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City of Santa Ana General Plan Update <br />October 20, 2020 <br />Page 2 <br />Advisory Committee (GPTAC) throughout 2018 and the first part of 2020. As a result of these <br />discussions, the Focus Area land use maps have been revised to address critical feedback from <br />our City Council and the community. <br />PROGRESS SINCE THE JULY 7, 2020 CITY COUNCIL UPDATE <br />Environmental Impact Report (EIR) <br />The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) was released for public review on August 3, 2020 <br />for a 45-day review period. Responding to community feedback, staff extended the comment period <br />to allow additional time for the community to review the general plan EIR. The comment period was <br />extended by an additional 20 days and closed on October 6, 2020. As of this date, a total of 57 <br />comments were received. Staff is in the process of preparing responses to the comments and <br />preparing the Final EIR for Planning Commission and City Council consideration. <br />General Plan Elements <br />The draft General Plan elements were released for public review on August 3, 2020. Since the <br />release of the 11 elements (the Housing Element is not being updated until 2021) staff has <br />continued to perform outreach and refine the policies and implementation measures of each of the <br />elements. The final version of the elements was released to the public on September 30, 2020. <br />Recent Community Engagement, Activities in Progress, and Next Steps <br />As part of the multi -year effort to comprehensively update City's General Plan, the Planning <br />Division has continued to participate in outreach meetings and discussions with the community on <br />key issues such as Environmental Justice (EJ), a review of key changes, and an overview of the <br />five Focus Areas. Councilmembers, the City Manager, and the Executive Director of the Planning <br />and Building Agency met with individual neighborhood leaders in the Logan and Madison Park <br />neighborhoods, as well as walked through the neighborhoods with residents and neighborhood <br />leaders. Additional outreach is continuing throughout the month of October, including continued <br />staff attendance at neighborhoods and City parks in conjunction with the Santa Ana CARES mobile <br />resource center and related programming, meetings with interested organizations and <br />neighborhood leaders, the hosting of a follow-up EJ discussion with the Madison Park <br />Neighborhood Association on October 14, and hosting a citywide EJ meeting with neighborhood <br />groups and interested parties on October 19. <br />These efforts will supplement the efforts conducted so far, which include the mailing of a targeted <br />Environmental Justice flier to over 32,000 residents, business and property owners, the creation of <br />a webpage dedicated to informing and educating property owners located within our Environmental <br />Justice areas, and creation of an online web learning tool that includes a narrated presentation to <br />help educate and increase awareness on Environmental Justice issues. <br />Prior to this, two virtual community meetings were held on July 31 and August 1, keeping the public <br />updated on the General Plan and key issues, and about key public hearings and public review <br />periods. <br />Two study sessions have been held with the Planning Commission, one on August 24 and the <br />second on September 14. Staff also provided the Commission with the ability to have one-on-one <br />19 D-2 <br />