HomeMy WebLinkAbout2 - PUBLIC COMMENT_VelasquezFrom:Soto, Ricardo
To:Bernal, Sarah
Cc:McCann, Melanie
Subject:FW: Delay the General Plan
Date:Monday, November 09, 2020 7:57:38 AM
FYI
From: Jennifer Velazquez <velazqj96@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 07, 2020 4:06 PM
To: New General Plan <NewGeneralPlan@santa-ana.org>
Subject: Delay the General Plan
Hi,
My name is Jennifer, although I am not a resident of Santa Ana, I have friends and family
who live in Santa Ana and reside in disadvantaged communities. I have participated in
several of Santa Ana’s virtual workshops and ask that further community engagement is
done. I am emailing to ask that you delay the general plan process until appropriate
community outreach is conducted and the community’s concerns are fully addressed.
Here are a few things that concern me with the current proposed General Plan update:
There is a need for more community engagement, especially in the neighborhoods
deemed “disadvantaged communities”
The issue of environmental injustice has not been properly assessed
The City needs to develop a Public Health Action Plan to properly address the urgent
issue of toxic lead exposures in the City.
Ensure tenant protections for residents who seek action on toxic lead exposures.
Free blood testing for residents who might have been exposed to lead
Reducing cumulative impacts from pollution by limiting the number of facilities in the
area and no new industry in the area until community is consulted and their demands
are met
Establish caps on cumulative air pollution and base permitting decisions on overall
emissions, not emissions per facility. Close or move polluters.
Reduce exposure to pollution by cleaning up existing air pollution and creating buffer
zones between polluters and homes, schools, and daycare facilities
Install barriers or other mitigation of noise pollution
The City should prioritize preserving existing open space and NOT development that
does not provide direct benefits to the existing residents, like market-rate housing,
hotels, big corporate business, should not be allowed on current open space.
The City should finalize its Park and Recreation Master Plan before the adoption of
the General Plan to ensure that policies are in place to address the deficit that will be
caused by the increase in development.
Market-rate and commercial development should not be incentivized at the current
rate if it means outpacing the supply of open space
Invest more in parks and green space, more trees, green industry, community
centers, libraries, clinics
Include anti-displacement policies in transit-oriented development, like the OC
Streetcar route, Main St., Bristol St., etc.
Place housing affordability requirements in transit-oriented development and rest of
the focus areas
Ensure the street growth strategy does not lead to the displacement of residents.
Transform current traffic enforcement practices toward non-lethal methods that
decriminalizes traffic safety.
Prioritize people most at risk on the street- add policy that measures safety from the
barriers to travel while being a woman, queer, trans, senior, youth, (the most
vulnerable).
Prioritize shade trees or fruit trees.
Add parking on arterial streets to reduce vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian conflicts,
slow traffic speeds, and create human-leveled arterial streets.
Make transit free for Santa Ana residents
Please delay the adoption of the General Plan until these concerns are addressed
and more and better community engagement is conducted.
Best,
Jennifer--
Jennifer VelazquezUniversity of California, Irvine
Master of Urban & Regional Planning(951)847-1613 | velazqj96@gmail.com