HomeMy WebLinkAboutCORRESPONDENCE - 25CDecember 1" 2015
Additionally, we recently spoke with staff about the Calle Cuatro co -designation signage, and were
excited to see this move forward, but were also told there is limited funding for both large
intersection (overhanging) signs and comer signs that are more visible by pedestrians. Considering
that Santa Ana is taking pro -active strides to be a leading active transportation city, we believe it is
important to prioritize pedestrian -friendly wayfinding just as much (if not more) as vehicular
wayfinding. Given these multiple wayfinding projects and funding streams, we would like to
express support for the following options:
1) Either the East or West End go through a public process and get wide community and
council support to publicly legitimate the brand in becoming a public sign designation,
which can then be funded by public dollars, or
2) Downtown Inc. garners the support of the BID stakeholders from the East and West End
to pay for the signs directly with DTI BID dollars, or
3) The signs are privately funded by philanthropic donors, or
4) The City aim for the comprehensive way -finding signs which are more inclusive of the
whole downtown and,leave out the private brand initiative signage designating East &
West End in the public way -finding
Thank you for your consideration on this matter. Please feel free to contact me at
nmeiis"a latinohealthaccess.orif you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Nancy
Director of Commixn ty Engagement and Advocacy Programs
PREVENTION EDUCATION ACTION
Re: Downtown Wayfinding Plan
_\ __
LATJNODear
Mayor and City Council Members,
The purpose of this letter is to provide recommendations on the Downtown Wayfinding Plan you
AHEALTH
cL_ s
will be reviewing for approval at today's City Council meeting. We are glad to see the City move
--� --
forward with a wayfinding plan — we know it has been a work in progress since 2010, and multiple
450 West Fourth Street
sectors in the downtown have been asking for it. Nevertheless, we would like to echo the concerns
and support the proposed alternative solutions provided by Santa Ana Business Council.
Suite 130
Santa Ana, CA 92701
While we were glad to see that the City incorporated the "4"' St / Calle Cuatro" designation in the
Ph: 714-542-7792
wayfinding plan after it was legislated through the Wellness Resolution, it has recently come to our
Fax: 714-542-4853
attention that two privately funded brands - "East End" and "West End" — have also been
latinohealthoccess.org
incorporated. Although LHA participated in a meeting in April where the wayfinding plan was
presented, we were not aware that these were privately funded brands that have not been officially
designated publicly. Our previous recommendations included incorporating Wellness Corridor
wayfinding signage, and to our surprise and disappointment, we were told this was impossible
because there was not enough funding. Therefore, we were astonished to learn that despite limited
funding, the city is proposing using public funding for privately -funded designations We want to
reinforce our support for a comprehensive wayfinding plan that supports publicly, not privately
designated branding and naming in the downtown. The city should not be using public tax dollars
to pay for private brand initiatives within the city and should instead maintain consistency and
fund the more comprehensive way- finding street designations which are in line with the series of
signs originally designated (Historic 4'h Street/Calle Cuatro, Artist Village, Market District/
Downtown Santa Ana, Midtown District/ Civic Center, Museum District).
Additionally, we recently spoke with staff about the Calle Cuatro co -designation signage, and were
excited to see this move forward, but were also told there is limited funding for both large
intersection (overhanging) signs and comer signs that are more visible by pedestrians. Considering
that Santa Ana is taking pro -active strides to be a leading active transportation city, we believe it is
important to prioritize pedestrian -friendly wayfinding just as much (if not more) as vehicular
wayfinding. Given these multiple wayfinding projects and funding streams, we would like to
express support for the following options:
1) Either the East or West End go through a public process and get wide community and
council support to publicly legitimate the brand in becoming a public sign designation,
which can then be funded by public dollars, or
2) Downtown Inc. garners the support of the BID stakeholders from the East and West End
to pay for the signs directly with DTI BID dollars, or
3) The signs are privately funded by philanthropic donors, or
4) The City aim for the comprehensive way -finding signs which are more inclusive of the
whole downtown and,leave out the private brand initiative signage designating East &
West End in the public way -finding
Thank you for your consideration on this matter. Please feel free to contact me at
nmeiis"a latinohealthaccess.orif you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Nancy
Director of Commixn ty Engagement and Advocacy Programs
PREVENTION EDUCATION ACTION
Building Healthy
Santa Ana Building Healthy Communities (SABH
Communities
December 1st, 2015
Dear Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem and City Councilmembers,
With this letter we share our concerns for item 25C on tonight's City Council agenda.
We, the Santa Ana Building Healthy Communities, Equity for All Workgroup, and Wellness District Coalition,
believe development ought to uplift all people, be community driven and provide broad benefit, especially
when it is city funded. Over the last few years, we have seen City officials recognize the strength of
transparency and public participation.
However, the wayfinding proposal before you on tonight's agenda does not reflect an inclusive, unbiased,
participatory process. As City Staff explained to us, the initial plan for wayfinding was completed in 2010, and
updated in April to include the private business branding of East and West End. We do not feel there was
sufficient notification or input provided on this matter.
Furthermore, we do not support that public dollars finance the designation of East and West End as districts
in the downtown, when those brands did not go through a public process. Approving the signs as proposed
tonight will show an imbalance of power and influence on who gets to shape our City. As final decision
makers, it behooves our Council to ensure fairness and equity. We support the Santa Ana Business Council
proposal with the following recommendations:
1) Either the East or West End go through a public process and get wide community and council support
to publicly legitimate the brand in becoming a public sign designation, which can then be funded by
public dollars, or
2) Downtown Inc. garners the support of the BID stakeholders from the East and West End to pay for
the signs directly with DTI BID dollars, or
3) The signs are privately funded by philanthropic donors, or
4) The City aim for the comprehensive way finding signs which are more inclusive of the whole
downtown and leave out the private brand initiative signage designating East & West End in the
public way finding
As you are aware, the Santa Ana Building Healthy Communities is a unique initiative to bring much needed
improvements in the conditions of health and well being of families in Santa Ana. Through our efforts in
collaboration with many community based organizations, neighborhood residents, youth, and local
businesses, and with your leadership, we have successfully approved the Sunshine Ordinance, The City's 5
Year Strategic Plan, and the Santa Ana Wellness Resolution, amongst other things. We will continue to make
great strides with the broader Santa Ana community in as much as we can move forward together.
Sincerely,
Santa Ana Building Healthy Communities
Equity for All Workgroup
Wellness District Coalition
Mitre -Ramirez, Norma
From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
Attachments:
Categories:
Please enter into the record.
Huizar, Maria
Tuesday, December 01, 2015 4:24 PM
Mitre -Ramirez, Norma
Trujillo, Rose Ann; Orozco, Norma
FW: Letter
Wayfinding.pdf
Important
From: Cavazos, David
Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2015 3:29 PM
To: Carvalho, Sonia R.; Huizar, Maria; Reenders, Kelly
Cc: City Council
Subject: FW: Letter
FYI. Letter from DTI regarding wayfinding. Best, david
David Cavazos / City Manager
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, M31 / Santa Ana, CA 92701
This email and any files or attachments transmitted with it may contain privileged or otherwise confidential information. If you are
not the intended recipient, or believe that you may have received this communication in error, please advise the sender via reply
email and immediately delete the email you received.
From: Ryan Chase [mailto:rchaseusc@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2015 3:19 PM
To: Cavazos, David; Reenders, Kelly; Morley, Marc
Subject: Fwd: Letter
FYI - this is the most up to date correspondences from DTI perspective... Any questions please advise. Thanks.
DOWNTOWN
DOWNTOWN - SANTA ANA. COM
City Manager, Mayor and Council
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Drive
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Dear City Manager, Mayor and Council,
We are writing you enthusiastically about an exciting item before City Council tonight:
25C. FABRICATION AND INSTALLATION OF DOWNTOWN WAYFINDING SIGNAGE
12/1/2015
{STRATEGIC PLAN NO. 3, 4A} - Community Development Agency and Public Works Agency
This Downtown Wayfinding signage project has been in the works since 2009 and is critical to the
economic development of downtown because it helps visitors enter DTSA, find parking and locate
distinctive downtown districts for shopping, eating, government, art and culture.
We are delighted that City Staff prudently decided to dust this plan off and work closely with
stakeholders to get it executed quickly.
On April 6, 2015, we met with many downtown key stakeholders (Latino Health Access Wellness
Corridor, Santa Ana Business Council, a resident representative designated by Councilmember Michele
Martinez and Downtown Inc.) and the City to move this project forward and were excited to see all of
our various interests come together in a fair and united manner with great signage representation for
different downtown concepts:
Calle Cuatro
Civic Center
Museum District
East End
West End
Artists Village
We look forward to more city processes being orchestrated like this in which we all collaborate, provide
key input and let staff move the project forward quickly.
Despite all of this amazing progress, it has just been brought to our attention that because of the
project's current funding of $472,480, there is not enough "Calle Cuatro" signs to grant the coverage our
downtown partners would like along 4th Street.
To fix this, we do not support slowing this project down or removing any other stakeholders' signs.
These stakeholders are greatly anticipating these signs to drive vehicle traffic into the downtown and
orient pedestrians to their locations.
However, we do hope you can find a way to increase funding (possibly through the parking revenue or
budget surplus) or make a plan for a second round of signage to adequately cover all district concepts.
Please continue to work with all of the downtown stakeholders in an equitable, shared setting so we can
continue to enjoy the benefits of representing the most stakeholders and working together on what
matters most.
The district concept names that are reflected in the proposed Wayfinding have been printed on over
30,000 downtown maps and are duplicated everyday for visitingjurors at the Civic Center. Downtown
Inc. also uses these downtown district names for event, online and in advertisements. It is great to
support all the different niche areas adopted and represented side-by-side on the Wayfinding as it is on
the maps, publications and the internet.
We see the Wayfinding program as a great leap towards more collaborations and feel it should not be
re -negotiated after all parties inclusively came together to quickly modernize it. However, we do
support adequately covering the areas we agreed on at our meeting, and look forward to finding
positive ways to fulfill that so all are happy and working together.
Downtown Inc.
Ryan Chase
Board President