Item 26 - EIR No. 2020-03 and GPA No.2020-06 Santa Ana General Plan Update

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EIR No. 2020-03 and GPA No.2020-06 Santa Ana General Plan Update February 15, 2022 Page 4 that would serve as the foundation of the General Plan elements. The GPAG was also tasked with functions such as formulating a community vision, identifying area -wide and community -wide land use planning issues, and prioritizing economic development activities. The GPAG was comprised of representatives from various commissions, residents, business owners, interest groups, youth and property owners to represent the community's interests. The GPAG held several meetings through 2016, providing direction to staff on key matters that are now embodied in the updated General Plan. Environmental Justice Focus As directed by Planning Commission public hearing on November 9, 2020, additional outreach was conducted to further provide Santa Ana's disadvantaged communities, or "environmental justice (EJ) communities", an opportunity to share their experiences and issues regarding environmental health and quality of life. Thus, Planning staff facilitated a multi -faceted outreach campaign during January through May 2021. The campaign began with the gathering of a General Plan Outreach Roundtable, with representatives from community serving organizations, neighborhood associations, and local stakeholders providing ideas and feedback on tools and strategies that could be used to effectively engage as many community members as possible. This effort included a multilingual EJ Survey (electronic and hard copy), which was publicized on various social media platforms, neighborhood yard signs, and collaboration with community groups and neighborhood leaders. Ten virtual community forums were held due to COVID-19; each focusing in on listening to the lived experiences of residents, property owners, and community stakeholders within specific geographic areas in the city that are identified as "EJ communities." Trilingual (English, Spanish and Vietnamese) flyers encouraging participation in the 10 community forums and EJ survey were mailed to over 40,000 property owners and residents/occupant within Santa Ana's EJ communities. Finally, in August 2021 one in -person EJ forum was held to share the results of the EJ survey and proposed general plan policy and program refinements, as well as to host a panel discussion with local EJ "champions" such a Madison Park, OCEJ and the Orange County Water District. PROPOSED 2020-2045 GENERAL PLAN — SANTA ANA: GOLDEN CITY BEYOND Development of Core Values A variety of community issues and considerations were identified through the different community outreach activities. With this community input, and with the input of the GPAG, a Draft General Plan Policy Framework was created in December 2018. Included within the Framework was a set of Community "Core Values" that were created to collectively reflect the voice of the Santa Ana community and to express its environmental justice principals. These Core Values: Health, Equity, Sustainability, Culture and Education, serve as the foundation of the goals, policies and implementation items found throughout the General Plan Elements.