Correspondence - #16 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Orozco, Norma From: Amir Baum <amir.baum@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, June 15, 2022 3:04 PM To: Penaloza, David; Phan, Thai; Bacerra, Phil; Mendoza, Nelida; Lopez, Jessie; Hernandez, Johnathan; Sarmiento, Vicente Cc: !City Clerk; Ridge, Kristine Subject: Public Hearing Item 16: Funding Environmental Justice Commitments Dear Honorable Mayor Sarmiento and Council Members, Thank you for putting more than 50 environmental justice and related equity policies in Santa Ana's general plan—creating a path to a healthier,just, and more sustainable Santa Ana. Unfortunately, none of these goals can be met without people to do the work of implementing them. That's why item 3.9 of the community element implementation plan calls for hiring an environmental justice staffer this year. How can this get done if this position is not included in the budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year? We can not wait another year to begin to bring environmental justice to Santa Ana. Over 24 census tracts in Santa Ana are among the most polluted in all of California according to CaIEPA's CalEnviro Screen. Communities with the most pollution burden are also home to our most vulnerable neighbors—people who already have health issues and are experiencing poverty. You have the power to correct these injustices, and follow through on commitments in the General Plan to address environmental justice for all residents by ensuring this position is added ASAP. This can be done by adding funding for the position into the budget, or making applying for environmental justice grants to fund this position a primary role of the new administrative secretary. Please be the bold climate and environmental justice leaders we need by prioritizing the funding of an environmental justice staffer in Santa Ana. Building a sustainable and livable planets is so critical and hits hard for me personally because I have a four year old son who's living through climate catastrophe after catastrophe that we are seeing from one wildfire after the next and extremely hot heat waves that are going to affect his ability to survive in Orange County. I strongly want with all my heart for him to have a thriving future but that cannot happen if we do not put highly prioritize solving our climate crisis immediately within our 10-year window of opportunity before it's too late. It's beyond past due time that we prioritize the health of our communities and ensure that the proper investment for climate and climate environmental justice impacted communities are truly prioritized including in Santa Ana where children and their families deserve a more clean sustainable and healthier future. There's absolutely no excuse in this day and age with all the clean energy technology we have an ability to build a better cleaner more sustainable future that we cannot make it happen immediately to solve our climate crisis and to protect vulnerable communities. Please do what you know is right and vote in favor to have funding in this year's coming budget to secure staff positions for climate environmental justice for Santa Ana to ensure the success of this element of the General Plan. Thank you. Sincerely, i