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REQUEST FOR <br />COUNCIL ACTION <br />CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: <br />SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 <br />CLERK OF COUNCIL USE ONLY: <br />TITLE: <br />APPROVED <br />ADOPT A RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE <br />❑ As Recommended <br />ESTABLISHMENT OF CLEAN NEEDLE AND <br />❑ As Amended <br />❑ Ordinance on 1n' Reading <br />SYRINGE EXCHANGE PROGRAM <br />❑ Ordinance on 2n° Reading <br />OPERATIONS IN THE CITY OF SANTA ANA <br />❑ Implementing Resolution <br />(STRATEGIC PLAN NO. 5) <br />❑ Set Public Hearing For <br />CONTINUED TO <br />�. <br />FILE NUMBER <br />CITY ANAGER <br />RECOMMENDED ACTION <br />Adopt a resolution opposing the establishment of Clean Needle and Syringe Exchange Program <br />Operations in the City of Santa Ana. <br />DISCUSSION <br />In late November 2018, a San Diego County Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction <br />blocking a state -approved mobile needle -exchange service from operating as proposed in Costa <br />Mesa and three other Orange County cities, including Santa Ana. <br />On August 6, 2018 the City of Santa Ana was informed via a letter that the California Department <br />of Public Health (CDPH), Office of AIDS (OA) had approved the Orange County Needle Exchange <br />Program (OCNEP) to provide needle exchange operations in the County effective August 6, 2018. <br />The authorization was granted over strong objections from the City of Santa Ana. While Santa Ana <br />supports the concept of needle exchange to mitigate the spread of communicable diseases and as <br />a public health tool, the actual implementation experience related to the OCNEP program was <br />more focused on distribution and less on exchange, resulting in significant syringe litter in areas of <br />distribution. <br />On June 25, 2018, the City of Santa Ana officially provided a letter to the California Department of <br />Public Health declaring the City of Santa Ana's strong opposition to the proposed Orange County <br />Needle Exchange Program ("OCNEP") application for certification of mobile syringe needle <br />exchange services, in the City of Santa Ana. A similar letter, dated June 8, 2018 from the City of <br />Santa Ana's Chief of Police, was submitted to the California Department of Public Health opposing <br />the operation of the OCNEP Mobile Needle Exchange. The letter referenced the standards for <br />refusal to certify an initial SEP Application, indicating "here, the harm to public safety significantly <br />outweighs the benefits to public health conferred by the OCNEP." A copy of the letters identified <br />above are available at https://www.santa-ana.org/homelessness/needle-exchange. <br />55A-1 <br />