Item 21 - Public Hearing - Amendments to the Transit Zoning Code (SD-84) Zoning District and Citywide Zoning Code

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ZOA No. 2024-02 & AA No. 2024-03 (Transit Zoning Code Amendments) May 6, 2025 Page 6 as "disadvantaged communities" by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) in its CalEnviroScreen model. Failure to address ongoing irreconcilable land use conflicts that are the target of this proposed ordinance will further exacerbate the ongoing demographic and environmental justice challenges that these two neighborhoods within the TZC have grappled with since their founding. Code Enforcement and Immediate Ongoing Issues In the past 12 months, the Code Enforcement Division conducted investigations at over 35 commercial and industrial properties within the TZC. Currently, the City's Code Enforcement Division has 21 active open cases that have been issued Notices of Violation and administrative citations for the following types of violations: illegal storage, land use, zoning, property and landscape maintenance, unpermitted work, business license, and certificate of occupancy. These violations include issues of odors, dust, traffic, noise, vibrations, and other documented impacts. This activity demonstrates the City's direct involvement in overseeing these businesses to mitigate potential environmental and public health risks. Since June 2023, the TZC communities have experienced a marked increase in impacts stemming from the irreconcilable industrial and residential land use conflicts in the Logan and Lacy neighborhoods. Residents in the TZC have voiced and emailed complaints and public health concerns to City staff regarding emitted contaminants and zoning violations from industrial businesses in the neighborhoods. Concerns that range from air pollution and smoke, toxic release exposures, idling trucks on residential streets, lead exposure, illegal storage, unpermitted uses, loud noise at night, and other property maintenance pose an immediate public health threat that is straining public resources to continuously investigate and address these matters. Specifically, a fire incident at a crematory located in the neighborhood alarmed neighbors at 9:18 p.m. on August 29, 2023. Residents shared with City officials video of high flames escaping the stack on the rooftop, screeching noise that continued nonstop for ten minutes, and what was described as a foul odor attributed to the fire. City staff followed up with external regulatory agencies issuing permits to operate this facility, and quickly, staff observed the limitations from regulatory agencies and their compartmentalized processes to investigate and act on enforcement measures. On August 9, 2024, the City received a complaint with photos of the same crematory in which the complainant observed bodies stored in a container outside the facility. A City code enforcement inspector issued an abatement notice that same day; the bodies and container were removed and the case was closed on August 13, 2024 by code enforcement staff. Other recent incidents include a large fire at an open- air industrial recycling facility at 1035 E. Fourth Street on March 23, 2025 that resulted in contaminated effluent from water used in fire -fighting efforts draining into local gutters. Since 2022, the City has enhanced community services by restructuring its Planning Division to contain a Neighborhood Initiatives and Environmental Services (NIES) section, which oversees, among other functions, environmental justice efforts in Santa Ana and regional coordination to address such issues. Staff encountered difficulty in achieving desired enforcement outcomes with external regulatory agencies such as South Coast