HomeMy WebLinkAbout1 - PUBLIC COMMENT_Lu
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE
UC IRVINE MEDICAL CENTER 101 THE CITY DRIVE, ZC 4482
DEPARTMENT OF PEDIATRICS ORANGE, CA 92868
November 5, 2020
Re: Santa Ana’s Draft General Plan and the General Plan Program Environmental Impact Report
To Whom It May Concern, Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the City of Santa Ana’s General Plan Update. I am a pediatric
pulmonologist and Assistant Professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of Orange County. I have expertise in asthma, specifically the impact of obesity and physical activity on asthma as well as relationships of air pollution and environmental exposures on asthma. I am particularly interested in
the impact of asthma in communities with disproportionate asthma prevalence including communities with predominantly minority and lower socio-economic status. Environmental disparities greatly affect the health of children and their families. Asthma is the most common chronic medical condition causing school absences in
children, potentially affecting their academic performance. I am writing to urge delay of adoption of the General Plan Update due to the lack of considering of environmental justice issues addressed in the Plan.
I would like to raise concerns regarding the General Plan Update:
1. Pediatric emergency room visits for asthma in Santa Ana rank among the worst 25% within Orange County.
Furthermore, asthma is the most common cause of missed school days for children, which can impact their
academic performance as well as the financial and work impact on families. 2. James Madison Elementary, a school in the Madison Park community and the largest elementary school in the
City of Santa Ana, was found to be less than 1,000 feet from an industrial corridor housing 42 South Coast Air
Quality Management District (SCAQMD) permitted facilities. The local community was not made aware of this corridor until recently. Furthermore, there is currently little to no real-time data collection of common
pollutants including PM, NOx, SO2, or ozone near the industrial corridors in Santa Ana.
3. SB1000 requires the city incorporate environmental justice in the general plan update.
In summary, there are significant environmental and health disparities that exist in Santa Ana. It is imperative that the city delays adoption of the General Plan Update.
Sincerely,
Kim D. Lu, MD, MS Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center
101 Academy Way, Suite 150 Irvine, CA 92617
BERKELEY DAVIS IRVINE LOS ANGELES RIVERSIDE SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO••••••SANTA BARBARA SANTA CRUZ•