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Home My WebLink AboutCORRESPONDENCE - CLOSEDCCM 11/04/2013 CLOSED SESSION Mitre - Ramirez, Norma From: Huizar, Maria Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 2:11 PM To: Mitre - Ramirez, Norma (NMitre- Ramirez @ santa - ana.org); Norma Orozco; Trujillo, Rose Ann Subject: FW: Grand Avenue Widening and Impact on Small Businesses Attachments: H- Ltr_SACityCouncil20131104.docx FYI From: Zeke Hernandez [ Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 12:12 PM To: Amezcua, Angelica; Benavides, David; Martinez, Michele; Pulido, Tinajero, Sal Cc: Cavazos, David; Huizar, Maria; Carvalho, Sonia R. Subject: Grand Avenue Widening and Impact on Small Businesses To: Santa Ana City Council Miguel; Reyna, Roman; Sarmiento, Vince; For today's Closed Executive Session of the City Council - Please accept the following correspondence (below & attachment) relating to the Grand Avenue widening and the impact on local businesses. Regards, Zeke Hernandez November 4, 2013 Mayor and Santa Ana City Council 20 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, California Re: Grand Avenue Businesses Impacted by Street Widening NOTE: For City Council Closed Executive Session, November 4, 2013 Mayor Pulido and Council Members: As you are well aware, I have brought to the City Council's attention since early 2012 of the need for the City to work more closely in assisting the small businesses impacted by the City's plans to widen Grand Avenue. I believe the initial plan for this street widening project has been in the works for well over 20 -25 years and is now in place with the assistance of additional funding from a variety of sources - Orange County Transportation Authority, and federal funds. I have noted that the city's contracted relocation firm (OPC) was lacking in their performance and representation of the City in assisting the affected small businesses. Indeed, it can be said they done very little to assist the small businesses and a review of their contract obligations should be made to ascertain if they met the City's goals and how they were able to minimize the intent of state and federal statutes. A quick review of occurrences are provided: N OPC's adamant pressure for small businesses to sign relocation and financial agreements early on so as to provide basement -level settlements. As the Council is aware, OPC warned businesses they had to vacate their businesses and /or properties by June 2012, then as this timeline passed - the pressure was to have those impacted out by December 2012. All this without regard to the future of the businesses or feeble assistance to keep the businesses within the City of Santa Ana Our business tenant at 1221 East 3rd St., 7 -Day Tire stayed through the last days as the City of Santa Ana took 11/4/2013 4:34 PM 4:34 PM possession of the property from the property owners (Hernandez Family) on October 31, 2013. The tenant moved the business to a location in Cypress and is realizing they cannot survive at this site. 7 -Day Tire may soon be relocating to the city of Anaheim. We (Hernandez siblings) were not provided an opportunity by the City of Santa Ana to re -visit and inspect our building on the property as the City took possession on October 31 and the tenant occupied the building through the last day. The City of Santa Ana has totally ignored providing us this one last gesture of goodwill prior to the chain -link fence going up around the premises. The small barber shop at the Gallegos building did sign early to leave, thinking he could re- locate in an available barber shop close -by. He was unable to continue operating as a sole proprietor and settled to renting a single chair in a barber shop owned by another person. The small gift shop at the Gallegos building luckily found a location to move to just north of their business on Grand Avenue - but unluckily, their current rent is $2,500+ /per month. Yes, the City will be providing half of the rent for approximately one year; but the business owner is even having difficulty coming up with their portion of the rent. The small produce market owners in the Gallegos building is at a great loss in their talks with City staff, as they fully understand they are no match to deal with City Hall professionals whose only aim is to move the business out of their Grand Avenue location. The older couple is now also realizing they may have difficulty resuming their business at a different location. They are still trying through these last days to hang on to their business, one that they have invested many hard and long hours for so many years. Mayor Pulido and Santa Ana City Council November 4, 2013 Page 2 of 2 — The Corona family of Pollo Norteno is still doing their best to keep their small restaurant open. I visited their business this past Thursday October 31 (the targeted date by City of Santa Ana to close the doors of their business) and had lunch on that day. They have pleaded with City representatives to allow the business to stay in operation through December - the busiest time of the year. They were told that they would be notified by 5 pm of that same day (Oct 31) how long they can stay or if they too would have to start packing up and close their doors. They have been lucky to hang on these days, because of the apartment tenant above their business, who are awaiting the final construction of their new home they hope to move into. Business owner Ken of the check- cashing small business related to me that he should have paid attention early on to be wary of City of Santa Ana representatives - that they were not there to assist him, their aim was to resist his pleas as a small businessman to continue in some way at or near his present location. The City paid him pennies on the dollar for his business items within the building - as was the practice with the other businesses. He was lucky to move somewhat close -by, to Grand Avenue and Warner Avenue; but when he moved he lost 45 %+ of his clientele. As the City Council realizes, the situation with the Gallegos property is more complex as the family and extended family are the property owners as well as business owners. They have a long history as business entrepreneurs in Santa Ana dating well back into the early 1940's. Yet the City's representatives are not realizing the loss of history past and history to -be -made for the future. All they ask is for a fair shake, the ability to work with City staff to see how they can maintain their business at the location; and this can happen if the City can be open- minded in realizing a new vision for Grand Avenue. Through these last few days, the one thing that is coming to mind is this ... The City for so many years has planned out the widening of Grand Avenue and has done so with minimal input into the planning of its non - engineering portions of the drawings local resident and small businesses. This very aspect that brings life to any city, and in this case the county seat of government for Orange County. My initial opinion is this - City Hall does not want to expend the time, energy and budget to change any of the plans for the street widening to accommodate grander plans for Grand Avenue - to provide continued and additional revenues to the City. A City Hall viewpoint is they would rather see a thoroughfare with numerous vehicles going back and forth to various destinations within the city and to places away from the city. 11/4/2013 4:25 PM 4:25 PM Respectfully, Z,eIZe HtMaKAZ Zeke Hernandez 11/4/2013 4:25 PM 4:25 PM