have the opportunity to work with their parents. It's important that as we are exercising the right for our workers to have a seat at the table that we are also encouraging participation from our developers. There's a tremendous community benefits component that comes with this project, $22 million

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

dollars, a community benefit payment paid in three payment schedule. But there's currently not a community workforce agreement with the Building Trades Council for this project. Without that agreement, we cannot assure that the Santa Ana residents will have priority when it comes to the jobs that will be created throughout the construction of this project. Without this agreement, there is no veteran hiring provisions, ensuring that those who have fought for our freedoms have a chance to work.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

Without this agreement, we won't have an opportunity to create workforce development opportunities through the Building Trades Pre-Apprenticeship Program. Without this agreement, there is no protection for workers from an employer lockout because of a labor dispute. We would be forced to endure necessary potential strikes, pickets on our streets. We could be forced to endure work stoppages and construction delays. What we are looking to have in Santa Ana is good faith negotiations with our labor partners. As a council member, I am looking to ensure that every single trade has a seat at the table,

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

that we aren't splitting the house of labor, that we're bringing our workers together. because at the end of the day every single union who showed up to talk today whether it be the IBEW the operating engineers local 12 roofers 220 the labors local 652 the carpenters of the sprinkle fitters or smart 105 all of them have members who are from our city who want to have a seat at the table I'm gonna make a motion to push this project out so that we can encourage our developer to work hand-in-hand with our community workforce agreement to ensure that they have the time so that all workers have a seat at the table this

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

project should move forward but not without every trade at the table I'll

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

make a motion move that so I'll have a motion on the floor thank you councilman Panolosa if you'd like to speak please raise your mic as we've done before because it's not working madam mayor my sincerest apologies but I

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

wanted to add to the motion that I would like to give them time for our next Council meeting it gives them a couple of weeks before we bring this back.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

So you're talking in October 1st? That is correct madam, yes. Okay so your motion is to continue to October 1st? That is correct madam. Perfect, so let me get through the comments. Thank you. Councilman Panolosa?

David PenalozaItem 8

Thank you Mayor Mesquo. I just want to say that I couldn't agree more with Councilmember Hernandez. I want to thank the applicant for their quality work that they're bringing to the city. However, we want to make sure that every trade has a seat at the table. One of the comments that that was made by one of the consultants was that the city CWA would be applicable to the public works part of this project, which is not true. This is 100% privately funded project on private land. The city's CWA does not apply to projects like that. Even though it might to the intersection of MacArthur and Sunflower,

David PenalozaItem 8

or MacArthur and Bristol, I'm sorry, but I don't believe that and staff please correct me if that is incorrect but I know for a fact that our CWA would not apply to this so I am in agreement and to continue this item this public hearing until everyone has a seat at the table mayor those are my comments for now I have a lot of other comments that are specific to the actual project scope but I will hold those if depending on whether it comes back or not. Thank you Councilman. Councilmember

Benjamin VazquezItem 8

Vasquez. Thank you. First going through this process I want to thank the staff for all the hard work you've put in and going back and forth through meetings. I want to thank Related Bristol for their vision to come into Santa Ana and working with us and have built affordable housing with the crossroads at Washington and the tree at the station. There has been some good work. We want to continue to do good work with you all. We are a union house. We do believe in making sure that the work there is good work.

Benjamin VazquezItem 8

And we have local hire and union jobs are respected here in Santana. But I do appreciate all the work going across everybody and make sure that we do cross our T's and our I's and do our due diligence. Thank you.

Jessie LopezItem 8

Council Member Lopez.

Jessie LopezItem 8

Thank you, Mayor. And I want to thank everybody. It's 915 for being here this long. I was really excited when I saw this project on the agenda because I read the last edition of the Orange County Business Journal And I just want to read an expert An excerpt sorry about what they described About quote about 30 years ago Sonana and Anaheim were known to be plagued by violence and gangs City and county officials have worked to clean up the crime which is evident in a variety of statistics For example, Sanana's annual violent crime topped 3,000 in 1993 and by 2020 had plummeted in half to about 1,500.

Jessie LopezItem 8

According to city statistics given to FBI, the crime plummeted to about 620 in 2022, which is incredible. And it remains to see what the final statistics will be for this year, but it really got me excited thinking about this project. and I am not opposed to your motion Councilmember Hernandez I hope that all of these conversations can be resolved in two weeks because I do hear the concerns of the business owners who have said that they are on a timeline and perhaps they don't know what that timeline is to renew their leases but I agree with the concerns of this council and so I hope you all understand the

Jessie LopezItem 8

competing interests here and the competing aspects of this project that we're trying to hopefully have everybody resolved for the betterment of an entire community. I really wanna thank staff for the work. I think like everybody here, after nine months of discussions, we wish we could have something today, but I'm not opposed to your motion today on the floor. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Becerra, please.

Phil BacerraItem 8

Thank you, Madam Mayor. First of all, I wanna thank everybody that came out tonight to speak for or against the project, I think it's important because as many of you have said, this is a transformative project. This will be a complete game changer and it's in my ward. I'm very proud of that. Now, with that being said, there's also going to be impacts. There's going to be traffic. There's going to be air quality. We know that, right? We saw that from the supplemental EIR. But if I'm going to sit here and say that's okay, that there's going to be more traffic,

Phil BacerraItem 8

I do want to know that part of that traffic is going to be folks from the various trades coming into Ward 4 to build that project. If I'm going to have that additional traffic, that's what it's going to be. So with that being said, I do believe a little bit more runway is important. I appreciate the motion that's on the floor tonight. I think giving it two more weeks for some true substantive discussions could hopefully provide something where next council meeting will be something that will be historic but tonight I will be supporting the motion on the floor for another two or for the two-week continuation this evening thank you

David PenalozaItem 8

Councillor Panellosa thank you mayor Mesquah and I guess this question I would refer to the city attorney I have a couple questions on the just the general scope and substance of the project and development itself. Would it be appropriate to ask it given that the motion on the floor is to continue the public hearing? We could still have some discussion over the overall project,

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 8

correct? Yes, you can ask your questions. I can note them if I'm able to answer them tonight. I will if I'm not and this does get continued. I'll come back with

David PenalozaItem 8

an answer at your next meeting. Perfect. And the only, I had a couple questions just on the general project. And again, I want to thank Related Bristol for the work that they've put into this. It is a high-quality project, and it's something that will help diversify that area and really invest in our city. The project is across the street from one of the most visited malls in the world, one of the most highest-grossing malls in the world. Not the United States, but in the world.

David PenalozaItem 8

It's a 10-minute drive from John Wynn Airport. It's a 15, 20-minute drive from Disneyland, the resort area, which brings the question I have from, and I brought it up the one time I met with the applicant formally on the eighth floor about a year ago. I brought it up then and was, why is there only one hotel room? And this is coming from a place where we're looking at generating revenue, we're looking at increasing our coffers, our city coffers, and there's no better way

David PenalozaItem 8

to increase it than TOT tax. We have a performing arts center across the street, the Orange County Museum, the mall. There's three hotels across the street that are pretty aged. They're not the newest of hotels. hotels. So I think there's opportunity to see, you know, more than one hotel across the street, especially because I know that there is development coming in the next decades to the old Sears store in that corner. And I know that there's hotels planned there.

David PenalozaItem 8

So I think once it's built and done, it's done. It's gone forever. There's no going back to saying, hey, we should have done this or we should have done that. So I guess that's the question is why only one hotel? And would that be for the applicant or city staff?

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 8

May I suggest this? I don't know what you're planning to do in terms of your procedure, but if you were planning to continue this, one of the things we could do is take your questions down. We could then collaborate with the applicant to get their information and return to you if you're going to continue it with answers to these questions in writing and maybe even include it in the next agenda item so that everyone has access to it and we've had time because the answer to that question is really complex. The city might have a different answer than the developer might have because the developer knows more about the market,

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 8

knows more about financing. It's very complicated. And so I'm just thinking if we could take your questions down, those types of questions that might be, the answer might require more input from other people, we can get it in writing.

David PenalozaItem 8

Okay. Would that be fair? So that would be the first question, why only one hotel, given the prime location that it is in. Second question is just how many, if any, available units will be for sale? I know that that was one of the questions I brought up over a year ago as well. I know it's leased land, but I know that there's been for sale units done before on leased land in the city, specifically in the area so that's one of the questions I want to have jotted down and answered by the next time that this comes back again 41 acres

David PenalozaItem 8

opportunity for that real investment in our in our city's future and those are

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

the questions thank you I don't see any other council of assets oh please let me second the motion for I think there already was by councilman so the only comments I have Madam City Attorney just for clarification purposes this went through the Planning Commission and so it was a 7-0 vote but the truck routes that were discussed earlier those construction truck routes are set by the city if I'm not mistaken and that you can bring back an answer and an explanation for that and also the routes because I know the neighbors the

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

neighborhoods that participated and that met with related and they met with many many people in the community I think it's important for us to know the truck routes and how that is going to affect our residents how are we notifying the residents and what are we doing for a sound will be the time that they'll be driving because I know at five o'clock in the morning I don't want to be woken up by a truck that i don't they're pretty loud i'm not saying we don't have to start at five i just want to be clear but um i think it's really important that we get those type of questions

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

um i i want to be really clear i support the project but i think continuing until october 1st councilman hernandez is is a really good idea because there's many of us up here that have questions um that we're we're not i don't think as a whole it sounds like the body's not come on this anymore that please ask them now let the city manager excuse me city attorney write them down and then october 1st we will get them all answered so questions councilman becerra thank

Phil BacerraItem 8

you madam mayor and thank you for bringing up the construction hall routes um i would like to see something more specific in what's brought to us on october 1st outlining where those construction

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

routes will be or route. Can you speak in your mic or turn it on?

Phil BacerraItem 8

Can you hear me now? There you go. So construction route, more specificity. There we go. On that. And then also when the time is right, I'd like the developer to confirm publicly for the world to hear whether it will be a Vons or a very similar grocery store. Because surprisingly, with a project of this size, the folks in Ward 4, the thing I hear the most about is their grocery store. They want that grocery store. They've got a Trader Joe's, God bless it, but they want a Vons or something very similar. So when the time is right at the next meeting, I would like that confirmation very publicly

Phil BacerraItem 8

so that the folks in my ward feel very comfortable. Thank you. Councilman Hernandez.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I fully concur with Councilmember Becerra. I think that it's important that the residents are going to want to see a grocery store. Vons is a union grocery store. UFCW members, I would like to see us have a grocery store that is union, whether that be a Stater Brothers or whether that be a Vons or an Albertsons or a Food for Less. It should be a grocery store where the workers are going to have those protections. I also would like for city staff to bring back an equitable plan on the community benefits as to how we will be addressing the $22 million in community benefits.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

I would like to see some of those monies be focused on housing, affordable housing, as well as our library and park services. I think it's important that we expand, especially with the community benefits that we're going to receive from the Bristol-related project. I think it's important that we invest in children and families. Since I heard one of the commenters, Chantelle Andrews, bring up the component of young people, I think that this would be a perfect opportunity for us to strengthen library and park services in that area. Thank you. That concludes my comments, and I'm looking forward to our vote.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Madam City Attorney, the one thing I would add is with the Oversight Committee, if on October 1st you can bring that to us as well so that should the matter pass on that day that we can move forward and not have to wait until you know second meeting in October all the way in November so we can take care of

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 8

that now okay when you're ready I'll review all the questions or issues just

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

to make sure I've caught everything let me see if there's any other comments if

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 8

there are none okay go ahead thank you so the ones I have are the question is why only one hotel? How many units will be for sale, if any? How are the construction truck routes established and what will they be like? How will residents be notified? And what restrictions will there be? The next issue is will the grocery store be a Vons or one of similar quality with the emphasis on potential union workers? The fifth question is do we have an equitable plan for how the community benefit money, the $22 million will

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 8

be spent? And then how can we set up an oversight committee? How can we come prepared to give you that option? Something I can work with staff on. And then just the seventh one that I would add, because I heard the question raised, and I think there's a need for clarity, is exactly how does our CWA, how does that work with this project and how would it apply to the city infrastructure or not? So I will answer that question.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

And I'm sorry, the last thing I'll add is somebody mentioned the traffic lights. So we want to make sure that we get that information as well as the truck routes and that kind of thing. I think one of your residents talked about traffic lights. So during the construction time. Because the project we wanted, definitely. I mean, I know that I do. I can speak for myself. But I do also want to make sure that the residents in the area are not, they're going to be inconvenienced a little bit, but that we can give them as much information as we can. Thank you.

David PenalozaItem 8

Mayor? Yes. Can I just, to the question for the for sale units, can I also add at the end why, if there aren't any? I'm sorry, what was your question? Why?

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 8

like if at the end of the question would be how many units will be for sale if any and whatever that answer is the why yeah why is that okay i've noted that okay so there is a motion on the floor

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

there was a second let's prepare to vote so we can move on please at this time this is a motion by

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

council member hernandez seconded by council member penalosa to continue public hearing item number 22 to the next city council meeting to be held on october 1st 2024 i'm sorry madam clerk i

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

I have one more comment or question to add, Council Member Lopez.

Jessie LopezItem 8

So sorry. I think it would be helpful for the rest of the council and maybe even the public to, if allowable under the Brown Act, to get a summary of the conversations with the ad hoc because I think some of these questions are good, but I also would have imagined that they would have been answered by now. Like, do we know if there's going to be a wants on site or not, right, a grocery store on site or not? So anything that can be shared with the council, again, because not everybody for the public's information was part of the ad hoc and for the public benefit, I think would be great.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

I think that's a great question. The ad hoc spent many, many months meeting and discussing lots of things and many hours. So whether we discuss the grocery store, parking, affordable, arts, a youth center, a library, a fire station, on and on and on. So whatever we can share legally, I totally support that. I don't think there should be anything if it's allowable.

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 8

Absolutely allowable. Now we could give you a summary of the items that were discussed and why the subcommittee reached conclusions on some of those issues.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

And I also want to make sure we included there that we did meet with Related as well. So they came in, they shared with us, and so I want to make sure that's also in there. OK. Can we vote now? I think we're done. All right. Let's prepare to vote.

David PenalozaItem 8

Are you going to state the motion for the record, Madam Clerk?

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

I did before the last comment, but I will again. The motion by Council Member Hernandez, seconded by Council Member Penaloza, to continue public hearing item number 22 to the next City Council meeting to be held on October 1st, 2024.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

VOTE is six ayes, no nays, with a reported recusal by Mayor Pro Tem Fan. Motion carries. Item is continued to October 1st.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

I'm going to go back to the business calendar. We're going to address the business calendar. Madam Clerk, before we proceed, please make an announcement.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

For members of the public on Zoom or teleconference to request to speak on agenda item number 21 regarding proposition 36 only, you must dial star 9 from your phone or click the button labeled raise hand from Zoom now to be in the speaker queue.

Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Madam City Clerk, do we have any speakers for this item?

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Yes, thank you, Mayor and Council.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

We need to get on to the next item, please. Pursuant to the Brown Act, the City Council may not enter into discussion at this time. Speakers will have two minutes for their comments. Before calling the speakers, I'll report on the email summary. We did receive 49 comments related to item number 21. Those were distributed to the council and posted online.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Starting with the speakers that are here in the chamber.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Irma Haragi, Tanya Navarro, and Sandra. If you could please line up and come make your comments. You'll have two minutes. Please state your name and the warder neighborhood for the record.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Irma?

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Tanya?

Alright, hello, good afternoon City Council members. My name is Tonya and I'm here to oppose item number 21, the ordinance in support of the Proposition 36. I wanted to quickly uplift that there was an entire section of local youth that were here to make a public comment on this item and they were not able to do so because they had to go home due to a curfew. It was about three rows of them with underground grit.

So our community is facing real challenges with substance dependency and economic hardships and housing insecurity. But these are complex issues that demand thoughtful, nuanced, community-based solutions, not simplistic reactionary measures like Prop 36. Prop 36 is primarily funded by the retail industry to capitalize on a crime wave narrative that industry representatives themselves said was overblown and overhyped. Governor Gavin Newsom and the state legislative leaders are opposed to Prop 36 and if we're being honest Prop 36 is nothing more than a Republican voter

turnout strategy to undermine our ability to win a Democratic House majority in the Congress under the same fear tactics of Donald Trump. It's clear that this measure is not a solution but rather a lazy return to outdated policies of mass incarceration that disproportionately harms communities of color decades of failed policies from 1980s and 1990s already showed us that the harsher penalties and over policing only deepen racial disparities and do nothing to address the root causes of crime such as poverty lack of resources and lack of mental health resources California residents and Santa Ana

residents deserve better they deserve investment in real solutions that uplift heal and disrupt toxic cycles not a lazy one-size-fits-all policy that punishes people and perpetuates harm. Thank you. Sandra, followed by Bumaro Vicente and John Ramirez. Hi, good evening Mayor and Council. My name is Sandra and I'm a resident of Ward 4. I'm here to oppose item 21. As the coordinator of the OC Rapid Response Network, I work organized alongside some systems impacted

affected families in Orange County, particularly those in Santa Ana who document ICE activity and who fight their own deportations every day. An analysis done by Resilience OC, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and the UCI Immigrant Law Clinic found that 75% of ICE arrests in Orange County involve individuals who have interacted with the criminal justice system. Proposition 36 seeks to roll back the reforms established by Proposition 47,

which reclassified six felony offenses, including shoplifting and simple drug position as misdemeanors. These reforms redirected cost savings and some critical services like drug and mental health treatment and victim support. I I organize with families every day to attempt to mitigate these charges to avoid those families from jeopardizing their DACA status and entering removal proceedings. As you all know, the emotional toll on immigrant and refugee families is immense, especially when the consequences of criminalization threaten to separate them from their loved ones.

Oftentimes I see it with the primary breadwinners. I guess my question is how can a city that invests in the legal defense of its immigrant and refugee residents facing deportations support a proposition that exacerbates the mechanism of deportation? I urge you to oppose this fear-mongering resolution in support of Prop 36. Vote no on Prop 36. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Bomaro Vicente, John Ramirez, Victor Mendez. Hello, Mayor and Council. My name is Bomaro

and Bomaro Vicente. I'm here on behalf of Chispa to urge you to vote no on item 21, the resolution supporting Prop 36. Chispa submitted a letter to the City Council and helped send over 50 letters from organization and residents across the state, all standing firmly in opposition to this measure. This proposition will roll back years of progress on criminal justice reform and have devastating impacts on our most vulnerable communities, particularly communities of color. Prop 36 seeks to undo the benefits of Prop 47, which have saved California over $1 billion

and funded vital services like drug treatment, mental health care, and homeless prevention. Here in Santana, organizations like Project Kinship and Neutral Ground have used these funds to help formerly incarcerated individuals successfully re-enter society and reduce recidivism. This council has even recognized and awarded these organizations for their critical work, so voting for this resolution will be a complete betrayal of those very efforts. Prop 36 will take us backwards by reinstating harsh penalties and fueling mass incarceration without addressing the root causes of crime like poverty, mental health, and substance abuse.

Furthermore, as a sanctuary city, Santa Ana has a duty to protect its immigrant residents. Prop 36 would increase deportations, separating families, and feeding more of our community members into the detention system. We should be investing in education, housing, and job training, not funding more resources into failed punitive measures. I urge you to vote no on item 21 and reject Proposition 36. Let's continue to support policies that create safer, healthier communities for all. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

John Ramirez, Victor Mendez, Ana Laura Padilla.

Hello. I'm going to talk on item 21, but I'm going to recognize a couple things first. Good evening, Mayor, City Council. My name is John Ramirez. I've lived here my entire life, currently residing in the Pico Lowell neighborhood. First off, I want to congratulate my friend Alejandro on her appointment to the Historic Resources Commission. Alejandra is one of the amazing leaders of Memorial Park neighborhood and is a dedicated resident of our city determined to do her part to make it a better place and I appreciate her. In case you're watching, Alejandra, thank you and congratulations.

I want to also say thank you to city staff and all those who involved in making Fiesta Patria's event a huge success. I was able to attend on Sunday and there was a huge crowd there. everyone families children we're having fun dancing shopping and eating just having a great time as far as I know nothing bad happened and that's due in part to our police department being present thank you to Chief Rodriguez and Deputy Chief as far as you're here so thank you too and thank you to our officers and attendants that night Fiesta Espacios needs to be on 4th Street every

year going forward because that's where it belongs in my opinion. Lastly, I want to encourage all of our council to vote yes on item 21 tonight and support a proposition 36. This is common sense. We've all seen the news stories of these rapid smash and grab jobs, the fentanyl crisis, retail tests with people casually walking off with merchandise. We need to get back to a place where we are tough on crime, big and small. We need to deter criminals from repeating their actions this probably this proposition will help get us back to a safer place please vote yes in

support of item 21. thank you mayor city council city staff and thank you to our fire and police personnel present tonight stay safe and have a good night hello victor mendes 22 22 he's first i got a point of order if i may um i'm a little confused we're talking we're talking 21 but what out the other items can I use my three minutes for those other items or how do you want okay yeah okay and I get two minutes yet please thank you all right item number 21 so I'll be very very brief so I normally don't support these

types of propositions but this time I am I'm a little tired and frankly fed up with all the drugs that are infill infesting my community my apartment and it's just simply time to get these people behind bars and maybe they'll learn something maybe we'll get rehabbed evidently it's just not working the way it is and i know the police have told me that they arrest people and then they just are back on the street within the next couple of days and again i'm not trying to be punitive and all these things about housing and rehabilitation that's fine i

support those but those are going to take a lot of time and we just don't have that type of time We are in a very huge boiling pot on First Street and other parts of the city. To be clear, drugs are the number one problem we have in Santa Ana. Drugs. After that, it isn't violent crime, and I'll speak to that in a minute. It's property crime. So Prop 36 addresses our two biggest problems we have in the city. Violent crime has gone down nationally. It's a huge discussion going on nationally between Harris and Trump, and all evidence points to that violent crime has gone down nationally.

So it would assume that Santa Ana would be the beneficiary of that. And that's good. And we can take off on those trends, and hopefully that continues on. But today, property crime and drugs are the biggest problem. I see it every day. I think people, you had my friend Harold wanted to come in and speak to him, but he got a little tired. Harold's disabled, he doesn't see, so I had to bring him over here. And by the way, Mayor, he wants to do words of inspiration one day, and I'll be in touch with you on that. But he's tired of it. I mean, he needs to feel safe.

I mean, how do you like to be a blind person and be afraid to go outside and just live your life? Think about that. That's what's happening here. So please support this resolution. I'm not much in favor of these type of things, but I think it's the right solution, the right step. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Victor, your time is up.

Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Next speakers, Ana Laura Padilla and Danny Vega.

Good night again. Well, first I'm here to express my strong support for item 21. I don't have to repeat what the two past residents said. I am in strong support of this. This initiative is exactly what Santa Ana needs, and I believe that it will make an impact, like a positive impact in our community right now. Next, I would like to address item 12 on your consent calendar, which proposes an approval to co-present Fiesta del Mariachi Festival with Power of One Foundation. This is a fantastic opportunity to reactivate our stadium, and let me just say it again,

start generating money for the city. We need to be more business friendly, and we need to activate those assets that the city have. It's on the consent calendar.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Your comments are just for the item that we're discussing. On 21? Just 21, please.

And then I'm going to be called again? Yes. Okay, so I'll see you guys in a little bit. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

I was like looking at like, how did that happen?

Hello, City Council and Mayor. My name is Danny Vega, resident of Ward 3. It's been a while since I've been here. I've been really busy raising a family of five, six if you count my dog. They rely on me to provide for them, keep them safe, which is why I'm here, but also to pay bills. And since I'm not going on social media, giving out my Venmo account and asking people to pay my bills, I have to work longer hours sometimes. But I had to come here to show my support for Item 21, Resolution to Support Prop 36, the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act. This should be an easy one.

To vote no on this would mean making a conscious and deliberate decision to ignore the pleas of the public and various polling results such as those conducted during budget discussions as to what the number one issue in Santa Ana is, crime. I almost feel silly at this point having explained the obvious reasons why Santa Ana needs this. I'll say this, my daughters, the oldest being only 10 years old, they love to go shopping with mom. Unfortunately, I've lost count at how many times they have come home from a trip to Target, and my girl's telling me how, again, they saw people walking out with things they didn't pay for

and the security guard having to yell at them. And don't get me started with the blatant open drug scene and the numerous handoffs that I see when I drive down Bristol, especially between First and McFadden. Hey, that's your district, Councilmember Vasquez. and I see hardly any change going on there but I'm sure you're doing stuff in the background secretly please I urge you to vote yes on this resolution so that we can begin to address the recurring crimes in our city but also to send a loud message not only to Sacramento but to the criminals here in

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Santa Ana that we have had enough thank you mayor and city council will move to the Zoom commenters at this time. Gavin, please unmute and make your comments.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Gavin, it's your time to speak on item 21. Ed Little, CSJ.

Good evening, Madam Mayor and Council Members. My name is Ed Little. Prop 36 is a wasteful, one-size-fits-all approach that will leave California less safe. Prop 36 is masquerading as reform, but in reality, Prop 36 is an extreme measure that will waste billions of taxpayer dollars diverting funding for mental health and rehabilitation programs and do nothing to make us safer. Proposition 36 will only reignite failed drug war of the 80s and the 90s. While we must continue to make changes to our criminal justice system

and address fentanyl and retail crime, Prop 36 is the wrong answer. It will slash desperately needed mental health services and spend billions more on prisons. Prop 36 is too extreme. Prop Prop 36 means that stealing a candy bar could be counted as a prior offense that could lead to felony charges. It is a gross overreaction that will create and damage families and community. Prop 36 strips money from education and crime victims and mental health. Prop 36 would change how taxpayer dollars are spent, stripping millions of dollars away from victims of violent crime and from mental health programs,

and use that money to build and expand our state prisons. Prop 36 has unintended consequences. The measure is also poorly drafted, and that will simply create confusion in the courts and lead to higher penalties and, in many respects, retail theft cases. California has new crime laws on the books that are starting to work,

In the last two years, state legislators created funding for retail theft prosecutions and fentanyl trafficking, leading to more convictions, and lawmakers continue to pass on new laws.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Sue Kay, please unmute and make your comment.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Sue, could you adjust your microphone, please?

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Mayor and City Council, that concludes the speakers for item 21.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Thank you. This time, Mr. City Manager, do you have any presentation? Any presentation at this time?

Alvaro NuñezItem 8

No staff presentation.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Great. Thank you. All right, let's start with comments, and since your systems are not working, please raise your mic if you'd like to speak.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Okay, let me start here. I'll start because I know somebody will jump in afterwards. Let me read one of the emails. They're all the same because they're cut and pasted and they're shared. Prop 47, they talked about being passed in 2014, saved over $800 million, racial disparity. Then we said here, programs such as Project Kinship and Neutral Ground have helped residents reintegrate post-incarceration, reducing recidivism, and promoting public safety. Project Kinship and Neutral Ground. So since I know both of them very well, I spoke to both of them today at Great Length,

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

let me share with you what Project Kinship, Steve Kim, shared with me. He said, Mayor, please share with them that when I was in jail, I was given two choices, either prison or a program. I chose Salvation Army and look at where I am now.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Neutral ground, not the Alvarado. Mayor, I was in jail several times and it saved my life. And then I went into a program and look at me now. Jail is not the answer, and that's not what this was about when we put this on the agenda. As the mayor of this city, I cannot close my eyes to the homeless and the criminal element in our city, to the crime, to the gang activity, to the drug use, the naked people, the fentanyl use, the open drug use in our city. I cannot close my eyes to that. That is why I support Prop 36.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

And I cannot close my eyes to the fact that we don't acknowledge victims or our children. Because those of you who have family or been around or been working the streets, boots on the ground, you know that when you have people in your family with addiction, especially with fentanyl and methamphetamine, it affects our children. So we become second-generation drug users, second-generation gang members, third-generation, fourth-generation. I worked in Prop 47, Prop 57, and AB 109. I'm the only person sitting up here that can say I actually was boots on the ground.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

And let me give you an example why I do believe it did not work and it does not work. Well, one of my officers many times would say, I'd like to get my guy into a program. He needs to go to a detox program. And we'd call the program and they'd say, he has to be cleaned for two weeks before we let him in a program. This is a county program. How do you tell a guy who's been shooting up heroin or using fentanyl that you've got to be clean for two weeks before I let you into my program? That's completely ridiculous. We no longer have detox programs here. And if we do, I'd love to know about them.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

City Manager, if we have them, please let us know. When I was a young officer, or Chief Esparza, when you were a young officer, we had organizations that we can take them to to dry out, correct? We had places they could go to detox. We don't have those anymore. What we have is people on our streets, naked, under the influence, breaking the law, robbing people. In Sandpoint, the real example, a guy was stealing from multiple residents in Sandpoint, multiple. He stole tools from a home that was being renovated. The guy was caught and arrested, and the DA now is prosecuting him.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

So these repeated thefts that I'm talking about have impact in Santa Ana. Let's talk about small businesses, another example. If you go into a pizza parlor and you steal a pizza a day, and you hit 30 businesses, at the end of the day, what is their margin? How much profit have they lost? Think about where you live today in our city, and I'm not going to call out one word or the other, because I drive this entire city. You have naked woman here, guy slamming heroin or fentanyl here, dead people on the sidewalk. You have our children seeing all these things. When Councilman Becerra and I went to the channel,

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

we didn't go looking for a homeless person. He was there. And when he was there in the car, we shared with him, we have a shelter, we can help you. And he said, I've been there. I personally asked him, do you use drugs? We can help you. Yes, I use methamphetamine. We can help you. And thank you to our commissioner, Andrew Linares, who was with us, gave him a business card, said, please reach out when you get out of jail if you want help. If he wants help, he's gonna call, and he's gonna clean up. But what the police are dealing with is the resistant population. And Prop 36 is not the answer for everything.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

But as the mayor of this city, and everybody that sits up here that represents each of your wards, I want you to think about something again. Can you continue to close your eyes to what your residents see every day? If you know me, because many people in the community and in here know me, know me well, I'll help you get into a program or I'll call an officer and help you go to jail.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

And I'm sure it's going to be blogged and it's going to be blogged that I said I'm going to put you in jail. Because I'm always blogged. They just take those few words to make me out to be the monster that they want to portray. and it's election season. I don't know what it means when you say a holistic approach to homeless people because the city of Santa Ana has spent over 30 million dollars. Yesterday I was in a meeting yesterday, yesterday with 39 other cities and I was a moderator regarding the needle exchange and we were talking to many cities who have needles distribution, I'll call it that, in their

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

city. And it was scary to hear from them. It was scary for me as the mayor to hear what they're experiencing. And they cannot get them removed from their city. So Prop 36 is not the answer to everything. Neither is Prop 47, neither is Prop 57, and neither is AB 109. Because 10 years ago when all this started, you can't arrest people anymore. Those that really need it, really, really need it, And somebody talked about getting arrested for cookies. But let's say your rap sheet, and because I know, because I worked in this field,

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

yes, you may have stolen a pizza today, but your rap sheet is taller than me. And in your rap sheet, you have a gun possession, attempted murder possession, a rape charge. You have all these violent crimes. They don't look at all of that. They just look at your last crime. So yes, shame on you that, yes, you stole those cookies. But look at what your history has shown. So we're not dealing with people that are on our streets right now that say, well, I want help, because if they want it, we have it for them. 3.5 million on CityNet, non-law enforcement.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

I want to thank the city manager and the police, acting police chief Robert Rodriguez and our deputy city manager. They went to Project Kinship. They took a tour. They took a tour. And they are going to be working with them from what I hear, I hope. So you'll be presenting to the council. So please don't use Project Kinship and Neutral Ground as an example. Because if you know them the way I know them, and I've been on the streets with them working, they will tell you, some people do need to go to jail. Pastor Nati Alvarado said that to me today. Some people do need to go to jail, Mayor, and some people do not.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

And we know you believe in both. Project Kinship. Some people do. When people are ready to change, Mayor, we are here for them. So I appreciate the 300 emails we received and it was cut and paste and everybody said they're a Santa Ana resident. No, they're not. There are addresses from Anaheim and Irvine and all over the place. You don't live here. When Commissioner Vega talks about his children, I hear the same thing from residents every day. I can't go to the store, Mayor. If I try to buy deodorant, it's locked. I'm standing in the store, they're running out, or walking out, actually, of Home Depot.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

With all this stuff, my husband and I are just standing there.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

You want somebody to break in your house and rob you, and he doesn't or she doesn't get to go to jail. Because we're not holding them accountable anymore. Jail is not the answer. However, with Prop 36, they'll be given an opportunity to go to a program or jail. And if you offered me a program in lieu of jail, I would take it. Because I will tell you that the guy that we spoke to the other day, Councilman Becerra, once the handcuffs went on him, he said, can you take me to the shelter?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Can you take me to the shelter?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

But it wasn't until he was placed in handcuffs. So this is not about incarcerating everybody. This is not about true homelessness. This is about, as the mayor of this city, and I don't know about all of you that live here, can you continue to close your eyes and live this way? Can you continue to tell your children, don't look at that naked person? Can you continue to tell your children, don't look over there, they're slamming some drugs, they're using a needle, putting it in their arm. Can you continue to tell your 80, 90-year-old mom, step over that person and walk around them. They're passed out on the sidewalk.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Can you continue to do that? Our decision here is not going to change the world. It's just going to show that the Santa Ana City Council, we want to make our city better. And that's really what it's about. And if you have a solution, because everybody talks about, it's not just jail, it's not just jail. If you have a solution, please share it. Because we have tried everything. We have tried everything. We are offering you everything. Shelter, programs, 300 nonprofits in our city, $30 million, 600 beds. We're offering you everything. So if you have a solution, please come to the table.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Share it with our city manager and staff. I would love to hear it. But this is not about putting people just in jail. This is about making our city a better place to live for the quality of life. for our children our families that's what it's about for me and as the mayor i don't represent just one ward and i've been in every word and i'll tell you everybody that i've spoken to i said mayor a woman this week when she talked to councilman but sarah and i she said mayor we don't come to the meeting and scream and shout at you but we vote and we're tired and we don't

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

want them here. So I was like, thank you, and please vote. Because nobody up here should say, well, we're going to leave the homeless on the street because we have a holistic approach, and maybe they didn't get enough love as a child. Nope. It's a choice. I have family that have addiction issues. I have family that have been in prison. I have family that have died from this. So nobody can sit out there and say, she has no feeling. She doesn't understand. Oh, I understand addiction very well. And again, walk on the streets late at night. Go out at 2 o'clock in

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

the morning and walk the streets. You tell me what you find. Go to Target on a Friday evening. Tell me what you find. Because it doesn't matter anymore what time of the day you go out. We cannot keep turning a blind eye. That is the reason why I wholeheartedly 100% support Prop 36. And remember with Prop 47, 25% of that money was supposed to go to K-12. So I wonder how much Santa Ana Unified received for it because I'll tell you right now their 25% did not their percentage did not go to any issue to address this because Project Kinship and Neutral Ground they're no

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

longer in all the schools they used to be in at Santa Ana Unified they're in a few but not all of them like they were so it's not about pointing fingers at anybody but I want to be very clear as the mayor of this city that I cannot turn a blind eye. Enough is enough. When do we say enough is enough? And so this is just to say we support Proposition 36. And with that, I'm going to end with this. In Santa Ana, total death by overdose in the city of Santa Ana, 123 in the year 2022.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

death by opioids fentanyl in orange county in 2022 675 death by opioid or fentanyl overdose in the city of santa ana 2022 102 i'd love city manager to get to get the latest numbers because i'll tell you they're a lot more than what they are now than what i just read off so i'm going to support this and madam city clerk when whoever's done speaking up for the council member I want to do a roll call because I want the community to see who's voting yes and who's voting no because who is placing their constituents as a priority and it's time to stop saying it's

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

okay it's okay they don't belong in jail I'm not saying jail there are programs take a program go to our shelter we offer wraparound services but enough is enough so thank you does anybody

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

else need to speak or want to councilman hernandez thank you madam mayor i appreciate the differences in opinion that we all share here at the santa ana city council and in the beautiful city that we all call home but as a council member representing ward five which is comprised of the santa nita community articia pilar downtown santa ana and washington square flower park neighborhood. There's a lot of neighborhoods with very unique challenges, but there is no part of Santa Ana where you aren't going to see struggle, where you aren't going to see families going

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

through hardship, and there's no part of Santa Ana where you aren't going to see people suffering from substance abuse or homelessness. It's a reality, unfortunately, that is impacting all of us. As somebody who proudly lives in the hood, Artisa Pilar, and was born and raised there, My family's been in the neighborhood since the 1950s. When I was a young kid, I used to see people overdosing on the corner of Civic Center and Rape. My family, too, struggled with addiction, and my family, too, were, unfortunately, gang members. They made a lot of bad decisions.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

I sit here today as a council member that went the opposite direction in my life. And much like Mayor Mesquad worked in law enforcement as a probation officer, she has professional experience working hand in hand with people coming out of our prisons. I have a very different professional background. I worked in intervention and prevention as a community health worker. I worked with people leaving prison as their re-entry case manager. I worked with them for upwards of two years, not only in Santa Ana, but all of Orange County. Furthermore, I also worked in the Nickerson Garden community in Watts.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

I was one of the only Chicano case managers there. working in communities where people were experiencing hardship. Unfortunately, what Prop 36 is going to do is it is a misguided measure that is going to emphasize punishment over prevention. That will speed up the process where people will fall into the cracks of gang violence. They will fall into the cracks of addiction. The reason being is because Prop 36 is going to increase state criminal justice costs. Prop 36 would increase state criminal justice costs in two main ways. Number one, the goal of Prop 36 is to increase state prison population.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

That means black, brown, and Native American people will be funneled into our prisons at a larger number. Number two is it's going to increase state court workload. In total, Proposition 36 is going to increase the amount of taxpayer money that we're paying to prisons while reducing the The amount of services that we are afforded for mental health, for drug treatment, school truancy which affects our students, and number four, dropout prevention and victim services. The estimated savings totaled $95 million last year because of Prop 47.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

Proposition 36 will reduce those savings from Prop 47, meaning your community's issues will be exasperated by removing the services that are preventing crime. This is unfortunately going to take Santa Ana back to the days of the 1990s where we had the highest gang shootings and overdoses that we saw in the 1990s. It's important that we move forward with data and good sound policy. And unfortunately, I do not believe that Prop 36 is going to make our city safer.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Thank you, Councilman Hernandez. Councilman Vasquez.

Benjamin VazquezItem 8

Thank you very much. Prop 36 is just not about fentanyl use. It's about other crimes. It's about going back to the 90s and the 80s where we saw mass incarceration happen, where the United States has 20% of the world's prisoners. We have 20%. We're 5% of the population of the world. But yet we have a high amount of population of prisoners. We took fathers and brothers and uncles and put them in jail, where we could have been working with them instead. it's just not fentanyl use. There is a lot more to go with it and it's just

Benjamin VazquezItem 8

reaching way too much. There's some work to be done but Prop 36 is not right. Well we did not hear from the mayor. She did not say that Nati from neutral ground or Steven from kinship agree with Prop 36. She did not say that. She had other comments. She had other comments that they said. I would be happy for them to to say that they agree with it to make sure we follow up. We really want to see, Mayor, if they agree with it, with the work that they do and where they're in. Thank you very much.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Well, thank you. I think, Councilman Bessera, let me address that first. What they did say is, please invite all the council members to go visit Project Kinship, and they will see. Some people come through our doors, and they do very well. Some people go back to jail. And Steve Kim was at my prayer breakfast, which you did not attend, you and a couple other council members, because you didn't believe in going. and he shared how going to jail saved his life and he will say that here. He has no problem with that. The problem is we scare people. We're going back to the 80s and the 90s or Councilman Hernandez said,

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

what I didn't share is that I only helped people who get out of jail or get out of prison. That's how much they do not know me. And you can be from the hood. You can grow up in Artisa Pilar. I have a good friend in this audience today and she can stand up if she'd like and she will tell you herself how her family, and she can't speak, I wish you could, but you cannot, Susanna, you cannot speak. But she will tell you herself how just because you grew up in the hood, just because you're a third, fourth generation gang family,

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

just because your brother who was killed in the neighborhood, who she experienced the peace treaties with the Mexican mafia, all the things that these council members up here think they know, that doesn't mean it makes it right. because if you have a conversation with her, she will tell you how she saved her 10 children and lost many family members, gangs, and drugs. So I'm not saying that jail is the only answer. What I'm saying is we cannot close our eyes. And she has said it to me. I'm tired. I want people arrested. And guess what? She grew up in the hood and her family still lives there. And she tells me

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

every day. I'm tired of people not getting arrested. Mayor, do something. Call the police. I'm tired. And she actually supports the police. Isn't that interesting? So one shoe does not fit all. And no, I don't just help people who get out of jail. That's not what I just did. If you knew me, you would know that that's not what I do. Because it's more than that. Again, as the mayor, thank you, Susanna. As the mayor of this city, I will no longer, and I've been here for almost two years close my eyes and make excuses that we can't hold people accountable because they're

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

using drugs they're selling drugs and it's not just about fentanyl it's about retail theft how much how many businesses do we have to lose before we say oh we should do something how many restaurants do we have to close oh we got to do something how much revenue do we have to lose before you say, oh, we've got to do something.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

No, we don't need to go that way. Let's start now. And jail is not the only answer. It may be one answer for one person, but it's not for everybody. So when you're as old as I am and you've been through what I've been through, I don't have a problem sitting up here, and I don't have a conversation with anybody about this program and any other program. I don't teach ethnic studies, and I'm not under investigation, and I'm not going to court on the 19th to talk about how I talk about white people, how they're privileged, because white people go to prison too.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Asian people go to prison, brown people go to prison, black people go to prison. But when I teach children, if that's what I did for a living, how, oh my God, how do you think the cops see you? Police see you as you're terrible because you're brown. That is not true. Look around Santa Ana PD. We're full of Latino officers, African-American officers, API officers. I'm not going to sit up here and insult our police officers. There are grievances. There's been complaints filed against Councilman Hernandez who assaulted verbally a police officer while he was having lunch, who's an African American police officer.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

We do not behave that way. So with Prop 36, to me, it is about enough Santa Ana. Enough. People go to jail or they go to a program. Point of order, Madam Mayor. You're one minute over your comment. Point of order. I'll let you finish.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

I'll make a motion for point of order.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Go ahead, Councilman Hernandez.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

I just want to be respectful. Everybody's talking within the three-minute times. It is something that is part of our city's charter. Just want to remind this council of point of order.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

It's actually not the charter. It's something I put into place, but everybody always goes over. So go ahead, Councilman Becerra.

Phil BacerraItem 8

Thank you, Madam Mayor, and thank you for that point of order. Yes, that is not in the charter. Doing nothing can no longer be an option. Prop 36 would make surgical changes to Prop 47. It's not a complete rollback. It's very surgical. Prop 36 would add fentanyl to the list of hard drugs, a list that already includes heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines that are illegal to possess with a firearm and authorizes greater consequences for selling deadly quantities of those drugs. Prop 36 would enable stricter penalties for drug dealers whose trafficking causes death or serious injury

Phil BacerraItem 8

and warrants traffickers of potential murder charges if continued drug trafficking results in fatalities. This is similar to what our state senator, Tom Mumberg, proposed in his Alexander's Law. Prop 36 would provide critical mental health and drug treatment services, excuse me, for people who are suffering from mental illness or struggling with substance abuse. Prop 36 would enact a new treatment mandated felonies where offenders with multiple hard drug possession convictions would be given the option of participating in drug and mental health treatment in lieu of incarceration. Prop 36 would allow

Phil BacerraItem 8

offenders who successfully complete drug and mental health treatment to avoid jail time and have the charge fully expunged. So when I hear this nonsense that we're going back to the war on drugs, we're returning back to the war on drugs, how is that? For anybody that was actually alive when there was truly a war on drugs, what was happening? It was incarcerate, stop. That was it. What I just described to you talks about trying to compel folks to get the help that they need. So it is important that our city's elected leadership show our residents and businesses,

Phil BacerraItem 8

especially those who have been victims of crime, whether they're white, Latino, or Asian, because in Santa Ana, unfortunately, crime doesn't see color lines. Victims are victims, regardless of their race, regardless of their neighborhood. Just go on next door, go on social media. You see that it's not only, crime's not only happening in one area. So to say that it's only gonna impact certain folks or we're only incarcerating certain folks, nonsense. Come down to South Bristol and see the folks that are standing there in that like jackknife position. It's amazing. They're in that fentanyl stupor. They're not all one group.

Phil BacerraItem 8

They're not all people of color. We've got the whole rainbow down there, unfortunately. So I think we need to look at this measure as the mayor said, this is not one size fits all. It's going to solve everything, but we do need to do something. Everybody sits up here and talks about how all these measures, oh, they're bad, they're bad, they're rollbacks. Well, first of all, read the measure. If you read the measure, you would see it's not a rollback. There's actually parts of this that want to get people into treatment. And it's so funny how a lot of times when we talk about treatment, you hear folks say, no, no, no.

Phil BacerraItem 8

In fact, we get folks that like to use the phrase harm reduction. Harm reduction, more like harm enabling. So here we are talking about trying to get people into treatment, and you have folks that say, oh, no, no, no, no. This is a rollback to the war on drugs. If it's a war on drugs, as in to get people off of drugs, I would support that. and Prop 36 is a way to compel folks to get treatment. This is not just simply sending people to jail. Here in Santa Ana, we asked our PD to arrest those that are publicly intoxicated and, keyword, and when they are released

Phil BacerraItem 8

to offer them services in hopes that after being arrested, they would actually look at what's happening and say, dear God, Maybe it's time to turn my life around, to try to compel them to get the help that they need. But in my entire time on this council, the folks that actually oppose these sorts of public safety measures, they're the same folks that do not propose anything else to meaningfully change what's going on. They want to celebrate murals, they want to throw parties, but nobody actually wants to get down to the business of actually helping our community,

Phil BacerraItem 8

helping the victims in our community, the true victims, the victims of crime. So I am very happy. I have already endorsed Prop 36, and I'm very thankful that this resolution is before us tonight, and I'll be supporting it. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Thank you. Councilman Penalosa.

David PenalozaItem 8

Thank you, Mayor. I like that, what Councilman Bacero said. It's a surgical improvement to Prop 47. Prop 36 would also, Prop 36 under this law, I'm sorry, let me get my notes. Prop 36 is also an opportunity to make our justice system fairer, more efficient, and ultimately safer. It moves us away from a one-size-fits-all approach, which was mentioned by the mayor, to sentencing and towards a more thoughtful, balanced system, one that recognizes the difference between violent and nonviolent crimes and prioritizes our community's safety and well-being.

David PenalozaItem 8

Thank you, Council Member Becerra, for endorsing the proposition. I also want to thank our Senate delegation, local Senate delegation, Senator Humberg, Senator Min, and Senator Newman for also endorsing this proposition. When I was reading the emails coming in today, from, they call themselves youth, but it's all the chispa, 20-some-year-olds that have nothing better to do. They, you know, they talk about this measure affecting the most vulnerable of Santa Ana's residents. And it's frustrating to me because to me, the most vulnerable Santa Ana residents

David PenalozaItem 8

that I care about, that I'm putting first, are the kids that live in the Madison Park neighborhood that can't use Madison Park. Why? Because in the parking lot, in the middle of the day, there's a car with four people OD'd, one woman dead, half her body hanging out of the car. That happened last month. I asked the police department for that information if you guys like. Those are the vulnerable people, residents that I care about. The kids walking home from Century High School that got to walk down McFadden and Ettinger past the railroad tracks

David PenalozaItem 8

and get assaulted and robbed by the criminals that live on the railroad tracks. The residents that live at the Cornerstone Village along Standard in my ward that have to wake up to smoke, meth smoke, meth clouds every morning. The people at that Cornerstone Village are the residents that I'm putting first. The Lacey neighborhood, the residents that live next to Bruce's metals that also get assaulted and robbed and have to deal with all the vagrancy that's going on at the train station.

David PenalozaItem 8

Those are the vulnerable residents that I care about, those residents from the Lacey neighborhood being assaulted every day. The security guard, they got shanked in the face in our own train station by a drugged out individual. The people that Mr. Victor Mendez, I see in the audience, have been terrorizing his complex, all our senior citizens that live there. Those senior citizens are the ones, the vulnerable residents that I am putting first. Prop 36 is going to help fix that for our residents. I'm tired of it. Our residents are tired of it. They call me daily. Why can't the city do anything?

David PenalozaItem 8

Why are you guys ignoring this issue? We're not ignoring it. our hands are tied there's nothing that we could do currently to address this issue and i'm going to put my residents first i'm going to put the the the residents of ward 6 first this entire city first because they've had enough our residents they're the vulnerable ones that are being harmed by what's going on so i'm uh happily support uh proposition 36 and happily support the item

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

tonight 21. thank you mayor thank you there any other comments seeing none I let's prepare to vote madam clerk I'd like you to do a roll call because I want to hear I apologize did you want to go first okay thank you let

Jessie LopezItem 8

me get my notes give me one sec okay so I mean I think we've we've heard from people that have spoken that policy is not black and white and I am on my end I've learned as much as I can about the prop and in a limited time frame so I do welcome any professional any DA any public defender to reach out if at any point you hear something that I am saying that is not factual or anyone on the dais for for that matter or or the author of the resolution because I think

Jessie LopezItem 8

it's important for me to understand the processes in place and so for my comments I just want to focus on the facts that I've read because I'm being asked to make a decision yes or no very black and white about supporting this proposition and essentially the city taking a stance on this proposition that all of the registered voters will be able to have a vote on this November and And so I think Councilmember Becerra mentioned the first question that we normally get is does Prop 36 repeal Prop 47? And no it does not.

Jessie LopezItem 8

And so when I was looking at the information for both propositions, there's just so much out there that's inaccurate and there's a lot of good information that I think people should read for themselves. But again, data collected from the state, data used by the FBI and state agencies show us that there has been a steady decline in crime and property crime. I think we can all agree that after 2020 we saw upticks of that. But my understanding is that there's a steady downturn, which I think is really, really good, something that we should really embrace.

Jessie LopezItem 8

because it means that we're not seeing the level of crime that we perhaps our parents grew up with in the 80s or the or even some of us that grew up here in the city in the 90s and sometimes when they speak with constituents older folks they also say that right if the city has changed it's not the same of what it used to be in the 90s and so my understanding is that currently petty theft is a misdemeanor and gets you up to six months and Chief Esparza please feel free to let me know if I'm not understanding that correctly because I want to make sure that my comments are factual my understanding also is that if

Jessie LopezItem 8

you commit another petty theft you can get up to six months if somebody robs you using force or fears that or fear that can only be a felony if you and And it's important to keep in mind, experiencing auto burglary, that can be a misdemeanor or a felony. My understanding is that ground theft is a misdemeanor or a felony. If someone burglarizes your home day or night, that can only be a felony charge. So I think it's important for folks to understand as we are going to debate this issue that But there is no law currently that eliminates felony charges for serious offenses.

Jessie LopezItem 8

There was a district attorney forum, a public forum earlier this year in March that I tuned into because I really wanted to know the perspective of the DAs, you know, from Riverside, from different counties in the state. And some of the DAs said that different propositions now do not prohibit their agencies from combining multiple offenses to prosecute essentially saying essentially stating letting the public know that if somebody is arrested multiple times they can combine those arrests to prosecute for serious charges using the power of the

Jessie LopezItem 8

misdemeanor which I I was under the impression previously that you couldn't do that but they did clarify that you can which I think is great and again the DA spoke about accumulating these offenses to prosecute as a felony. The DA's also said that in their view law enforcement agencies are doing a good job of making sure that they're stopping retail theft operations with cell phone data, GPS information, and have made arrests, which again is really good information. And I think we, I would hope that we are collecting

Jessie LopezItem 8

local information so that we can share that with the council to better understand maybe if there's something that that PD or local jurisdictions need how that that data can inform local policy or even state policy they also mentioned a point that I did not think about it and all of this rhetoric was that you know they spoke about the fact that stores in the previous years have directed have changed their internal policies to remove to remove on security to prohibit from making arrests basically due to the fear of civil litigation and I'm under the impression that coalitions are now working to ensure

Jessie LopezItem 8

that stores are implementing better policies this is not the fault of law enforcement they don't get to dictate how a corporation operates internally but I think now because of everything that we've seen these past three years, stores are now trying to figure out how they can have a better relationship. And so again my understanding is that DAs at the local level can and should be maximizing the punishment when they are accumulating these offenses which again I didn't know. And so what else did I have in my notes? I think the most

Jessie LopezItem 8

important takeaway from that forum from listening to them was that there is no statute right now that does not allow for the punishment for repeat offenders which I think is critical critical to keep in mind as we continue to have this conversation and you know they did say that they that they know some DAs don't prosecute that could be because of their prosecutorial discretion it could be because of lack of resources it could be because a lack of staffing issues different variables I really don't know what it is I don't work in that space so

Jessie LopezItem 8

I cannot speak further to that issue but again for me the main takeaway was that the current law is not impeding district attorneys to prosecute people or our local agencies from arresting people and I think some of the new laws at the state level that were that were briefly mentioned specifically the retail theft

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

bill pack point of order councilmember my sincerest apologies but I want to be respectful of the public's time since we do have a lot of other items and we are

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

four minutes over I just want to let her finish really quick she was right at the

Jessie LopezItem 8

end of her yes go ahead councilmember Lopez sorry bad news I'll wrap up my first and so that my understanding is that there's been a package of retail test of bills that have been signed into law and I think too and I think that is important balance because again many people have said as we've heard here it doesn't repeal a different proposition it's really trying to solve these loopholes that people have been discussing at the state level for many months and so I'll end my first round of comments there but I do have another

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

round of comments. Thank you. Commander Andrade, if you don't mind, come on up. I'd like, you are one of the experts in this room who can address some of her questions, and I believe you keep data on all these things, and you can answer that. So if you could please assist us here. Thank you. What specific question are we addressing? When the council member was asking about the laws and the misdemeanors and who could get arrested and felonies. So in terms of prosecutorial

discretion, I have to say that slow, I can't say it fast, that that does exist, right? So the DA can choose to prosecute certain cases a certain way, certain enhancements a certain way. Sometimes there's legislative mandates that say certain attached, excuse me, certain enhancements attached to a certain crime. But you did mention something about cumulative of various misdemeanor cases that they could ultimately result in felony. So that would depend on the way each individual case occurs. So if it's like a serial theft that's occurring and it's maybe below the felony

threshold multiple times over, but cumulative, it exceeds the felony threshold, there is a possibility that they can seek felony charges. However, there is also a theory out there that multiple misdemeanors don't add up to a felony. You can have a dozen of them or you can have one. It's still misdemeanor conduct.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Commando. I really appreciate it. Yes, ma'am. Thank you in clarifying. Councilman Becerra?

Phil BacerraItem 8

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I actually want to thank Council Member Vasquez and Council Member Hernandez for just being clear. They obviously don't support Prop 36. The word soup that I just heard from Council Member Lopez, dear God, where are you? But thank God we're going to do a roll call vote because I'd like to actually understand where everybody's at, and I think the community would like to know where everybody's at. When we talk about retail theft bills that are going through the legislature, I want to thank the legislature for addressing a very small sliver of the crime that's going on out there.

Phil BacerraItem 8

So for the folks that are passed out at the bus stops on South Bristol, they probably did steal something. But I'm concerned with the fact that school children are walking by people that are passed out and they're wondering if they're dead.

Phil BacerraItem 8

So we can't ignore the drug crime that's going on. We just can't. And as far as stats, I think anybody that has ever called the police has had frustration because there's never an appropriate amount of time for a response, right? If the cops say that they come in four minutes, we all want them to come in three minutes, right? But for those that have had to wait much longer than that, and especially if you're calling multiple times about certain crimes, what do you think ultimately happens? They give up. The crime didn't go away. The crime didn't go away. people become frustrated they give up that's unfortunate thankfully I'm too

Phil BacerraItem 8

stubborn so I just keep calling but for those that aren't they keep calling but then they eventually give up another thing I want to bring up when it comes to stats and this is what always fascinates me so if we we the policy makers whether it's a state local if we just say that something is no longer a crime does that not mean that they're still not a victim so if we say you can steel now. Are you a victim if someone takes your stuff? Of course you are. But just because somebody waves their magic policy wand and says, oh, it's no longer a crime, that doesn't make it that you're

Phil BacerraItem 8

not a victim. So if we were to say at the hospital, we no longer believe cancer is a disease, does that mean we've solved it? Oh, well, we have less people in the hospital. Well, that's probably not a good thing. We probably should get people in the hospital so we can help them get cured, right? So if we're trying to make sure that people are safe in society, the hard-working people, the hard-working men and women in our society, in our city, to make sure that they're safe, there are folks that want to prey upon them and victimize them. So just to simply say,

Phil BacerraItem 8

well, the state doesn't really consider that a crime anymore. The folks that get their money stolen, their jewelry stolen, does that mean it's no longer, that doesn't make them a victim anymore? Of course not. They are victims because people are preying upon them. Just because the legislature wants to pass laws that say it's not a crime, thank God Prop 36 is on the ballot. Because it brings it back to a more sensible place to say, again, not just to incarcerate people, but to try to get folks that are impacted by substance abuse into services that can help them. So I am so ready for the roll call vote, Madam Mayor.

Phil BacerraItem 8

So I think there's a motion. I thought Councilman Pellows did.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Did you make a motion, Councilman Pellows? I'll second it if you did.

David PenalozaItem 8

I did.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Let's do it. I'll second it. Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead, Mayor.

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

Hi, everyone. How are you doing? We're still here, right?

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

So, you know, I really wanted to hear all of my colleagues get their thoughts and just, you know, really see where they're all coming from because this is a tough issue, right? We can all agree that this is a really tough issue. We're all facing the consequences of COVID, of crime, of living in communities that have been historic victims of crime.

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

And I really struggled with this item. It took a lot of research, thought, soul searching to figure out, okay, what is the right thing to do? because I don't think it's right to do nothing, right? If you live here, when we talk about being a victim, what does that mean? Who is the victim? Who's the person who is losing? And it's our neighbors. It's your mom. It's the people who are just trying to make it work here in Santa Ana, right? $950 to some people is not a lot.

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

To the state of California, that's not a lot of money. But to the family that is trying to make rent, it's a lot of money.

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

So I look at that. I try to think about what does that mean for those working class members of our community who are victims of crime and how every little incident affects them. right and when you are someone who experiences that in your community day in and day out it truly has a negative effect on you in your community but I also think about many of those who perpetrate crime are also victims of

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

crime they're also victims of I think in some cases things out of their control and many of them are those who are addicts, sometimes for no fault of their own and sometimes it is. And so I look at Prop 36 as a very, I personally think that it's a very blunt tool to fix a situation that the state legislature should have addressed a long time ago. I hate these type of propositions because because I think that they are not always crafted with the most expertise, with the most detail,

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

or with the most precision necessary,

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

because these drafters are not always the ones who are in court. They're not the ones working in the rehabilitation programs, and they're not the ones who are even necessarily the victims who live in the communities that suffer from these crimes. Some of you may know I'm a city attorney by trade, that's my day job I do mention it I may also be the only person up here who is actually convicted people with misdemeanors there's a jail there's a little courtroom inside the Orange County men's jail it's called CJ1 and that jail was put there to arraign people who are arrested on warrants

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

usually because they got cited cited for a misdemeanor didn't show up to court and they go to you know Orange County men's jail usually sometimes they stay overnight sometimes it's the weekend and when they get to the misdemeanor citation we do the arraignment and we say okay well do you want to take the plea deal and you know it might be something small and so yeah a lot of times they'll take the plea deal because they'll get time served meaning the night they spent in jail or the weekend is it I've also I've also been I don't know about my colleagues, but I've also, I might be the only one up here who's also provided plea

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

deals to those convicted of misdemeanors or plea out of misdemeanors by requiring them to do community service to drop the charges. And I've seen successes with that too. And so for me, when I look at some of these possession crimes regarding like fentanyl and regarding the petty theft, I think to myself, okay, we need to try something. But then I also worry about what does this do to that 19-year-old or that 18-year-old who is stealing because it's a crime of

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

convenience? I'm not excusing it. They should be held responsible. But is that three years in prison? is that worth it and then I think about you know how a court or a judge or a prosecutor is going to be able to balance and use their discretion and helping to truly rehabilitate those who go through the system I'm just sharing my thought process because these are all the things you have to think about there are so many aspects to this proposition that it's sometimes really hard to think

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

of the entire program that they're trying to change or amend in a way that is actually going to benefit the community. And so this goes back to what I think my job is up here.

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

I supported rent control because I said that there is a fire that is happening in our communities. The rent is too high and we have to fix it now. And building homes is going to be the ultimate solution but we have to fix the increase in rents now and that's why I supported it. The solution to bringing crime down is not solely to incarcerate or rehabilitate through the prison and jail system. It's to create systems that get people out of poverty, that prevent people from using drugs in the first place and developing well-funded programs for drug rehabilitation and

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

mental health rehabilitation. But we're in a crisis too. We're in a crisis too and we can't leave it alone because what I do know is that the people who are suffering from these petty thefts, from these crimes, from the drugs, are also our community members and so with that it is with a lot of difficulty and a lot of consideration and you know we'll see with time how this will actually affect our criminal legal system and the drug rehabilitation system I am frankly concerned that there actually won't be any money to actually prosecute any of

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

these felonies that we're talking about today because we already are short DA's judges, and public defenders here in Orange County. But with that, like I said, this is a crisis at hand, and we have to do something about it. And so I will be supporting the resolution. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Do you have a comment? You'll be the last comment, and then we'll take a roll call.

Benjamin VazquezItem 8

When this resolution came out, this is from the Department of the City Manager. Did you bring this up, or did somebody else bring this to the table. Did you really? It doesn't seem your style.

Alvaro NuñezItem 8

No, I saw the request of the mayor.

Benjamin VazquezItem 8

Okay. I just want to make sure we have a pattern, showing a pattern for later. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

I'm not sure what the pattern for later means, but it's kind of like the resolution for ceasefire. You brought it up. I brought it up. That's what we do as policymakers. And it's a priority to me. It's like it is just many, several of us up here.

David PenalozaItem 8

Point of clarification, I think I just want to ask the city attorney, the mayor in her vested power has the power to agendize business items, correct?

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 8

Yes, it has been the city's practice that the city manager can place items on the agenda. And even with all of our former mayors, we've had a process where the mayor can ask for an item to be placed on the agenda if there's some connection to the legislative platform. Part of your legislative platform is law enforcement and safety, and I think that was the determination why the mayor's request was granted. If the mayor had a request that was not a part of our official platform or our legislative efforts, then that request would have been denied.

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 8

So the mayor does have a little more discretion than all of you have to use that other route by putting on as a council requested item.

David PenalozaItem 8

Thank you Madam City Attorney because I know I served with Mayor Pulido and Mayor Sarmiento and now Mayor Mesqua and all three on multiple occasions agendas business items, as they should. They're the mayor of the city and they should have that power. So I hope this isn't cause of pattern because the pattern is not allowed and council members need to go through the council requested item. Thank you, Mayor.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Thank you, Councilman Penelosa, for clearing that up. Can we vote? Madam City Attorney, thank you. I appreciate it. I think there's a call for a vote. Yes, please. Yes, let's do a roll call.

Jessie LopezItem 8

Yeah, I'd like to make a sub motion to continue discussion because I just have one final round of comments.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 8

I'll second your motion.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

I'm good with it. Go ahead, Madam City Clerk.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

There was a sub-motion made.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

I'm not quite sure what there is to discuss. We're talking about safety of our community.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

This is a sub-motion by Council Member Lopez, seconded by Council Member Hernandez, to continue the discussion on this item.

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

Mayor, with your discretion, is it possible just to allow her to make that?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Yeah, I'm okay with it. Yeah, you can ask your questions so that we don't need to continue the matter. Would you like Commander Drotty to come up to answer your questions?

Jessie LopezItem 8

No, I just have comments.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Okay, go ahead.

Jessie LopezItem 8

So I think it's important, you know, there was a comment made like what is there, what else is there to discuss and it's important because, again, not everything can be black and white. There's a lot of gray sometimes when we're talking about these propositions and the impacts that it can have, right? And I really am somebody that believes in evidence-based decision making. I'm not interested in sitting up here pointing fingers. I'm not interested up here, sitting up here and fighting. I'm interested in what actually can work for a community, what isn't working, why isn't it not working, what can we do, what is the picture

Jessie LopezItem 8

that the data is telling us. Drug possession charge right now, it can be currently a misdemeanor. The sale of a narcotic, the intent, the possession to sale is a felony. Prop 47 did not change that law. Again, if the intent is to punish manufacturers of cocaine, of fentanyl, of hard drugs, then the proposition I'm being asked to support does not do that. And again, part of my earlier comment was that in doing this research, what I could

Jessie LopezItem 8

not find was data on how many people in our county in our city have been arrested rearrested and have not faced consequences for their actions because I think that should also help inform the policies that we support the mayor pretend brought up a really great ish an important issue the prop that I'm being asked to support will cut nearly 1 billion dollars in treatment crime prevention and services for victims and that has to be a serious consideration in my thought process because I believe that these programs will ultimately help

Jessie LopezItem 8

deliver better and safer communities that loss of money is not money that the city can provide to nonprofits because we have our own financial constraints we I I believe that we should be investing more in pre-K, K-12, preventative programs, victim services, mental health programs, drug treatment programming, and the county has received more than $15 million to invest in these services and work towards reducing recidivism. And the statistics for the outcomes of Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 under Prop 47 are actually really great.

Jessie LopezItem 8

And so the California Legislative Office, part of their analysis said that we would have to make the prospect of curtailing funding for exiting public services in order to make room in our local budgets for the unfunded costs imposed by this proposition.

Jessie LopezItem 8

And so I generally don't know how our community is going to move forward when we don't have the money to address these same issues that our communities are demanding that we fund in terms of drug prevention, mental health, when the proposition is going to eliminate that and no money is attached to the proposition. That is a serious concern and I think that's something that everyone should know. Again, the proposition does not address, and this was a fact sheet that the League of Cities shared with all of us, auto theft, cargo theft, fencing, multijurisdictional offenses.

Jessie LopezItem 8

It's still unclear to me if it even addresses organized retail theft, which is one of the main talking points we're hearing today. And so I think, again, voters really should be reading this language. you should be reading your options because it's easy. I think this feels so personal because of the things we see, but there are going to be impacts that you may not feel, but the younger generations will feel. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Just to clarify, when you talk about serial thefts, it will address that. It's in there if you read the whole thing and not just, I'm not sure what you're reading, but it does have tougher prosecution on multiple thefts. So we can dig into that some more. And I can send you all the information you need, or you can talk to. I'm glad that you brought up the county supervisor, and the supervisor has, the county has money. We'd love to see it. We don't see anything from our supervisor. Mayor, can we vote? Councilor Penelosa, and then we're going to take you.

David PenalozaItem 8

Yeah, I just wanted to say that I'm thankful that the California League of Cities was mentioned, who have also endorsed Prop 36.

Yes, they have.

David PenalozaItem 8

The League of Cities makes up of nearly 500 cities in the state of California that has now endorsed this proposition because it's at that point now. So I just wanted to state that. Thank you, Mayor.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Thank you. Okay. Roll call, please, Madam Clerk. Motion by Councilmember Penaloza, seconded by Mayor Mesquah, to approve a resolution of the City Council of the City of Santa Ana in support of Proposition 36, the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act Initiative. Councilmember Becerra? Yes. Councilmember Hernandez? No. Councilmember Lopez? No. Councilmember Penaloza?

David PenalozaItem 8

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Councilmember Vasquez? No. Mayor Pro Tem Fan?

Thai Viet PhanItem 8

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

Mayor Mesquah? Yes. Voters 4 ayes, 3 nays. Nays by Council Members Hernandez, Lopez, and Vasquez. Motion carries.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

Thank you very much. I just wanted to be clear that Council Member Hernandez, Lopez, and Vasquez voted no on the safety of our community. Okay, at this time we're going to go. We're going to end the business calendar, go to the public comment, agenda, and non-agenda items. Madam Clerk, before we proceed, please make an announcement.

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

For members of the public on Zoom or teleconference to request to speak during public comments on agenda or non-agenda items within the city's jurisdiction, you must dial star nine from your phone or click the button labeled raise hand from Zoom now to be in the speaker queue. This does not apply to any items which have already been heard by the council or public hearing items number 23 and 24 for which comments will be heard during the specified times. Please hold your comments on such items until called upon.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 8

This is the time of the meeting for the city council to receive comments from the public on agenda and non-agenda items. Madam City Clerk, please explain the public comment procedures

Jennifer L. HallItem 8

and call the first speakers. Thank you. Pursuant to resolution number 2023-047, speakers are requested to address the City Council directly and to refrain from profane language, racial epitaphs, and libelous or slanderless statements that disturb the decorum of the meeting. Pursuant to the Brown Act, the City Council may not enter into discussion at this time. Speakers will have two minutes for their comments. Before calling speakers, I'll report the summary of emails received as of today at 2.30 on the remaining items. 13 comments, 9 on non-agenda topics, 2 on item 10, 1 on item 12, and 1 on item 19.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Those were distributed to the council and posted online. We'll now hear from the members of the public physically present in the council chamber, followed by those on Zoom. Please state your name and the ward or neighborhood that you reside in for the record. Calling three names at a time, please line up behind the podium. Del Helvig, Mike Tardif, Bob Adams.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council, City staff again. Just wanted to start off by thanking Parks and Recs for the installation of the tennis pickleball court and basketball lighting at Park Santiago. I was there last night when Mr. Scott gave me a call and I went down and observed the illumination activities down there and it looks great. You know, I think it's going to be a well-used facility in the future. So I like it. I'm also hoping that you guys all vote yes on item 15, which will continue the process

of improving Santiago Park with the Main Street entrance project going on. So thank you very much.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Mike Tardif, Bob Adams, Deborah Russell.

Good evening, Mayor. Council members and staff. My name is Mike Tardiff. I'm a long-time resident of Santa Ana. My wife and I raised our family here. We deeply care about the future of our community. I am one of the hundreds of longtime property and business owners in the SD84 transit zoning code area. I'm here tonight because the city's proposed zoning rezoning ordinance for this area will have a profound and lasting impact on the properties, businesses, and residents located in and adjacent to SD84. The ordinance will affect our families, our family legacy, our

businesses, our employees, and the residents and character of Logan and Lacey neighborhoods. The people most affected have not had the opportunity to provide input. We have been frozen out of the rezoning process for SD84. It is being conducted behind closed doors. The proposed zoning change is not like a request from a developer seeking an upzone to increase property value. On the contrary, this rezoning threatens to devalue existing properties, reducing their value to only the price of the land they sit on, just the dirt. Do the

The residents of Logan and Lacey neighborhoods know what this proposed rezoning will do to their neighborhoods, the increased density, the increased traffic, noise, and pollution. The SD84 and transit zoning code, which is about to be eliminated, was shaped through extensive community input. This rezoning deserves the same level of involvement from the community, which will have to live with its consequences. Otherwise, you will be developing an ordinance. You could call it in the dark of night ordinance. For the benefit of high, that would be for the benefit of high density developers at the expense of the community.

This is about the future of the people who call it a job. It's about a lifetime of sacrifice. It is about the character of the neighborhoods. Please consider the wide reaching effects this ordinance will have and ensure that we move forward together. Thank you. I noticed the public comments were held off until the end.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Bob Adams, Sarah Guerrero, Owen Ayla.

Good evening, council members, Madam Mayor, staff members. My name is Bob Adams. I am the founder, owner, and operator of Adams Iron Company at 811 North Poinsettia Street in Santa Ana.

Adam's Iron is located in the Logan Lacey Industrial Zone. I came to Santa Ana April 1st of 1978 and began Adam's Iron in a small 2,000 square foot industrial building on Logan Street. In 1999, I participated in building the Burke Development, approximately nine buildings built for industrial use in the same zone. I purchased building five in 2001 for the purpose of growing Adams Iron Company. I personally invested my time and my money to grow it into what it is today, employing 70-plus people, providing structural and miscellaneous steel for new construction,

hospitals, schools, infrastructure, etc. This has been my dream. This is my family's income. This is my retirement, as it is for many employees at Adams Iron Company. I am extremely concerned about the transit zoning code SD84 industrial moratorium. Along with SD84 came NS3063, which doesn't allow me to obtain necessary permits mandated by the OCFA, Orange County Fire Association. The lack of transparency and outreach to the business owners is alarming and appalling in my opinion. I have spoken to several business owners

around Adams Iron, Reed Thomas, Mario, Paco, Hills Garage, Tobin Steele, and of course Mike. And there are 175 to 200 businesses in that area. I am currently involved in contacting all the business owners within the zoning district to educate them on the potential catastrophic effect this will have on their properties, businesses, families, and employees. you will come to know us as the LLBOC, Logan Lacey Business Owners Coalition. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Sarah Guerrero.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Yes, you can speak on that.

Okay, okay. Good evening, everybody.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

Can you bring the mic down so we can hear you?

Yeah, thank you. Good evening. We're all still here. So I just want to say how profoundly I'm moved by tonight, by how much I always love my city, like how we all have different opinions, we're all standing up for voices, and we're really being thoughtful. So thank you. I just want to put that out there. My name is Sara Guerrero, and I'm a longtime Santa Neta. I went to school here. I'm a faculty member at Cal State Fullerton. I'm a resident artist at Grand Central Arts Center. I'm the founder of Breath of Fire Latina theater ensemble. An art walk means something to me. It highlights our community, it brings out

everybody, all walks of life. And to know how much revenue is made by individuals who can, who go to these events, like my family, we're here and we spend about like 60 to 150 dollars. That's also something that we're able to do. I'm not saying that all people can do that, but I also love seeing the array of people who come out. Like I love Fiesta Patrias. I know that's not necessarily Art Walk, but the opportunity to announce it at Art Walk. Recently, we wrapped up our project that was funded by the city, Cantos, Cuentos, and Corridos of Santana. Thank you, Councilmember

Lopez, for attending. Everybody was invited, and you are so always welcome to come to any of our events. And we love nice things, too, and Art Walk is one of those ways that we can really demonstrate who we are it has drawn people for for for years now you know santa ana is the heart of our county and um and i feel like this this place although we all have our differences and we have different approaches i feel like art is a really great way to continue to mirror our humanity and although we don't always all go to art walk i think it's important that we support it

it again art generates revenue and if you want to talk about business please continue to support it and what uh logan is doing um is great because we are our work is more recognized there than through um some of the city announcements all right thank you mayor before you move on to

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 10

the next public comment and i believe that um i just inquired of the city clerk she's had we have about 11 more speakers and that would be about 22 minutes but according to your rules of decorum It is now 11 p.m. At 11 p.m., you must make a decision if there are any other items on your agenda, whether you would like to terminate the meeting now, and you have the option of A, continuing it to a date certain before your next meeting, or you can continue all of the remaining items to your next City Council meeting.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

Councilor, you have to comment, Melissa?

David PenalozaItem 10

I'll make a motion to continue to 11.45 p.m. That gives us 45 minutes to hopefully wrap up the rest of the meeting.

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 10

Your public comments will take about 22 minutes. You have 11 and you've allocated two minutes each. I think you have six remaining cards and five on Zoom.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Yes, six cards, five Zoom. There are 13 items on the consent calendar, two public hearings, council member requested item, and then the city manager and the city council comments remaining on your agenda. The rules say your meeting ends at 1159. So whatever you can conduct until then, you have to decide now. So Madam City Attorney, go ahead, Councilor Messara.

Phil BacerraItem 10

So I want to ask our City Manager, are there any time-sensitive items on the agenda this evening?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

And also Madam City Attorney, if it's okay with those that are still waiting to make public comments, unless they want to make them, can we just ask if they want to?

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 10

I'll make a motion to continue this.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

Hold on, I'm speaking. Can we ask those that are critical to make the public comment, can we?

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 10

you can you can ask them if they would want to forego if they say they do not then and you if you are not going to end the meeting now if you're not going to choose to do that and you're going to take other items my recommendation would be to at least take the public comments from those who have remained here yeah

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

I agree city manager is there anything as council Becerra is asking actually we

Alvaro NuñezItem 10

do quite have quite a few in addition to the recommendation if it's a matter of doing it before the end of the month you know my recommendation also we can actually adjourn to maybe a time next week before the October 1st meeting so we can finalize because we do have quite a bit some of them may require a little bit of discussion and evaluation so maybe that's a consideration for city

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

council to evaluate I'll make a motion to continue next week I'll second your

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 10

motion for us to bring these items back to next week's meeting and we can I

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

I'm going to make a motion then also to let the public speakers that are present finish and then we'll continue the meeting until next week. You pick a date, Mr. City Badger, work with us.

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 10

In order to continue these items and to stay compliant with the Brown Act, you're going to have to pick the specific date and time. My recommendation would be that you allow your public commentors to continue while you consider what specific date and time you'd like to propose prior to the attorney.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

Okay, let's do that right now quickly so we don't have to.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

The 24th.

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 10

The recommendation is maybe you let your public commenters come up and finish their public comment and then you guys can choose a time and date. Go ahead.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Owen Ayla.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Victor Mendez.

Thank you.

the mic on okay okay I'll just cut through this been a long day thank you look just want to come on the liquor sales at Eddie West Stadium and I support that I think it's a great step in the right direction I think there's a lot of good opportunities not only this this facility or this asset zoo the train station I guess my big question is you know what's the strategy where we're going to try to pull this together. I mean, you know, beer sales is a great activity, a great step, but we need to start thinking bigger and longer term. And again, good start, a lot of good

things going on, that's fine, but I think you really got to step back and get a strategy going and get some idea of how this should look longer term rather than just kind of pick something, you know, here and there and kind of respond to it. But, you know, it's a good start, but let's get some strategy going, some idea, and some goals so you can kind of accomplish them longer term so we outgo. Otherwise you're just going to be kind of getting these ideas flowing in and who knows where it's going to go. Just really quick, so 2220, thank you Councilmember Penelope for thinking

of the seniors over at 2222. Yes we are terrorized, no question. It happens every day. 2222 continues to be a challenge you know we had a death there the other day i don't know if it's heat related i can only say that our common room continues to be locked we continue to be locked out of our common room which is ours and that could have been some relief for air conditioning during that heat wave so but our property management team decided it's their best interest to occupy that room versus letting seniors get some relief from the heat so that's kind of what we're fighting but

I met with Commander Gonzalez and 10 other residents came down. He was very helpful. I think it was a very productive discussion. I'm really happy that he's on board with us. I think he'll do a lot of good things. And just kind of coming out back here tonight, I saw a colt on 1st Street right down the street from me. So a lot of good things going on. Let's keep the emphasis on 1st. Victor, your time is up. Let's try to keep your community safer. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Next speaker, Harold Pilgrim, followed by Francisco Alex Ramirez.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Francisco Alex Ramirez.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Eddie Miller.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

Thank you so much for waiting. Thank you.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council members. My name is Eddie Miller. I live and work in Santa Ana's fourth ward. Excuse me, sixth ward. I am here tonight to speak in support of Santa Ana's sponsorship of Art Walk. I've been a homeowner and a resident of the Salacy District for 16 years, and I have volunteered for various community organizations and initiatives throughout my years living in the city that I love. In late 2019, I began volunteering at the Frida Cinema,

and shortly thereafter, when the pandemic closed their doors, I worked their drive-in series throughout Orange County. Four years later, I still relish my time working with the Frida, with Logan and their amazing team. Playing an active role in the vitality of our community is so important to them, and when I first heard, they would be taking the reins and sustaining and growth of Art Walk, and me being a former member of, excuse me, me being a former artist at Art Walk, it felt like a match made in heaven for me, and I immediately offered to volunteer

here at these events. Since January of 2023, the very first Art Walk under Frida's care, I have run the events information booth and I have seen firsthand just how grateful so many people are for this event, including neighbors, business owners, visitors, and the artists and galleries the event sheds a spotlight on. It's nothing but positive vibes. I've spoken with multiple downtown business owners who have expressed not only their gratitude, but their interest in participating, wondering how they can increase their involvement in

order to attract even more visitors and customers to their downtown businesses. I believe that yes, a yes vote and this agenda item is the best interest of downtown Santa Ana and our shared community. Your time is up.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Ana Laura Padilla.

third time is a charm please support item 12 please we need to encourage business and I'm not even going to read what I have I just want to really say in public comments that I am a business owner in downtown Santa Ana and that some of the residents of Santa Ana might not agree with my views and my public comments and for that they stop supporting my business and that is okay with me but I'm not going to stop coming here and telling you what I support and what I think that is not going to take away my voice that is not going to take away the fact that I am very

invested into this city and I have always always been an advocate for the small business owners because I am one of them. And every single day I work hard to make ends meet. And many people don't know my story. Many people don't know. They just criticize what they see, especially when I come and do public comments. That's not going to stop me. So please support item 12. And I just want to say thank you, Mayor Mezcua, and thank you, City Manager Alvaro. And thank you, thank you, thank you to the Parks and Rec team for bringing Fiestas Patras back to 4th Street. I am so happy. It was an amazing weekend,

and I receive a lot of messages. Thank you to other council members that have supported this, and it was just overall very happy. I know there was a lot of business owners that were upset because of the closing of the streets, but at the end of the day, I believe that it was a successful event. I was very proud to be part of it, and I was very proud that you guys listened to the small businesses in Forest Street, because sometimes we feel like you don't listen, so this was the proof that you do. So I appreciate that. Please support item 12. We need to bring that asset back to working and make money for the city.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Thank you. Good night.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Caller on Zoom, Deborah Russell. Please unmute and make your comments.

Hello. My name is Deborah Russell. I'm a lifelong resident of Santa Ana as well as one of your arts and culture commissioners. Can you all hear me? Yes. Okay, great. I'm here tonight to advocate for city sponsorship of our premier arts events in the art event in the city, which is Art Walk. Art Walk brings visitors from all over Orange County and beyond, including Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. These visitors come and they see Santa Ana as a vibrant, creative place full of opportunity. And more importantly, I'm here because I want you to sponsor or agree to sponsor this important event. It brings money

into our city. We know that because you as a city council voted for us or budgeted for us to do a study of the economic impact of the arts in the city from a national nationwide organization and was called the arts and economic prosperity study. So I'm going to share a few economic points with you because I know Art Walk has to make economic sense in a time of budget tightenings. They found that on average, Santa Ana residents spent $30 a person per event when they came out for the arts in Santa Ana. The visitors spent even more, up to $45 on average, on all kinds of things from dinner

and drinks, paying for items they might find and retail operations along Forest Street for instance, as well as the artists who come out and can vend with their small, very small micro businesses. 84% of the people they surveyed who came to Santa Ana said they came specifically for an arts event. And they also said they would have gone to another city had that art event not happened. Art Walk is our most regular, consistent arts event and it's something our city should not only be proud of but should also sponsor through our budget I wanted to say

this is an important economic investment in our city and when we think about the

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

amounts of money that we're talking your time is up Mark Neary please unmute and make your comments

hi mayor and everyone else i wanted to discuss a big issue that is going on with our with our city and within uh sanana triangle and french court is the reserving of parking people are putting cones people are putting chairs people are putting different items just to block uh public parking and it's it's becoming a nuisance within our city not just obviously with with the homeless issues But with that, and also wanted to give a suggestion on your guys' website. You guys do not have a citizen suggestion form in regards to anything that's happening out there in our city.

If there's an issue that is happening, I think us as residents should have the rights to be able to bring up these issues and write a suggestion form for you guys to be able to see you guys can tackle those issues that are happening out in our city. That's it.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Caller with phone number ending in 142. Please dial star six from your phone or select the microphone icon to unmute and proceed with your comment.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Caller 142.

Hi, my name is Jessica Hernandez. is i'm part of um the committee of war ii and i'm here to talk about the issues we've been having around the monta vista townston area of recent we've had an increased amount of gang activity and unfortunately we've had several lockdowns for the last couple weeks at monta vista but also i wanted to discuss was the parking situation on center street at monta vista between um jerome and the school the cars are parking there and not having any consequences for leaving their cars there all day when the city regulates our house where we park in front of our house on the opposite

side closest to McStadden on center street there are parking restrictions to away parking on this block from 11 to 6am and then two hour parking on the senior center side I don't understand why not on the other side where the school is at where these cars are left on jacks they're broken into There's glass constantly full of trash inside, dirty. They have cobwebs left there for days on end, and there's no consequences for that. And it's kind of contradicting when it's one way on one side but not the other. And knowing that our preschoolers for ECE and our SPED students load and unload there,

it's becoming very dangerous and very scary for them to see that and having to walk through glass and see trash and filth and feces and urine. It's disgusting. Also, the same thing on the other side, on the bike path. It's a constant daily thing where I see homeless and the runoff there. And then besides that, we can't do, obviously, the situation going on with the gang-related issues. yesterday morning coming to school investigating a homicide on Townsend at Willis. And seeing that we have kids walking that same path to and from school and having to deal with it every day,

I don't know what can be done for you guys to help facilitate that, to help, you know, try to provide some type of barrier screenings for our kids on the park side or the school. You guys kind of share that property. Jessica, your time is up. I'm doing.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Mayor and City Council, that concludes the public speakers.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

Thank you very much. At this time, I'd like to make a motion to continue our council meeting until Monday, September 23rd at 5.30 p.m.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 10

I'll second your motion, Madam Mayor.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

All those in favor, let's do a roll call vote, please, Madam City Clerk.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Motion by Mayor Mesquah, seconded by Council Member Hernandez to continue this council meeting until Monday, September 23rd at 5.30 p.m. Council Member Becerra.

David PenalozaItem 10

Mayor, I'll sub motion to go to 1145. I think we can finish the consent calendar.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

I don't think so. You want a sub motion?

Phil BacerraItem 10

We also have hearings too.

David PenalozaItem 10

We'll leave the, we can continue the public hearing. You've got to get a second. Let me say anything.

Thai Viet PhanItem 10

I'll second that. Well, I mean, you can pull the things that are not pulled and continue those, but if there's something we can approve today, let's just approve them.

David PenalozaItem 10

I don't think all of them are going to get pulled.

Thai Viet PhanItem 10

Hopefully not.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 10

The decision is in respecting our staff. It's 1118 at night. We should respect the staff that have been working all day. We have residents who have been here all day. It's not appropriate for us to conduct business at this hour.

David PenalozaItem 10

Well, how about we pull the consent items that we want to pull and then just vote on the remainder and continue to update?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

So we can get those things done. Yeah, there's a council member items that two council members brought forward, too. Yeah, those can get continued.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 10

We have a motion in front of us, too. We can take that vote.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

Madam Senator Turney, can you clarify this, please?

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 10

Well, we have a motion. There was a sub motion to take the consent calendar items. I would just vote on that and see where people are. Okay, let's vote on the sub-motion.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

This is the sub-motion by Council Member Penaloza, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Fan, to address the consent calendar items prior to 1145. Council Member Becerra?

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 10

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Council Member Hernandez?

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 10

No.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Council Member Lopez?

No.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Council Member Penaloza?

David PenalozaItem 10

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Council Member Vasquez? Mayor Pro Tem Fan? Yes. Mayor Mesquah?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

No.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

VOTE IS 4 Ayes, 3 Nays. Nays by Mayor Mesquilla, Council Members Hernandez and Lopez. Motion carries to address the consent calendar items at this time.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

So we're going to continue the Council Member item.

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 10

Yes, so only the motion is just to only address the consent calendar to ask if there are any pulls. Okay.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 10

I'll make a motion to move the consent calendar with the exception of item 12. I'd like to continue that to the next meeting. And I would have a brief comment for item 11 and item 10.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

I'll save your comment for 11 and 10 for next meeting.