The Santa Ana City Council will have its regular meeting via teleconference today, April 21. In an effort to protect public health, prevent the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) and in compliance with the statewide stay-at-home order, there will be no in-person public meeting location.
The meeting begins at 5:45 p.m., following a 5 p.m. closed session.
There are several ways to watch the meeting:
The meeting agenda includes the following business calendar items:
- Present the certificate of sufficiency of a referendum petition challenging the approval of rezoning and development of an apartment project at 2525 N. Main St. The council will then have several options: repeal the ordinance that approved the project; direct staff to prepare a resolution scheduling the referendum on whether to allow the project for the general election on Nov. 3, 2020; or call for a special municipal election for the referendum to be held on a Tuesday from Aug. 4 through Oct. 28.
- Approve a relocation plan for existing occupants that will be displaced by the development of the Legacy Square affordable housing project at 609 N. Spurgeon St. The occupants are Iglesia Avivamiento and LaGran Consecha Sobernatural Church.
- Adopt a resolution to provide for continuation of partially paid temporary military leave of absence for City employees called to active duty with the armed forces and continuation of benefits for these employees and their eligible dependents.
- Approve submittal of a grant application to the state Coastal Conservancy for the renovation of the 17th Street Triangle Park and Rest Stop in the amount of $544,000. This project will renovate the bike rest stop area off the Santa Ana River Bike Trail with a viewing deck.
- Resolution declaring various properties that were acquired for roadway improvement projects as surplus land and directing the City Manager to sell these parcels.
- Authorize grant funding requests under the Measure M2 comprehensive transportation funding program in the amount of $13.5 million. This grant request to the Orange County Transportation Authority would fund roadway improvements on Bristol Street from Civic Center Drive to Washington Avenue and from Warner Avenue to Saint Andrew PIace, as well as traffic signal synchronization at Segerstrom Avenue and Dyer Road and on Tustin Avenue.
- Receive a report on City revenue impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which will reduce general fund revenue an estimated $12.4 million in the current fiscal year and $15.1 million in the next fiscal year, according to the staff report. The council also will be asked to affirm a hiring freeze for all City positions; approve appropriation adjustment to transfer monies from the refuse fund to the general fund; direct staff to prepare a draft budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year utilizing one-time funding; provide preliminary budget direction; and direct staff to provide a feasibility analysis related to issuance of a pension obligation bond.
- Conduct a public hearing and adopt a resolution for an addendum to the environmental impact report, a general plan amendment and a zoning ordinance in order to allow residential uses in the One Broadway Plaza mixed-use tower at 1109 N. Broadway. The applicant is proposing to amend the zoning document and the general plan list of allowable uses for the property to allow up to 415 residential units within approximately 19 floors of the 37-story building. The remaining space and stories will be used as office space, commercial and restaurant areas, and residential amenities.
- Conduct a public hearing and adopt a COVID-19 response funding plan; authorize approval of agreements with various service providers, contractors, and subrecipients to implement the plan; approve a substantial amendment to the fiscal year 2019-2020 Annual Action Plan in order to allocate and program $3.4 in Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Funds and $ 1.7 million in Emergency Solutions Grant Coronavirus Funds; approve an amendment to the Citizen Participation Plan to allow for a five-day public comment period; and approve appropriation adjustments for almost $6.5 million in federal and state grant funds.
- Councilmember Cecilia Iglesias has requested to discuss and consider directing the City Manager to direct staff to explore waiver of late fees for other miscellaneous fees.
For the full meeting agenda, go to www.santa-ana.org/city-meetings.
To provide a comment on public hearings and non-agenda items, the public can call in by phone during the meeting. Go to www.santa-ana.org/cc/city-meetings/virtual-meetings for details on how to call in.
To provide comment on agenda items, submit your comments via email to ecomment@santa-ana.org by 5 p.m. today.
Make sure to include your name, the agenda item number, and indicate whether you are in support of or in opposition to the item and why.
Comments received by 5 p.m. will be distributed to the legislative body prior to the start of the meeting and will also be posted on our website for public review. The Clerk will provide a summary report of the comments received on each item.
Comments received after 5 p.m. will be posted on the City’s website at the earliest possible opportunity after the meeting.
If you have any questions, please contact the Clerk of the Council office at (714) 647-6520.
Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.