Correspondence - Agenda Item No. 1

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Araiza, Fatima From:nina.jirik@washington-square.org Sent: To:eComment Subject:Special City Council Meeting 5-16-24, Item #1, exhibits 2 & 3 Attention: This email originated from outside of City of Santa Ana. Use caution when opening attachments or links. Dear Mayor Amezcua, City Council & Santa Ana Staff, My comments today are the same as a month ago, only more passionate. I am pleasantly and frequently surprised when I walk the neighborhood and meet young families I’ve not previously encountered. These families NEED a walkable park to take their children to after school and work. On weekends these families need a safe relaxing place to play without having to pack everyone in the car and driving out of the neighborhood. The residents of Washington Square are very active in the community and in all areas of Quality of Life. For this reason, you can be assured we will be very engaged in working with the City of Santa Ana to uncover sources of funding to support the purchase and build of a walkable park in our neighborhood. Regarding the FY24/25 Budget discussion: I am in support of approving the Feasibility Study for the Washington Square Neighborhood Park. The Parks and Rec department supports it, the Parks & Rec Commission supports it, 653 of our residents signed a petition to support it. The time to move forward is now. The parcel in question is the only vacant land in Washington Square and the owner wants to sell it either for a park or to a developer. An appraisal of the vacant land has already been completed, and is nowhere near the original asking price of the seller. If price was ever looked at as a barrier to proceed, know that there is plenty of room for negotiation. Additionally, the seller is open to breaking up the individual parcels, to make for a more favorable transaction. This to say, please proceed with a Feasibility Study. re: staff recommendations: 1. 10th & Flower Park: The 10th & Flower park under development is adjacent to the extreme lower end of Washington Square, will primarily serve the Willard Neighborhood and is across a busy thoroughfare, Flower St and is not easily walkable. 2. The location wasn't identified in the Park Master Plan: The Master Plan was published in May 2022 and compiled long before that by the Parks and Rec former Executive Director. That is prior to the parcel in question was identified as a possible park site. Washington Square is in Gap Area 15 of the Master Plan, called out as park deficient and is also in an environmental justice area. The Master Plan calls for increasing the amount of park acreage to 1.5 acres/1000 residents by 2032 and adding this 1/3 acre site to the mix is a step in the right direction. Master Plan Action Plan #8 states "Evaluate Park Acquisition Opportunities - Convene a work group that brings together City interagency staff, community leaders, and private enterprise to identify and evaluate acquisition opportunities, creating a status report and metrics to measure progress." That's what the Washington Square Park Ad-Hoc Committee has been doing! 3. Zoned for R1: An easy fix by a vote of City Council 4. Increased operations & maintenance costs: This proposed pocket park will be relatively low maintenance. We're recommending a passive park with lots of greenspace for play and social interaction. It's proximity to the 10th and Flower project means that the maintenance and security 1