Correspondence - Agenda Item No. 1

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Alcala, Abigail From:Lindo, Jared@DOT <Jared.Lindo@dot.ca.gov> Sent:Thursday, May 16, 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. Hello, My name is Jared Lindo and I have lived in Washington Square, apart of Ward 5 for 7 years. I am here to show that I am in full support of the city achieving its mission and 10 year goal of 1.5 Acres per 1000 residents and to connecting its residents to safe, open and green spaces. I would like to advocate for the neighborhood that I live in and make sure that our neighborhood is being served fairly and equitably. The 2022 City Park Master Plan identified the entire residential neighborhood of Washington Square as an underserved area though its park access and equity analysis, a metric used to prioritize access to park facilities. I would like to point out that the PMP made one small but significant oversight in its Park Access and Equity Analysis in Table B-1, the analysis never identified Washington Square as an Environmental Justice Community, even though it clearly is per the PMP Environmental Justice Community Map CN-3, resulting in Washington Square Neighborhood missing its designation as “underserved area with the highest priority needs”, when it should have been. It’s hard enough on the neighborhood of over 2,111 people identified as underserved area for access to park facilities, being designated as an th Environmental Justice Community, 86 percentile in Low Income, and is now being disproportionately under- represented in an analysis for its park needs and access. I would like to note that the PMP lists 10 neighborhood park recommendations, with only half of those locations designated as “underserved areas with highest priority needs” and Washington Square, not a part of that list, as being the only designated “underserve areas with highest priority needs” that currently has no exiting community park access and no proposed park access identified in the City. It is my hope that the City correct this oversight and includes the proposed Washington Square Neighborhood park site acquisition and development in its budget and current park plan. References Below: According to CalEPA SB 535 Disadvantaged Communities 2022 (Census Tracts and Tribal Areas) Senate Bill 535 (De León, Statutes of 2012) directed that at least a quarter of the proceeds go to projects that provide a benefit to disadvantaged communities and at least 10 percent of the funds go to projects located within those communities. 1