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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE DAVIS • IRVINE • LOS ANGELES • MERCED • RIVERSIDE - SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCOtYh. SANTA EARRARA• SANTA C0.UZ government that they have created a Yet that transparency is lacking with respect to environmental justice and the General Plan Update process. Without knowing how the City plans to respond to SB 1000, Santa Ana's residents cannot meaningfully participate in and contribute to the process of determining how Santa Ana will address and incorporate environmental justice policies into the General Plan. Information about Santa Ana's plans with respect to environmental justice is essential for MPNA's members and other residents in Santa Ana so that they can evaluate those proposals and provide input in time for their comments to be heard and incorporated in the General Plan Update. To foreclose their participation undermines the very principles of environmental justice, which can only be sustained through meaningful participation of environmental justice communities in government decision -making. Lack of input from communities on environmental justice also contravenes the intent of SB 1000, which has at its core a requirement that environmental justice policies promote public engagement in the decisions that affect environmental justice communities. In soliciting input on the subject of environmental justice, the City should employ a wide variety of actions to ensure that residents — including those located in environmental justice communities — have adequate notice and sufficient opportunities to engage in an open dialogue with the City about its environmental justice -related amendments to the General Plan.5 Among other actions, the City should: 1) Make the proposed General Plan Update, any supporting documents, and all drafts easily accessible on the City of Santa Ana's website, including information about how and when community members can raise concerns or comments. 2) Hold public workshops or meetings to discuss environmental justice policies and draft amendments with interested community members. Santa Ana should ensure that these meetings are held at convenient places and times for community members located in environmental justice communities. In addition, the City should engage in other outreach techniques, such as the use of social media, flyers, surveys, and (virtual or, when feasible, in -person) focus groups. 3) As long as virtual participation is necessary, the City should also ensure that the meetings are meaningfully accessible, including giving sufficient notice, and providing adequate accommodations for public participation from individuals without access to virtual conferences. The City should partner with local community groups, such as MPNA, to advertise these meetings. 4 Santa Ana Ordinance No. NS-2838 § 1(F)&(G). ' See, e.g., California Governor's Office of Planning and Research, State of California General Plan Guidelines 35-37 (2017). 2/4