Item 08 - 2022 General Plan Annual Progress Report

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2022 General Plan Annual Progress Report March 21, 2023 Page 3 In July 2022, the City established an EJ section in the Planning Division and Santa Ana's EJ disadvantaged communities. As such, the Neighborhood Initiatives Program changed its name and focus to the Neighborhood Initiatives and Environmental Resources to expand its programs and align with the City's EJ actions identified in the new General Plan. In October 2022, the Planning Division hired a dedicated staff person to develop the EJ section's focus, including the development of an EJ implementation framework that addresses environmental resources, education, and support inclusive and equitable public engagement for residents in EJ neighborhoods. A next milestone with the new EJ section is the proposed framework for the process and formation of an EJ Action Committee. This organization structure would comprise of residents from geographic clusters of EJ neighborhoods to begin a process of area representation and engagement to identify, prioritize, recommend, and include the larger community of EJ neighborhoods on current and future EJ policy implementation. To form the initial Action Committee, staff is developing an application that would be made available throughout the City through the Neighborhood Associations, as well as at libraries and community and senior centers, to encourage those from identified disadvantaged communities to apply for consideration. The goal of the Action Committee formation is to begin the engagement process and guidance needed with the opportunity to reshape and strengthen the structure to maximize participation and influence in the EJ policy implementation actions and timeframes. Staff is proposing five geographic clusters, where each cluster encompasses a set of unique challenges affecting the neighborhoods within each cluster. These include the following: • The Northeast cluster, which brings together EJ neighborhoods connected to the East First Street corridor in proximity to high -volume of heavy vehicle transportation corridors and the 5 Interstate Freeway • The Southeast cluster, which connects EJ neighborhoods affected by the concentration of industrial businesses on the Standard and Grand Avenue corridors and by the South Basin groundwater plume, a long-range and long-term process for removing contamination in the groundwater shallow aquifer • The Southwest cluster, near heavy industrial areas of the southwestern portion of the City concentrated along Harbor Boulevard and Fairview Street • The Central cluster, in an around the central portion of the City, which contains neighborhoods often adjacent to older industrial areas that were served by old rail spurs • The West cluster, including the Willowick site and Santa Anita neighborhood A framework and accompanying maps of the five clusters detailed above are provided as Exhibit 2 to this report.