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Orozco, Norma From:Katie Cox <kecox@uci.edu> Sent:Tuesday, July 07, 2020 3:59 PM To:eComment Cc:Jose J Rea; Leonel Flores; Adolfo Sierra Subject:Public comment regarding EJ in the General Plan for July 7 City Council Meeting Dear Santa Ana City Council members, I am a volunteer at the Madison Park Neighborhood Association, as well as a UC Irvine PhD Candidate researching environmental justice issues in Santa Ana and southern California. All of the statements below come from Comunidad Unida, Aire Limpio (CUAL), a group of over 30 active youth and adult residents in Southeast Santa Ana engaged in environmental justice advocacy and community air monitoring funded by the California Air Resources Board. I am sending these statements on behalf of CUAL because the last-minute notice that the General Plan would be on tonight's agenda has not permitted most members to prepare and submit public comment. All of these statements directly reflect resident input provided at community meetings in June 2020. 1. Southeast Santa Ana is uniquely and directly impacted by EJ issues in the General Plan, because the industrial zone abuts the residential zone and several schools. 2. Every member of the CUAL committee has a neighbor or family member with asthma, or is impacted themselves, and SE Santa Ana has the highest rates of asthma ER visits in the city. 3. Residents' health and wellbeing are widely impacted by the cumulative effects of multiple forms of toxic industrial pollution in their neighborhoods, including foul odors, noise pollution, air pollution, and soil and groundwater pollution (including lead). 4. The lack of transparency about the planning, zoning, and permitting processes has stymied the community's concerted efforts to monitor air pollution and its effects on their neighborhoods. 5. The City's General Plan outreach should be designed to collect community input that will be incorporated into the plan, not just provide updates. 6. The community needs advance notice of all meetings, and sufficient time to provide public comment. 7. Meetings and events should be held at convenient times for working families, and have remote options for participation and comment. 8. Planners and city officials should visit the community to see the needs firsthand and hear residents' input in community forums. 9. The City, rather than the residents, is responsible for initiating public outreach and research on community needs. 10. All outreach needs to be bilingual/multilingual so all community members can participate. 11. Community outreach for the General Plan process should be multi-pronged, including outreach to residents on radio, social media, publicly posted fliers, email, and mailers. 12. There is a widespread lack of trust in the City because of its record of excluding community voices through insufficient or inadequate opportunities for public comment. The City must take immediate measures to redress these through proactive public outreach and a General Plan that reflects the needs and input of Santa Ana residents most impacted by environmental justice issues. Sincerely, Kathryn Cox 1