City Council - Regular Meeting

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You can go ahead, Mayor Pro Tem.

Awesome, thank you. Good afternoon, everybody. I hereby call the Santa Ana City Council meeting to order. This meeting is taking place with in-person attendance and by teleconference via Zoom. The public may access the meeting via the Santa Ana YouTube channel or the city's website. Please bear with us as the technology may disrupt the flow of the meeting. Madam Clerk, please conduct the roll call.

Council Member Becerra.

Here.

Council Member Hernandez.

Present.

Council Member Lopez. Council Member Phan. Here. Council Member Vasquez.

Present.

Mayor Pro Tempagnolosa.

Present.

Mayor Mezcua. We do have five members present. That is a quorum.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Are there any additions or deletions to the closed session agenda?

There are none.

Do any council members need to announce their abstentions on closed session items?

I do. I will be recused from this closed session item as the property owner, Caribou Industries, is a client of my employer, Rattan and Tucker. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Phan. Madam Clerk, do we have any speakers for closed session?

Yes, Mayor Pro Tem and City Council, we do have four speakers, but with Council Member Phan recused, we would need to pause until Council Member Hernandez returns.

Sylvia, can we get Council Member Hernandez back in here, please? Thank you, Council Member Hernandez.

We do have four in-person speakers related to closed session item number one. Want to call your name, please line up behind the podium. You'll have three minutes for your comments. Andrew Gonzalez, Thomas Drennan, and Daniel Osborne, followed by Rick Sanchez. So Andrew Gonzalez first, please.

Good evening, Andrew Gonzalez with Los Angeles Orange County's Building and Construction Trades Council, representing 160,000 men and women, the building construction trades, 48 local unions, and 14 trades. Here speaking on a closed session item and the third and Broadway project. I understand this project's been a long time coming. It's been frustrating to get this thing over the line, but once built, this project will actually put a number of construction workers to work, local residents to work, veterans and graduate MC3 programs. And then once completed, the revenue generated from this project, the TOT tax generated from this project will help to fund vital city services, construction projects here for roads, parks, and other items. Really hoping that one day we can really build this project and see this thing over the finish line. For that, we hope we had some more time for the developer to get this project completed as well. Thank you so much.

Thomas Trennan.

Good evening, Thomas Trennan, Operating Engineers, Local 12. I'm here to speak on behalf of the project at 201 West 3rd Street. I'm in total support. You know, I'm a business rep for Local 12, and if you see construction going on in Santa Ana, I've been covering it, you know, and most of it's being done under the community workforce agreement. When I was out in the field, I didn't get the chance to work at home too often. Usually I spent all my time out of town driving to and from work. So if I needed to stop at a store, I stopped on the way home. If I needed to eat, I stopped on the way home. Local projects with local hire and people from the city is a benefit to everybody, especially now with the price of fuel, food, everything else, anything that can be spent here at home along with spending more time with your family is important. Stress just from travel, stress from everyday life is important to weed that stuff out. And time at home, time relaxing, rather than being on the freeway, as we all know is a nightmare, is important. I think this project could benefit the city and the residents of the city. Thank you very much.

Daniel Osborne.

Danny Osborn, Ironworkers Local 433. We're going to speak in support of this project as well. Just one more opportunity for us and my brothers and sisters with the trades to put your constituents to work and give them lifelong careers like we've got with health benefits and pension and retirement and all that. So like I said, we can't do that without the projects. So I'm going to echo Andrew's request that you give this responsible developer a little more time to and get the project breaking ground, thank you.

Rick Sanchez.

Good evening, Rick Sanchez, Ironworkers Local 416. I'm a project of PLA CWA and I just standing here just ask you guys just to give the developer more time This project is set to be built under a community workforce agreement. Our apprenticeship school right now is, we have about 280 kids that are, you know, willing and able to provide the workforce for these projects, and I just, I hope you guys really think this out, and I'm all for this project, thank you.

Mayor Pro Tem and Council, noting for the record, we did not receive any e-comments on this item, nor are there any Zoom speakers. That concludes the public comments for closed session.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. We will now recess this portion of the meeting to consider the items listed on the closed session agenda. Thank you.

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Mayor, you're ready. All right, let's get this meeting started. I hereby call the Santa Ana City Council meeting to order. I'm clear.

This meeting has taken place with in-person attendance and by teleconference via Zoom. The public may access the meeting via the Santa Ana YouTube channel or the city's website. Please bear with us as the technology may disrupt the flow of the meeting. This is a meeting to conduct the business of the city. There's an opportunity to call for a recess or a break, or even to clear the meeting room if a meeting becomes too disruptive to properly conduct business. Warnings will be provided prior to any actions being taken. We appreciate your cooperation. For everyone's safety, per the fire marshal, please do not stand or place objects in the aisles, in front of the dais, along the back wall of the council chamber, or in front of any entrances or exits. During city council presentations, guests of individuals being recognized are invited to come to the front to take photos.

Madam Clerk, please conduct the roll call, please.

Council Member Becerra?

Here.

Council Member Hernandez?

Present.

Council Member Lopez? Here. Council Member Phan? Here. Council Member Vasquez?

Present.

Mayor Pro Tem Penalosa?

Present.

Mayor Meskwa? Present. All members present? Present.

Thank you. Before we proceed to the Pledge of Allegiance with the Mayor Pro Temo leaders, I'd like us to begin this meeting in a moment of silence, recognizing September 11th and all those lives that we lost on that day. I know it's not September 11th today, but we do want to recognize them and always acknowledge those that lost their lives on September 11th. Please, thank you. Thank you. Mayor Pro Tem, will you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please?

Absolutely, Mayor. I'd be honored to. Ladies and gentlemen, if you would please rise with me and face our flag. Place your right hand over your heart and follow along. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you so very much. At this time, the words of inspiration by Pastor Jeff Schindler from Cross of Grace in Santa Ana.

Well, thank you, Madam Mayor. My name is Jeff Schleder. I'm a pastor at Cross of Grace Church in downtown Santa Ana, and I'm privileged to be your neighbor and to open up this meeting in prayer this evening. So please, if you would, bow your heads as we ask God to bless what takes place tonight. Lord God, your word reveals that you are gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. You are good to all and your mercy is over all that you've made. You are righteous in all your ways and kind in all your works. You have generously provided everything we have, even the breath in our lungs and the beating of our hearts. And for all this, we say, thank you. We acknowledge that according to your plan, you have wisely placed us exactly where we are. You've placed us alongside each other as neighbors in the city of Santa Ana. And I pray, Lord, that the heartbeat of our city would reflect your own good and generous heart toward us. That your kindness and concern for us would be reflected in the way that we care for each other. that your righteousness and justice would guide us as we strive to order the affairs of our city, our communities, and our homes. In this, Lord, I thank you for our city councilors and all the elected officials and civic leaders that you've placed in positions of influence and authority. I pray that you would empower them to be your servants, to promote what is good, to restrain what is not, and to maintain an order which would cause our city to flourish. Fill them continually with wisdom to know how to lead, how to cooperate, and how to labor together well. Grant them courage to perform a difficult job. Give to them a peace that comes from knowing that this city is not ultimately in any of their hands, but instead it's in your good, wise, and powerful hands. I pray that even right now, they would entrust their task, their burdens, and all the weight of all the anxieties they carry for our city over to you. And God, I pray that you would help the members of our community to do the same, entrusting their lives, their families, and their futures to you. Because you are God, and we are not. You cause the sun to shine and the rain to fall. You keep the world turning. And every good gift that we have comes directly from your hand. So this evening, meet our leaders and meet our neighbors with this peace this evening. The peace that comes from the God who can bear the weight of our lives. The peace that comes from the Savior who bore our greatest burdens upon the cross. Jesus Christ, in whose name we now pray. Amen.

Amen.

Thank you, Pastor Jeff. Madam Clerk, are there any additions or deletions to the City Council agenda?

Yes, Mayor and City Council, there are. At the request of the city manager, item numbers 25 and 27, ordinances related to transport of persons and electric bicycles have been removed from the agenda and will not be heard tonight. And if I could please make an announcement for members of the public on Zoom or teleconference, to request to speak during public comments on agenda or non-agenda items within the city's jurisdiction, you must dial star nine from your phone or click the button labeled raise hand from Zoom now in order to be in the speaker queue once public comments commence. This does not apply to public hearing items number 29, 30, and 31, for which comments will be heard separately. Following this announcement, speaker queue for agenda and non-agenda items will close. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Ceremony presentations at this time. Presentations by Council Member Phan and Council Member Vasquez, recognizing Sebel USA for outstanding contributions to the community. Can you come forward, please?

THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE HAVE THREE COUNCIL MEMBERS UP HERE BECAUSE WE WERE TRIPPING OVER EACH OTHER TO SAY WHO WOULD HONOR SEBILLE AND DO THE WORK AND TYVIA ALLOWED US TO JOIN HER. IT'S IN HER WARD SO I APPRECIATE HER. The work that we saw, we all saw Cebelle do. Tonight I'm honored to recognize Cebelle USA for its outstanding contributions to our community and its continued commitment to uplifting individuals and families throughout Orange County. Since founding in 2012, Cebelle USA has worked to create a community of support for immigrants, refugees and other underserved populations by providing critical health and human services to help erase economic hardships and create pathways towards greater stability and self-sufficiency. Cebil serves some of Santa Ana's most vulnerable residents, including refugees, immigrants, low-income families, youth, seniors, and families facing food, housing, health, and financial insecurity. WHAT BEGAN WITH A SIMPLE GOAL OF HELPING VULNERABLE IMMIGRANT FAMILIES HAS GROWN INTO A COMPREHENSIVE ORGANIZATION PROVIDING A FOOD PANTRY ASSISTANCE, RENTAL ASSISTANCE, MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, CASE MANAGEMENT, MEDICAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, AND EDUCATIONAL AND SKILL BUILDING OPPORTUNITIES. SABIL'S USA'S APPROACH TO ESPECIALLY MEANINGFUL BECAUSE IT SERVICES are provided with dignity, compassion, and respect, recognizing that every individual and family deserves opportunity to live a healthy, secure, and fulfilling life. From food distribution and emergency assistance to mental health support, job assistance, financial literacy, mentorship, and educational programs, Seville USA continues to meet people when they are where they are and provide them with the resources they need to move forward. I'm gonna ask Councilmember Lopez to speak a few.

SABIL distributes more than 756,000 pounds of food annually to families in need and holds a major food distribution every third Sunday of the month. SABIL USA's commitment to service is also reflected in the countless volunteers, community partners, donors, and staff members who give their time and their resources to make this work possible. Today, Seville USA proudly calls the city of Santa Ana home, where its 6,200 square foot facility allows the organization to expand its operations and continue to serve thousands of our residents and folks in Orange County. Thank you for enriching Santa Ana's cultural landscape and reminding us that... Preserving our heritage strengthens our entire community. On behalf of the Santa Ana City Council and our entire community, we thank you for your work. We thank your team for your commitment. And we're really excited that you decided to buy your property here in the city because you could be anywhere in the county. And so the city is here to proclaim and to say that we are your partner in this work. And we're really grateful for the work that you do to support working families in the city. So I will pass this over to Councilwoman Taifan.

Oh, what else can we say? There's actually a lot of talking points because Summer and Sahar Aziz are just incredible women. I met them today. I got to tour the facility today. And I'm just so grateful that you chose Ward 1 to be your permanent home. Dr. Summer Aziz is a pharmacist and executive director of Sabil USA. She co-founded the organization in 2012 with her twin sister, Sahar, who does all the accounting and treasury work. That's the hard part, I think. I can't do math. They immigrated to the United States and came to learn firsthand the challenges of building a new life in an unfamiliar country in New York City, right? And they took inspiration from the Chinese American community, Italian American community, the Jewish community, and built their own community of support. So as an immigrant myself, I am just so proud to have both of you who have not only become successful individuals, but chose to become a helping hand in our community in Orange County and in Santa Ana because we know that a lot of members in our community needs that support. And so my colleagues have mentioned all the different resources and work and services that Sabeel provides, but I have to say for me the most, I guess the most impressive is the mental health services because in especially immigrant communities and communities of color, often mental health services are not so readily available to have social workers, therapists who understand your culture, your community, your religion, and so to have those services to our residents is, I think, I'm just so grateful. And so the organization has grown a lot over the last 13 years, and this new space in Ward 1 off Susan Street will meet the needs of over 25,000 clients annually. And lucky for all of us, there is an event coming up this Sunday, September 20th. I will let Madam Executive Director talk a little bit more about that, but please give a great round of applause to Sebille USA and the Zee Sisters. Thank you.

Good evening, everyone. And I would like to thank our Congresswoman

No, no, no, not thank anybody.

Council member, council member, do not give me a raise. Council members, for everyone that came and visited Sabeel, I really appreciate it and I encourage everyone else to come and visit Sabeel. We've made Santa Ana our home. And we're proud to be here. We're proud to make a difference. We have the mental health program. We'd like to add a Latino and a Spanish person on our group to be able to service more people. We have the food distribution, which is every Sunday. As was mentioned, we service around 500 people, around 125 pounds of groceries with produce and food to be able to accommodate, but we also do it by appointment because of traffic. to be able to come and get food at any time people want food. We get our food from Second Harvest. We get food from T-Fab. We get food from local groceries. And we are very, very sensitive to be able to be aware of expiration date, to be able to give good food out. And everybody that works at Sabil are very caring people. So thank you very much. Thank you.

About the Sunday event, what time is it?

Oh, the Sunday event is from 8 o'clock in the morning. People line up at 6 o'clock in the morning. So just from 8 o'clock till 10 o'clock, we're there serving food as a drive-thru. You don't need to register. If you want to follow us, go to www.sabil.us and you can register there or otherwise just stop by. We don't turn anyone away.

All right, thank you very much. Madam City Attorney, do you have anything to report out of closed session?

Thank you, Mayor, members of the Council, members of the public. Our Council met in closed session earlier this evening to discuss one matter of potential initiation of litigation in relation to a project and disposition and development agreement affecting property at 201 West Third Street. By unanimous vote of six to zero with Councilmember Phan abstaining, the Council has authorized the filing of a lawsuit against Caribou Industries and Partners Capital Solutions, a real estate investment trust. And that is all the reportable action that I have. Thank you, Madam City Attorney.

This is the time of the meeting for the City Council to receive comments from the public on agenda and non-agenda items. Madam City Clerk, please explain the public comment procedures and call the first speakers, and they'll be given three minutes, please.

Thank you, Mayor. Pursuant to resolution number 2026-024, speakers are requested to address the City Council directly and to refrain from profane language, racial epitaphs, and libelous or slanderous statements that disturb the decorum of the meeting. Pursuant to the Brown Act, the City Council may not enter into discussion at this time. Speakers will have three minutes for their comments. Before calling speakers, I'll report the summary of emails provided as of today at 3 p.m. The city received a total of 52 e-comments, one comment each for items 13, 16, 17, 21, and 27, three e-comments on item number 32, and 44 e-comments on non-agenda topics. Those were distributed to the city council and posted online for public review. We'll now hear from members of the public that are physically present in the council chamber to provide comments on agenda or non-agenda items, not including the scheduled public hearings, which will be heard separately later. Please state your name and the ward or neighborhood that you reside in for the record. When you hear your name, please line up in the center aisle behind the podium. The first three speakers, Andrew Gonzalez, Thomas Drennan, and Daniel Osborne.

Good evening, Andrew Gonzalez with Los Angeles and Orange County Building and Construction Trades Council, representing 14 trades, 48 local unions, and 160,000 men and women that are building construction trades. Here speaking at item number 32, we stand actually in favor of community standards when it comes to the development of data centers. We understand the importance and the difficulties these have brought to some communities, but we understand that when built right and built appropriately, these can actually be a benefit to a community and benefit the workers who build those things. But if developers are allowed to build unrestricted without any guidelines or guidance, you know, you can see in other parts of other communities where there's been pushback and really some difficulty with those. But when built right, when you preserve the water standards, the energy standards, the environmental standards, and build it with a local workforce, we can see these things actually benefiting a community. You know, if you're not in favor of data centers, just go and turn your phone off. Turn in your smart TVs. Stop ordering things from Amazon. Stop downloading videos. Because all of that, not just AI, all of that, runs through what we call the cloud. Well, the cloud is just that. It's a data center. We used to call them server farms back in the day, and now they're called data centers. So if you don't like those things, turn off your social media, turn off your cell phone, because everything that we do on a cell phone runs eventually one day through a data center. And if we don't build them here with our environmental standards, our work standards, our community standards, they're going to be able to someplace else. that doesn't have the same standards and the same priorities that we have here in our community. So when you deliberate on these items, we really hope you hold these messages important to us because these actually have reset a lot of jobs for our members. So we're in favor of high quality standards. We build anything here in Santa Ana. Thank you so much.

Thomas Drennan, followed by Daniel Osborne and Rick Sanchez.

Good evening, I'm Thomas Trennan, Operating Engineers, Local Number 12. I'm a business representative. I represent members that work here in your city and live here in your city. We at the Operating Engineers are in total support of building anything that the public is comfortable building. You know, data centers have got a big, there's a big fear mongering thing behind them that they're out to watch you and observe you. And as Andrew was saying, guess what? That's already happening and it's been happening. We do believe that the city should be comfortable with what's being built. It's being built to a high standard all the way from the beginning of the project, all the way through the end, through the maintenance. It shouldn't be done with cheap material, cheap labor. We believe that apprentices should participate and learn how to do this stuff. Most importantly, that the taxpayer that's paying for this is getting their money's worth. That it's not a cheap thing that's gonna fall down and need repair in two months after being built. The most important thing, I believe, is that from the beginning, the public comment or the public should be involved in the planning, the process, and everything. It shouldn't just be something that just gets thrown into the public's or the constituents' that they should have say, they should have the right to ask questions, and they have the right to know the facts, the facts of what's coming in, when it's coming in, why it's coming in, and that they're not gonna be on the hook for all the unnecessary water and utilities, whatever it is, that they're not paying the bill that it's spread out equally. We're in total support of this, however, we do want the public to be comfortable with what's being built, thank you.

Danny Osborne, Ironworkers Local 433. As much as it's important for us to work on things, you know, put your constituents to work and our members, you know, believe it or not, it's also important for us that things are built right, built safely. There's a right way to build things, a wrong way to build them. We've seen that with battery storage projects, right? When they're built irresponsibly, it's a disaster, right? But last five, ten years, it's been pretty... you know, disaster-free, right? We know how to build them now. We wanna be part of projects that are built responsibly and that are endangering the surrounding communities. You're gonna see the same thing with data centers. And just like my brother Andrew said, it's, you know, with our Chad GPT, our social media, your iCloud, your Google Photos, I mean, that stuff doesn't come free, right? We gotta have a place to store that stuff and make it available, so these need to be built. You know, the building trades, we have the highest construction standards when we're building something. California has the highest environmental safety standards when they allow you to build something. To me, I think that's the perfect marriage to get these things built that, whether we like it or not, are a necessity. So just hope we keep an open mind to it. Thank you.

Next three speakers, Rick Sanchez, Roland Gutierrez, Doug Mangione.

good evening council members my name is ricardo sanchez i'm with iron workers local 416. data centers can provide good local jobs and apprenticeship opportunities but they must be developed responsibly we support strong labor standards local hiring community engagement and protections for air and water quality we encourage the city to establish clear safeguards that protect residents while allowing quality projects to move forward thank you guys thank you

Good evening. My name is Roland Gutierrez. I'm with Springer Fitters, UA Local 709, and I'm here to represent my 1,100 members and quite a few that live here in the Santa Ana City. Major infrastructure projects are coming, and the question is not simply whether to build them, but whether we're going to build them responsibly. The UA Pipe Trace believes in responsible construction. This means family-sustaining jobs, strong safety standards, registered apprenticeships, and local career paths for your community. UA pipe fitters, plumbers, and sprinkler fitters, and apprentices have the training and deliver the complex projects safely, efficiently, and to the highest standards, and they should be at the center of the data center projects that you may or may not be considering here in the city of Santa Ana. Responsible development also protects ratepayers, water, air quality, and public infrastructure. Developers must pay their fair share for energy, grid upgrades, roads, and services that their projects require. Growth should strengthen communities, not shift costs and risks onto the working families. Blanket moratoriums on data centers is not the answer. They stop good projects along with bad ones, delay jobs, and prevent communities from negotiating better outcomes. We need clear and forceful guardrails, skilled and trained labor standards, responsible resources, full cost accountability, and public participation from the start. The LAOC Building Trace is currently doing this in the city of Irvine. We're also doing it in the city of Vernon. We just completed one in the city of Vernon, and we'll be building a second one shortly. Let's build responsibly with UA pipe trades, community input, community workforce agreements, strong protections, and no moratoriums. This is how we create good jobs, protect our neighborhoods, and deliver lasting value for everyone. Thank you.

Doug Mangione, Sue Palak, Nina Jurek.

Do I get his 52 seconds also? Doug Mangione, I'm representing the 2500 skilled and trained electricians of the IBW. We all know everybody's worried about this. In California, we are building them smaller. We're building them more efficient. But we have three bills in Sacramento right now that's going to create tariffs for high energy users. It's going to create strong labor standards. And it's going to ensure, one bill ensures large electric users pay their fair share of the grid costs. and protecting workers and rate payers from subsidizing high. These are on the governor's desks right now. We hope he signs them. We've all developed language that we can pass on at some time, a bunch of whereases and resolves. But basically, high road labor standards, prevailing wage, invest in state and federal registered apprenticeship programs, respect workers' right to organize, ensure that the permanent operation and maintenance jobs are family supporting jobs with strong wages, benefits, and career advancement. preventing the shifting cost of electricity or infrastructure cost on local residential and small business owners. Requiring transparency, which we're already doing in anticipated energy demands, water use, and environmental impacts. Requiring technologies that reduce resource consumption, such as recycle water, closed loop, air cool. You've heard the UAE, you heard Roland here describe what they're doing in this. INVESTMENT IN ELECTRICAL GENERATION THAT THEY PAY THE COST FOR. AND THEN KEEPING AFFORDABILITY FOR EXISTING CUSTOMERS. AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT BEFORE THE CONTRACT. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE TONIGHT. YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A VERY OPEN PROCESS HERE. We think we shouldn't run away and hide from new things, but we shouldn't let things be built willy-nilly with, hey, just come in and do it. We all know the community has some concerns here. We have concerns. We don't want them built cheaply, and we don't want your community being raked over the coals just because we need a data center. So we're here to help. We're here to help the community. We're here to help the council develop some reasonable requirements for these people. They do make a lot of money. We're all on these things. I was going to do a selfie right now and put it on the cloud at our protest. But as long as we're going to do it, and as long as we do have a need for them, we're not stupid people. We're smart people. The council's smart. Your commissioners are smart. We can do this correctly. Thank you.

Sue Palak, Nina Jurek, Pat Linehan.

Sue Palak from Ward 4. I'm here to talk tonight about the DSA, which is the Democratic Socialist Party of America. Councilman Vasquez, I've noted that you're funded, your campaign is funded by them, but I want to educate you guys a little bit about what a lot of people are talking about. Ever hear that poem, step into my parlor, say the spider to the fly? Well, that reminds me of the DSA. You can't get to communism without first leading people to accept the progressive movement. The progressive movement has led to socialism. The socialistic movement has another luring word put in front of it. It's the democratic. And now... We have the Democratic Socialist Party of America, which is really the road into Marxism, and Marxism is one half of communism. You know, a lot of Americans are being gaslighted. Do you know what the definition is? There's many of them, but in this case, it is gross distortion, promises, misrepresentations of the truth being presented to you as fact. One of the tools of communism is to erase our history because history teaches what has and has not worked.

And Councilmember Pham, I love you, but I want to tell you, I think that you need to put the picture of Christopher Columbus back up.

We Americans believe in teaching all our history, good, bad, and to never forget. We've grown and learned from our mistakes of the past because that's what Americans do. Communist countries like China erased history so they have a clean slate to indoctrinate and control their future generations to indoctrinate them. I remember issues being talked about since I was a teenager, what happened in Russia when the churches were closed. I know missionaries to China who talked about people who witnessed the horrors of communism. There were government-mandated abortions if a woman had a child already and killed a lot of the girl babies. Neighbors spied on each other, and underground churches were reported with dire consequences. If a taxi driver in China was caught with even one page of the Bible, that would send him to the camps. Because Christianity is totally banned. And what happens in these camps? Torture, starvation, organ harvesting, never to be seen again. Have you heard about the abortion bill passed by Newsom by the DSA legislature that allows the abortion of a baby up to nine months, only to be given care for pain up to 28 days until it dies? Of course you haven't heard about it. It's called infanticide, and Newsom went and changed prenatal to perinatal in the bill. Just one word that allows this to happen. So the DSA will lure you, and if you rebel, they will do as the spider does. They'll devour you. You, in all aspects of your life, will be destroyed. This is happening in communistic countries now. It's being introduced by the spider in America. The DSA is already offering everything unsuspecting people want, like state-run grocery stores, you know, 32-hour a week, free health care, to lure people into a utopian spiral. Sue, your time is up. Thank you.

Have a nice evening. Next three speakers, Nina Jurek, Pat Lenahan, and Adrian E.

Good evening, Madam Mayor, council members, city manager, city officials. Good to be here again. Nina Jarek, Ward 5, here to speak about the park. We're still here. The lot is still empty. We're still excited about it. There can never be too many thank yous for all your support in leading to where we are today. And that is Walkable Park for Washington Square. I THOUGHT THE LAST THREE AND A HALF YEARS WERE REALLY TOUGH. GOING TO ALL THE NEIGHBORS, SEEING IF THEY WERE IN SUPPORT OF IT, PRESENTING IT TO COUNCIL, VARIOUS MEETINGS, FINALLY GETTING IT ON THE AGENDA, AND THEN VOTING FOR PARTIAL FUNDING OF IT. I WAS REALLY EXCITED. I THOUGHT, WHEW, THE HARD WORK IS DONE. BOY, WAS I WRONG. NOT EVEN CLOSE. I KNOW WE HAVE A LOT MORE WORK TO DO. THE HARDEST PART FOR ME PERSONALLY AND the rest of the neighborhood as well, is waiting, watching and waiting what's going on. Washington Square, as you know, are doers. We want to do, we want to help, we want to move this along. Please reach out, whatever we can do, we're a waiting word. And thank you for all of your hard work. I had something kind of exciting happen last weekend. We're finally recovered back to our event participation post COVID. And that was a chili cook-off contest. And no, I didn't win, unfortunately. But what the best part about it was there were five new couples, five young couples that were there and they all shared stories about why they bought in washington square that was that was exciting to hear uh... and it was literally the feeling of community it was the vibe that the neighborhood has it was watching families wander up and down the streets and uh... and also when i said uh... yes my name is nina nice to meet you though at the park I live right across the street. Somebody else said, I live a block away. We cannot wait for that empty land to become a park. So they were very excited about it. And they said, thank you for all you're doing. Thank you for all the neighborhood has done. And we're so glad that you're working so hard with the city. And I'm here just to bring the thanks from all of us.

Pat Lenahan, Yesenia Marujo, James Adams.

Good evening, Madam Mayor and council members. I'm Pat Linehan, Ward 5, Vice President of the Washington Square neighborhood. Pardon me?

Please bring your mic down, thank you.

Is that better? Sorry, Vice President of the Washington Square Neighborhood Association. I also write articles for our newsletter. One of the things, as Nina mentioned, we have a vibrant neighborhood and people are walking around. We have lots of dogs, so I started writing the dog articles for the newsletter. Now it's expanded to other pets in the neighborhood. The first time I came to speak to city council, I had 30 seconds. Even speaking my Philadelphia fast, I didn't get very far in talking about the park. I can't believe I've spent more than half my life in the city of Santa Ana. I'm from the East Coast. How did I get here? Who knows? Washington Square is a vibrant, active, welcoming community. I have lived there for over a dozen years. I quickly became involved with everything in the community. And I'm here tonight to express my continued support for the development of a park. In the last few months, this has become even more important to us in the sense that public safety is more involved. With the proliferation of e-bikes, scooters, and everything, walking on the sidewalks has become dangerous sometimes. I've almost been hit just walking to the corner. So this project would help us in having a safe, walkable space for our families. And as Nina mentioned, we have lots of young families moving in. We have older adults. And it would be a safe, great place for us. One of the things that we did recently was we sponsored a writing contest for children. and that will be in our next newsletter. The winner, one of the things the winner cited, she cited a lot of things, our Fourth of July parade and everything, but she said, I can't wait for us to get our park. The other thing I see about having the park is it's a safe place for us to walk. And I can see a contest developing. We can all keep track on our phone how many steps we have. We'll have monthly contests and things like that to see who's walked the most. I think it is one of the things that will keep health, happiness, and balance. Pat, your time is up. Thank you.

Next three speakers, Yesenia Marujo, James Adams, Isidro Espiritu.

Hola, buenas noches a todos. Mi nombre es Yesenia Marujo, residente representante de la asociación del vecino Cornstone Village en la ciudad de Santana. También soy asociada de investigación comunitaria en Echo Gap Block de la Universidad de California. He seguido el proceso Thank you very much. Mi oposición se debe a lo siguiente. Primero, el borrador actual se publicó apenas a mediados de julio y desde entonces no ha habido oportunidades adecuadas para recibir aportaciones de la comunidad. Segundo, además concretamente no ha habido tiempo suficiente para estudiar y comentar y modificar la lista de usos del suelo permitido en la zona de interfaz residencial industrial cerca de nuestro vecindario. Cornerstone Village deserves something better. Third, other areas of the city will benefit from the update of the zoning code much more than Cornerstone Village, despite the fact that Cornerstone is one of the most polluted areas in the entire state of California. If it is not modified, the zoning code of the city of Santa Ana will perpetuate a profound inequality within the city itself. Fourth, El borrador actual del código de zonificación no protege la salud pública, algo que se necesita urgentemente en nuestro vecindario. Tenemos tasas elevadas de asma. Niños de nuestra comunidad han sido diagnosticados con el mismo tipo de leucemia y se sospecha que una fábrica de galvanoplástica era la causa. Hoy en día, demasiadas mujeres de Cornerstone Village reportan partos prematuros, los cuales están asociados con la contaminación del aire. Cornerstone Village merece algo mejor. Quinto, el borrador de actualización del Código de Zonificación no se adjunta a los valores fundamentales del Plan General del 2022 de la Ciudad, los cuales establecen la salud, la equidad y la creación de más espacios verdes en Santa Ana como prioridad. This is our neighborhood, we don't have many green areas. We need it to mitigate the contamination of all those factories that are in our neighborhood. Sixth, 77 actions of implementation of environmental justice of the General Plan of 2022 are not added, which require empowerment and benefits for the community. Amortization zones against air pollution and equitable access to open spaces. Gracias.

Good evening. My name is Yesenia Marujo, and I am a resident and representative of the Cornerstone Village Neighborhood Association in the city of Santa Ana. I am also a community research associate at the University of California, California's EcoGov Lab. I have followed the city's zoning code update process since its inception, and tonight I want to express my strong opposition to the draft zoning code update approved by the Santa Ana Planning Commission on August 31st of this year. My opposition is based on the following. First, the current draft was released only in mid-July and since then there have not been adequate opportunities for community input. Second, there has not been enough time to study, comment on, and revise the list of permitted land uses in the residential industrial interface area near our neighborhood. Cornerstone Village deserves better. Third, other areas of the city will benefit from the zoning code update far more than Cornerstone Village, even though Cornerstone is located in one of the most polluted census tracts in the entire state of California. Unless changes are made, the City of Santa Ana's zoning code will perpetuate a profound inequality within the city itself. Fourth, the current draft zoning code does not protect public health, something that is urgently needed in Cornerstone Village. We have elevated rates of asthma. Children in our community have been diagnosed with the same type of leukemia. and an electroplating facility was suspected as the cause. Today, too many women in Cornerstone Village report premature births, which are associated with air pollution. Cornerstone Village deserves better. We need to have green areas to mitigate the pollution. Fifth, the draft zoning code update is not consistent with the core values of the City's 2022 General Plan, which establish health, equity, and the creation of more green spaces in Santa Ana as key priorities. Six, it is also not consistent with the 77 environmental justice implementation actions in the city's 2022 general plan, which call for community empowerment and benefits, buffers against air pollution, and equitable access to open space. Thank you.

Next three speakers, James Adams, Isidre Espiritu, and Jeff Dole.

Good evening, my name is James Adams, and I am here tonight as the Associate Director of UCI's EcoGovLab, working in collaboration with my partners of the Cornerstone Village Neighborhood Association. And tonight I would like to follow Yesenia's lead by drawing your attention to the events around the residential industrial interface in the Cornerstone area. I've been following the zoning code update closely, and still remain unclear about what will and will not be permitted in this industrial residential interface. It's clear to me that this process has been rushed and that this is reflected in the lack of protections in the draft of the zoning code, which does not include enough pollution protection for areas like Cornerstone Village. The current draft of the zoning code permits freight, truck, and bus terminals, for example. Freight, truck, and bus terminals are a major source of pollution with clearly documented negative health effects as established in a report by Sam Wilson of the Union of Concerned Scientists in May of 2026. Further, many dangerous land uses are not specifically named on the list of unpermitted land uses. Rail facilities and hazardous waste storage were removed from the list of allowable uses, for example, but are not clearly listed as not permitted. This creates a loophole through which polluters could move into the residential industrial interface near the cornerstone area in the future. I also want to call out the lack of data supporting claims by city staff that the current industrial zones are necessary to provide jobs and city revenue. Show us the data, please. How many jobs are there in the residential industrial interface, for example, and what revenue is generated through taxes on these businesses? Please also show us that the city has done its due diligence in looking for and promoting economic development opportunities that are not hazardous to public health. The zoning code update process and the resulting draft zoning code are, in my view, as an environmental governance researcher, inadequate. Your legal obligation to address environmental injustice has not been adequately met. So I encourage you to return to the drawing board and to draw in more community input into this process. Thank you for listening.

Buenas noches. Mi nombre es Isidro Espiritos. Soy residente de Pacific Park y trabajo con colaboración con la Asociación de Vecinos de Conston para construir una red sólida de defensores de la justicia ambiental. En toda la ciudad no creo que el borrador actual del código de zonificación aborde adecuadamente la injusticia ambiental. Santa Ana merece algo mejor. Esta noche quiero resaltar que no ha habido oportunidades adecuadas para que la comunidad aporte sus comentarios sobre el último borrador del código de zonificación. Publicado a mediados de julio a las organizaciones comunitarias se les había prometido un borrador un año antes. Cuando se publicó el borrador en julio fue una sorpresa y llegó en un momento en que muchos residentes estaban de viaje y tenían responsabilidades adicionales de cuidado. de niños debido a las vacaciones escolares y ahora la ciudad se apresura a aprobar el borrador actual. Santa Ana merece algo mejor. Es importante destacar que el borrador más reciente del código de zonificación incluye menos protecciones ambientales y otros beneficios comunitarios para Cornstone Village. Que el borrador publicado un año antes comentó Commerce Zone Village merece algo mejor. Además, fue apenas la semana pasada cuando el personal de la ciudad acudió por primera vez a compartir información sobre la actualización del código de zonificación con la Asociación de Vecinos de Pacific Park. Esto ocurrió después de que la Comisión de Planificación ya hubiera votado a favor de recomendar el borrador actual al Consejo Municipal. Esto no es aceptable. Santana merece algo mejor. Les pido que por favor actúen como los líderes de nuestra ciudad. frenen el proceso de actualización del código de zonificación. Asegúrense de que las voces de la comunidad sean escuchadas y reflejadas con el nuevo código. Prioricen lo que se supone son los valores fundamentales de la ciudad, salud, equidad y sostenibilidad ambiental. Gracias y buenas noches.

Good evening. My name is Isidro Espiritu. I am a Pacific Park resident, and I work in collaboration with the Cornerstone Neighborhood Association to build a strong network of environmental justice advocates throughout the city. I do not believe the current draft zoning code adequately addresses environmental injustice. Santa Ana deserves better. Tonight, I want to emphasize that there have not been adequate opportunities for the community to provide input on the latest draft of the zoning code, which was released in mid-July. Community organizations had been promised a draft a year earlier. When the draft was released in July, it came as a surprise and at a time when many residents were traveling and had additional child care responsibilities due to the school break. and now the city is rushing to approve the current draft. Santa Ana deserves better. Importantly, the most recent draft of the zoning code includes fewer environmental protections and other community benefits for Cornerstone Village than the draft released a year earlier. Cornerstone Village deserves better. Furthermore, it was only last week that city staff came for the first time to share information about the zoning code update with the Pacific Park Neighborhood Association. This occurred after the Planning Commission had already voted to recommend the current draft to the City Council. This is not acceptable. Santa Ana deserves better. I ask you please to act as the leaders of our city. Slow down the zoning code update process. Make sure that community voices are heard and reflected in the new code. Prioritize what are supposed to be the city's core values, health, equity, and environmental sustainability. Thank you very much.

Jeff Dole, Kevin Reyes, Manuel Pineda.

Good evening city council members. My name is Jeff Doley and I live in Ward 5. I'm here to advocate for the introduction of a native plant ordinance in Santa Ana. Earlier this year, the city of Encinitas unanimously adopted such an ordinance and I recommend we follow their lead. It sets a 50% native plant requirement on landscapes for new commercial, industrial, and multifamily projects that already go through a landscape review process, and 100% for new city-owned landscapes in order to save money due to their drought tolerance and other factors. It also would exclude single-family homes, ADUs, sports fields, and other common sense uses. Currently, our general plan encourages drought-tolerant landscaping and highlights environmental concerns. An ordinance would build on this foundation by requiring locally native plants defined using CALSCAPE, which is an existing database maintained by the California Native Plant Society. Leaning on this existing well-maintained resource means that nothing is new for the city staff to build or maintain, so it's essentially free for the city. Distinguishing drought tolerant and locally native plants is very significant. An olive tree from the Mediterranean survives on almost no water, but no California native fauna benefit from them. 90% of plant-eating insects are specialists. They evolved alongside particular local plants and can't simply switch. Monarch caterpillars famously need milkweed, and that relationship is not an exception. Meanwhile, 96% of our land birds raise their chicks on insects, not seeds. So a single nest can take thousands of caterpillars, hence the need. A landscape of water-wise exotics is green, but it's a food desert. Locally, native plants like California buckwheat, black sage, coast live oak are the base of the food web assembled over millennia. That's the difference between decoration and habitat. Without habitat, we'll keep watching our native wildlife decline. I've spoken to several neighborhood associations, and the feedback has been entirely positive. It's been clear that people want to live in a healthier environment. Lastly, I've spoken with individuals involved in the ordinance and there's been no sign of an impact on development. Projects are meeting the ordinance's requirements without issue or delay. This shows that development doesn't have to come at the cost of the environment. I ask that you please direct staff to research such an ordinance. Thank you. I'd also like to echo the sentiments of my neighbors regarding the park in Washington Square. Yeah, thank you for all of your work and commitment to our community. And lastly, I would just add that data centers are not creating long-term jobs. They're driven by short-term ambition. Thank you very much.

Kevin Reyes, followed by Manuel Pineda.

Dear Santa Ana City Council, Mayor Valeria Mezcua, everyone watching and anyone with an ear to hear. My name is Kevin Reyes and I'm a resident of Santa Ana Ward 2. I come humbly before you today requesting that the City Council fund a roller rink with the wooden floor here in Santa Ana. First, however, I would like to say thank you for investing in our skate parks. They are beautiful. I do request that some parking be made available for our Gerardo Muet Skate Park because you require a permit to park there and there is limited parking in the area in general. If you could look into adding some parking in the area, it would help tremendously. Secondly, and to my point, I ask that an indoor space be made available for Santa Ana roller skaters, preferably with a wooden floor so that we have a safe place to skate in. I'm currently on a journey of skating 250 days straight, and many of those days have been here in Santa Ana. And while skate parks are fine during the day, there are no safe spaces to skate, especially during intermittent weather or at night. Normally, I skated at Holiday Skate Center in Orange, and as you may have heard, it was shut down and closed. And although skaters and I have been fighting to have it reopened, I wanted to extend the invitation to you guys. The Santa and Unified School District has already looked into the roller rink business by looking into Pigeons Long Beach, and as such, I do propose a rink to be opened with the objective of introducing roller skating, specifically artistic roller skating, to our students. While field trips to rinks outside the city are fun, they do not showcase how structured the sport can be. And with the race to become the birthplace of Olympic roller skating underway, I asked the city council to join in by making our own indoor space available for Santa Ana roller skaters. By making it volunteer-based through Santa Ana Unified School District, the benefits could be staggering. Responsible youth could find a volunteer opportunity they can put on their resumes for job and college applications, while troubled youth may find a sport that can dramatically change their lives. And if even one Elisa Leo is made from such a venture, Santa Ana will be known as a birthplace of Olympic roller skating, a title holding generational and historical wealth that cannot be appraised by money alone. That is why I proposed that the City Council open up an indoor space for our roller skaters. Lastly, I also ask that the City Council help find my family dog, Mando. He is a 10-pound white Maltese mixed with a cloudy right eye and a grumpy personality. He was last seen on October 22nd at the Country Club Mobile Park on Willits and Sullivan, and we miss him very much. I do believe Santa Ana has a problem with dogs being stolen from their owners. from the front of their houses and being sold on black markets, but that's an issue for another day. Thank you for listening to my comments. I hope to hear your guys' thoughts on the matters. God bless you all.

Ladies and gentlemen, Emmanuel Michael Pineda from Garden Grove, California. And just an update, I mean, just a quick briefing on case number 16-00384-S as in Sheriff G.S. in Garden. And I remember Ms. Amuesca sitting there saying, Santa Ana is the heart of Orange County. And, you know, we have to figure out what's taking place in your city. Yeah, I mean, especially, you know, in G.S. under that case number, we have a... The men also that are out there hard at work in Santa Ana, give them some more money.

Mayor and City Council, that concludes the public speakers. There were no speakers in Zoom when public comments commenced.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. All right, at this time, we're going to the consent calendar items two through 23 are before us. Council members, please announce.

I'll make a motion to move the item.

I'm sorry, let me go through this, please. Please announce any items that you'll be abstaining from due to conflict. If there are any requests to pull an item from the consent calendar for further discussion. Do I have a motion and a second to approve the remainder of the consent calendar once we go through the items being pulled? Councilman Hernandez?

Yes, I'll make a motion to move those items, Madam.

Thank you so much. Can I get a second, please? I'll second. Thank you, Councilman Becerra. Madam Clerk, sorry, here we go. Items pulled, Councilmember Hernandez?

None.

Councilman Becerra? None. Councilmember Fann?

Not pulling anything, but just announcing my recusal for items 14, 15, and 21 as AAA Oil or AAA Oil, Newport Beach, Iteris, and Think Together are clients of my employer, Rattan and Tucker. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Councilmember Vasquez?

Nothing to pull.

Thank you. Councilmember Lopez? 19. Thank you. Mayor Pro Tem?

No items, Mayor.

Thank you, and I have no items. All right, here we go. Let's go to item 19. Mayor, if we could take the vote, please. I'm so sorry. Go ahead. I apologize.

Motion by Councilmember Hernandez, seconded by Councilmember Becerra, to approve consent calendar items 2 through 23, with the exception of item number 19, pulled for separate discussion and consideration.

It's not popping up. Madam Clerk, go ahead and do a roll call.

Council Member Becerra?

Yes.

Council Member Hernandez?

Yes.

Council Member Lopez? Yes. Council Member Phan? Yes. Council Member Vasquez?

Yes.

Mayor Pro Temponulosa?

Yes.

Mayor Meskwa?

Yes.

Vote is seven ayes, no nays with a reported recusal by Council Member Phan on items number 14, 15, and 21. Motion carries.

And the first item pulled for separate discussion is item 19 by Council Member Lopez.

Thank you, Council Member Lopez.

Yes, thank you so much. I'm obviously very supportive of this item. I want to thank city staff, the CMO's office, Public Works. This is something that we've been working on for many, many months in partnership with the Cabrillo Park families. And so if you grew up in the area, you know that these were really, really old restrooms. They didn't even have doors at one point. So again, thank you so much for taking those concerns into consideration. I would like to make an amendment to the agreement because when we did tour the park, we noticed that there is a white wall there. And one of the things that we have heard from our families is that they want to see more color in our public spaces. They would like to see more public art in public spaces. And we obviously prefer going out and through an RFP, whatever is preferred, rail guards for the city, so that we can bring something to that park instead of having to deal with graffiti issues. That ultimately costs us more in the long term. So that is my ask of the city council to help me amend the agreement to include an RFP component for public art.

I'll support your motion, madam.

So that is the motion, thank you.

Councillor Lopez, can I ask you if you'd make an amendment to have a local artist or some more kids?

Yes, actually, thank you for that recommendation. It should be a Santa Ana-based artist based off of the RFP.

I'll second your motion. Or some of our youth, if that's possible.

Yeah, that's fine.

Perfect, all right. There's a motion and a second. I'll second the motion.

Motion by Councilmember Lopez, seconded by Councilmember Hernandez, to approve the recommended actions for item 19, inclusive of an agreement with A's Construction to design and build the Cabrillo Park Restroom and Concession Building and make a CEQA determination that the actions are exempt, as amended to include an RFP for a local artist to address the currently blank white wall. Councilmember Becerra?

Yes.

Councilmember Hernandez?

Yes.

Council Member Lopez? Yes. Council Member Phan? Yes. Council Member Vasquez?

Yes.

Mayor Pro Tem Penalosa?

Yes.

Mayor Meskwa? Yes. Vote is seven ayes, no nays. Mayor, that concludes the consent calendar. If you'd like to move to the business calendar.

Yes, thank you. Item number 24 is an ordinance to extend the paid military leave benefit. Does the City Council need a presentation? Did you review the...

I'll make a motion to move the item, Madam Mayor.

I'll second. Flip a coin.

We support our veterans here.

That's right, we support our veterans. So there's a motion by Councilman Hernandez, a second by the Mayor. Sorry, Mayor Pro Tem, I'm going to take that one. Let's do a roll call, please, Madam Clerk. Yes, thank you.

Motion by Council Member Hernandez, seconded by Mayor Meskwa, to introduce for first reading, to adopt a resolution of the City Council of the City of Santa Ana providing for continuation of partially paid temporary military leave of absence for city employees, called to active duty with the armed forces and continuation of benefits for employees and eligible dependents, and introduce for first reading an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Santa Ana amending Article... Six, leaves, holidays, and absences of Chapter 9, civil service of the Santa Ana Municipal Code to expand paid leave for employees called to active duty with reserve forces of the United States or the National Guard. Council Member Becerra?

Yes.

Council Member Hernandez? Yes. Council Member Lopez? Yes. Council Member Phan? Yes. Yes. Council Member Vazquez? Yes. Mayor Potempa-Neleza? Yes. Mayor Mezcua?

Yes.

Vote is seven ayes, no nays. Motion carries. Ordinance will return for second reading at the next meeting. Item 25 was pulled from the agenda, so the next item is item 26.

Thank you. Item 26 is regarding outside employment, regarding civil immigration enforcement. Do we need a staff presentation?

No, Madam. I'll make a motion to move this item.

I'll second. Are there any questions or comments? Seeing none.

Motion by Councilmember Hernandez, seconded by Mayor Meskwa, to introduce for first reading an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Santa Ana, California, amending section 9-16 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code to prohibit city employees from engaging in secondary employment involving civil immigration enforcement, including with or on behalf of U.S. Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Councilmember Becerra?

Yes.

Councilmember Hernandez? Yes. Councilmember Lopez? Yes. Councilmember Phan? Yes. Councilmember Vasquez?

Yes.

Mayor Pro Tempano-Losa?

Yes.

Mayor Mesquite?

Yes.

Vote is seven ayes, no nays. Motion carries. Ordinance will return for second reading at the next meeting. Item 27 was pulled, so the next item is item 28.

Thank you. Item 28 is regarding community meeting, noticing format and transparency requirements for certain developmental projects. Do we need a staff presentation?

Mayor, I'll go ahead and make a motion, but I'd like to amend it just a tiny bit. And that is on the item, this is from what I believe staff is just to clarify that we want a physical notice posted on the property. I'd like to add language that talks about an 11 by 17 yellow poster board with text at the top that says public hearing notice in three and a half inches at the top, similar to what the city of LA does. Because right now what ends up happening is they put out an eight and a half by 11, black and white, and some people assume it's trash. They don't even know it's a notice. So I like something a little more pronounced. So having the notice attached to something like an 11 by 17 poster board would help us make it a little more apparent that it's not just... litter on the property.

I'll second your motion.

I'm sorry, before he does that, Councillor Hernandez, I'd like to also add that it be presented in Spanish, English, and Vietnamese.

The notice would be correct. Perfect.

And would you want all of them to be that same size? All language notices the same size? Yes, we would. So there'd be three bright yellow notices. I just want to make, because I have to draft the language here.

So the, I guess just to be clear, so what, I think what the mayor's asking for, I agree with, it should be multi-language, but it would be the eight and a half by 11 and whatever radius map or whatever you guys require would be affixed to an 11 by 17 yellow fluorescent board.

Go ahead. There's no other comments. Go ahead. Council Member Lopez. Yes, Mayor. I would like for you to consider also adding Chimer to that since we have the language Chimer. Since we've heard from our Cambodian constituents that they would like to also see that language reflected in city notifications. And I just wanted to thank city staff because this is a cleanup item. And I really appreciate you bringing this forward. This is something that You know, you could have just let it slide, but this is something that was caught, and I appreciate this type of transparency. And again, it's just a really reminder to all of us, right, why it's important to keep our eyes on these staff reports.

As an ordinance, we must actually present the language to you at first reading. So if you could just maybe go on to another item, I can look at the language because you're asking us to add it. So to have a first reading, we have to actually add the language into the ordinance and make it available. That's fine. I'm going to read it to you. So it'll just take a moment.

Yeah, Council Member Farrell wants to say something. I'm sure it's not you, but I'm sure it's just the city manager here. Go ahead.

Yeah, just for the city manager, I just have some clarification question for Council Member Lopez. So I definitely support Khmer being a language added, but are we talking about all notices? I'm sorry if I'm confused.

My understanding is that would be a separate request, a standalone request from one of our offices, because we've actually discussed this, right? Okay. About the need for them to be able to understand what is happening in the city, and they have expressed multiple times that they're unable to, because we don't make our notices available in that language.

Okay, okay, thank you.

Any other questions, Madam City Attorney?

No, I think I'll go ahead and recommend that you would add this language to the ordinance. It would be Section 2-153D. And that we would just note in that section. One moment, please. that these notices that are posted shall be on an 11 by 17 bright yellow poster board with three inch noticing at the top of the text.

Instead of a minimum of, so in other words, we can't have flexibility.

Yeah, I think giving you flexibility, you want to make them larger.

Yes.

Perfect, so minimum of.

Right. The minimum must be 11 1⁄2 by 17. And that way, if folks want to make it a little bit bigger, then it's a little bit better and allows for the multi-language. Okay, we'll do that.

It'll be a minimum size of 11 by 17 bright yellow poster board and to include the languages that were specified by the council. We'll read that in. Your second reading, that will come back with that added language.

Great. I think we're all clear. Is there a motion?

Yes, motion by Councilmember Becerra, seconded by Councilmember Hernandez, to introduce for first reading Ordinance Amendment Number 2026-03, an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Santa Ana, amending Chapter 2, Administration of the Santa Ana Municipal Code, relating to public input through community meetings to require on-site noticing, as amended for Section 2-153C3D, to include that the notices shall be posted on a minimum of 11 by 17 yellow poster board, with three and a half inch text at the top, and inclusive of Spanish, Vietnamese, and Khmer, and a CEQA determination that the action is exempt for the review of Section 15061 and of the CEQA guidelines. Council Member Becerra?

Yes.

Council Member Hernandez?

Yes.

Council Member Lopez? Yes. Council Member Phan? Yes. Council Member Vasquez?

Yes.

Mayor Pro Tempino-Losa?

Yes.

Mayor Mezcua?

Yes.

Vote of seven ayes, no nays. Ordinance will return for second reading and adoption at the next meeting with the amendments.

Thank you, we are now ending the business calendar going to public hearings. Before hearing public hearing item number 29, Madam Clerk, please provide instructions to the public who would like to make a comment on this public hearing item only.

Yes, if there are members of the public joining us by way of Zoom or the conference call who would like to make a comment on public hearing item number 29 only, that is the TEFRA hearing for 1,200 main apartments, please dial star 9 from your phone or select raise hand from Zoom now in order to be called upon once the public hearing is opened.

Thank you. Item number 29 is a public hearing regarding the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act for 1,200 main apartments. Mr. City Manager, there's a staff presentation if we need it. I'm sorry, Assistant City Manager.

There's no staff presentation, but I can give a summary or answer any questions.

That's okay. So any council members, let's move on to this. Are there any questions by the council? I'm now open to the public hearing from members of the public that would like to provide their comments in person or virtually. Madam Clerk, do we have any speakers?

Yes, Mayor and City Council. Noting for the record, there was one e-comment received for public hearing item number 29 that was distributed to the City Council and made available online as part of the public record. We do have one in-person speaker for this public hearing, Omar Huerta. Please come forward. Speaking time is three minutes.

Good evening, council members. My name is Omar Huerta, and I am a representative of the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters, where we are 10 states strong and over 60,000 carpenters out here in the West Coast. I'm here to raise serious labor standard concerns regarding item 29. AND THE PROPOSED FINANCING FOR THE 1200 NORTH MAIN STREET PROJECT. JAMISON SERVICES IS REQUESTING AUTHORIZATION FOR UP TO 50 MILLION IN TAX EXCEPT BOND FINANCING. THESE BONDS PROVIDE A SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC FINANCIAL BENEFIT AND I BELIEVE THE COUNCIL SHOULD CAREFULLY CONSIDER WHAT LABOR STANDARDS AND WORKER PROTECTIONS WILL APPLY TO THE CONSTRUCTION FUNDED THROUGH THIS FINANCING. I ALSO WANT TO BRING ATTENTION TO CONCERNS THAT HAVE BEEN RAISING regarding labor practices on Jamison's Arco Tower project, including allegations involving metal builders and the treatment of the payment. For these workers, these allegations should be independently verified and investigated rather than ignored. Before approving this financing, I ask the council to consider whether enforceable labor standards, payroll transparency, and meaningful compliance monitoring should be the conditions of receiving this public financial benefit. Council members, workers deserve accountability and protection on projects receiving public support. Thank you for your time and consideration. Please vote no on item 29.

Mayor and City Council, that concludes the public speakers for this public hearing.

With no further comments, I hereby close the public hearing. Do any council members have any comments or questions? Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, she'd have to call you, sir, so please. Sir, can you hold on a second? Madam Clerk?

The previous speaker was the only card we received prior to the 545 cutoff for public comment cards.

Sir, you didn't fill out a comment card. I don't have a problem with it. Go ahead, sir. But next time, you need to follow the procedures that we have in place. Go ahead. I'm allowing you, but you do need to follow the procedure, please.

Hi, my name's Garrett Lee. I represent the project at 1200 Main. I read that Santa Ana has one of the highest median rents in the country, with roughly two-thirds of the residents being rent burdened. That means two-thirds of the residents are spending more than 30% of their income on rent each month, making it difficult to afford necessities. The 1200 main project is going to provide 190 affordable units restricted in rent to an average of 60% of the area median income for 55 years. The project is also an adaptive reuse conversion of an existing office building built in 1970 in the heart of downtown Santa Ana, very close to here. The office building has been vacant, 100% vacant for many years. Revitalizing an existing building for the production of housing avoids demolition and environmental impacts, almost eliminating traffic and air quality noise to the community compared to new construction. The building is already built, but is not serving the community right now. The project will provide live work units and retail space on the ground floor, provide much needed foot traffic to revitalize the area. There will be an outdoor space for the residents as well. The project is by right and doesn't require entitlement or CEQA approval through the cities of Santa Ana's adaptive reuse ordinance. I commend Santa Ana for being at the forefront and head of the country with this office to residential ordinance that helps solve office vacancy problems and the housing crisis at the same time. There are probably less than 10 cities in the country that have such an ordinance. With regards to the comments today, we have been communicating with Western states and have listened to their allegations. We are taking them very seriously and investigating the practices of our contractors working on our projects. To date, we have not found any evidence of violations. The matter is under review and we are committed to cooperating and complying with the law with Western states. The project is not a public works project. The property is privately owned and being financed through low income housing tax credits and tax exempt bonds and not receiving direct funding from the government. The matter before you is to prove the use of tax exempt private activity bonds to finance 190 units of affordable housing in one of the highest median rent cities in the country. It will provide hundreds of construction jobs. We urge you not to delay this much needed affordable housing that will benefit downtown Santa Ana. A city only thrives when the people who work in it can afford to live in it. Thank you.

Thank you very much. We're going to close here at the public comments at this time, and I remind everybody, if you want to speak on an item, you need to fill out the proper form, please. Okay, at this time, it's time for Councilmember comments. I have a couple comments. I don't know if any other Councilmember wants to start. Councilmember Lopez? Yes, do we know how long the review will take?

The review you mentioned?

active we've talked to some of the contractors that the union has mentioned meeting with another one next week and we plan a follow-up meeting with the count with the carpenters union in los angeles with city council over there okay and so you're saying that you're openly in communication correct with the car okay yeah we met about a month ago we plan on meeting probably in a week or two from now thank you okay so i have questions thank you for starting council member lopez and thank you for coming back up gentlemen one of you want to come up please i have a couple questions

I really wasn't gonna ask you to come up, but since the door was opened, wanna make it as fair, right? So the comment was that they're in contact with you or they're working, is that accurate, sir?

We did meet with Garrett Lee here to my right. We did have a sit down and we did explain to him what's going on on these developments in regards to adaptive reuse. We also have video footage we would like to share with Garrett Lee where we do meet with him. According to him, we're gonna be meeting up in about two weeks. So I will hold him to that. I will go ahead and get in contact with him here shortly. But yes, Mayor, there's issues currently going on in projects that are adaptable reuse with Jamison property, but we do have evidence of workers getting exploited, also getting cash pay, and also with issues with overtime. So we want to bring this to your awareness, and please let the exploitation not come here to Santa Ana.

I think you're talking about predatory labor practices, is that correct?

Yes, ma'am, yes, ma'am. So we're just here just urging you guys to go ahead and look at the item 29 before you guys approve it, just to give you guys a quick information of what's taking place in these adaptable reuse projects. Thank you for your time.

Perfect, thank you so much. Those are all the questions I have, and I'm a no vote, so any other comments?

Council Member Becerra. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you to folks from the Carpenters for coming out tonight and for sharing with us this information. This is very serious. I mean, wage theft, exploitation, I mean, definitely gives us pause up here, at least gives me pause. To our staff, I think when I look at this and I see 1,200 Maine GP LLC, that seems pretty benign. And I know that this has been an issue in the past with other projects where understanding who's applying for these items. And this is pretty vague, 1,200 Maine. And it's not to say that we haven't done this before. I get it. But I think when we've got these serious concerns that blindside us. I mean, when I look at this, I went, oh, 1,200 Maine. La-di-da. And now I'm going, oh my goodness, this entity represents a company that's being accused of certain issues, certain labor issues. So it gives me pause. I don't know what my colleagues would like to do, but I appreciate the fact that the Carpenters came tonight. AND I APPRECIATE THE RESPONSE FROM THE APPLICANT. DO WE POSSIBLY WANT TO CONTINUE THIS FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS TO LET THE CARPENTERS AND THE APPLICANT WORK SOMETHING OUT OR AT LEAST MITIGATE WHATEVER THEIR ISSUES ARE? BUT, YEAH, I'M JUST A LITTLE OUT OF LOSS HERE BECAUSE THIS IS A TOUGHER HEARING. THESE ARE USUALLY PRETTY ROUTINE, BUT THESE ARE SOME SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS. SO, AGAIN, THANK YOU TO THE CARPENTERS FOR BRINGING THESE to the light so that we know before we potentially say yes.

So I appreciate you guys, thank you. Mr. City Manager, I just want to piggyback on what Council Member Becerra was saying here. So this project, it needs to have local legislative body support, is that correct? Or Madam City Attorney? And I know there's a, I did a lot of research on this item, as we all do with the gender reviews, and so I just want to be really clear on that.

Yeah, normally these are routine. Can you speak louder, Madam City Attorney? Sorry, Mayor. Normally, these are routine transactions. We have nonprofits and others who come to take advantage of this type of financing. We are just a pass-through entity that makes the finding of public benefit. That's normally the extent of our involvement in them. I do understand the comment that was made. I took a while as we were here just looking up this LLC. It's pretty complex and you have to dig pretty deep before you find out that it really is Jameson, one of the largest developers in Los Angeles. So I understand maybe we could work in the future in disclosing to you who these LLC partners are and the membership might be. We have future projects. But you're just the pass-through entity. They do need to get approval from a public agency to make the public finding. In other counties, sometimes the county will take on the TEFR hearings and make those findings. Sometimes a state agency will do it, or even a school district in some places can do it. They chose to come to you, and we do have an application process. I don't know what those fees are, but we do have an application and a fee that we charge when they come to us asking us to make that finding.

And thank you for sharing that. I understand. I'm not speaking for the college. I'm speaking for myself as the mayor. I understand we're a pass-through, but I'm concerned as well, and I was digging into some stuff here. And so I'm very concerned. So whether we're a pass-through or not, we're the legislative body who votes yes or no. So I just want to be really clear on that. And I want to thank the Carpenters for coming out and sharing tonight because one thing I hope I can speak on behalf of this council is that we're very We are very proud of the fact that we try to take very good care of our brothers and sisters in the trades. And we want to make sure that those that live in our city, our constituents that work for the trades are treated well, paid well, great benefits, can get home and be with their families. And so when I started digging and looking at things that were going on at this company or in Los Angeles and whatnot, that's great that you're going to have time to meet with them and If it's factual or not, then, but we are the pass through body. And so again, I would just say I'm the no vote, I'm a no vote on here, Councilman Hernandez.

Yes, thank you, Madam Mayor. I'll be brief. I want to thank the members of the community on both sides who came out today to share your comments. It's very important for us to be able to hear from you, so thank you for that. I want to thank the workers for sharing your experiences, your concerns. You guys are the guys who build these projects. You are the experts. Those are very serious concerns for us here when it comes to exploitation of workers, workers being paid under the table. We know that those are all things that happen to circumvent paying workers what they're worth, paying them the benefits that they should be afforded, and more importantly, in this case, the quality of the work that we want built in Santa Ana. Community benefits to me would indicate that there's a union contract in front of us. There is a partnership between a labor union that represents thousands of our residents who live in the city. That to me looks like a concrete healthy partnership. I would like to make a motion to bring this item back in 30 days to give you guys ample time to work together in hopes that we can have something brought back to us within that 30 days that works for everybody.

Councilor Hernandez, would you be willing to take it to 60 at this time? Yeah. Because the carpenters on both sides have time to work on it.

Absolutely, Madam Mayor. I'll adjust it to 60 days. I'll put a motion on the floor for this item to come back within the next 60 days.

And I'll second your motion.

Thank you, Madam.

Mayor Pro Tem.

Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to thank the Carpenters for coming out and speaking on this tonight. And as we've seen in the past, anytime there's an LLC used to basically cover up the real identity behind the applicant, you know, it's questionable because we've had some issues in the past. And then knowing what we know now, it's important that we push back because as Councilmember Hernandez said, I couldn't have said it better. we you know this is a city and a city council that prides itself on supporting uh good you know construction jobs in the city and when there's an entity before us that has sorry i just want to make sure that we we put this in the context of allegations allegations uh of wage theft and and cash payments, you know, that is troubling and gives me pause. So I definitely don't want to have blood on my hands, so I will support the motion that's on the floor. Thank you, Council.

Thank you. May I put it to Council Member Fan?

Thank you. Thank you to everybody who came out. I do have a quick question. And my apologies, I only got this information today. So how long have the parties been discussing this issue? Yes. Can you come up, sir, please, and ask her up here at the microphone. Specifically to this project, because I'm unfortunately not concerned with others that are not in Santa Ana.

Yes, ma'am, to answer that question, in regards to this project, we still haven't approached him or talked to him, so after this, we will meet with him, hopefully discuss a sit-down meeting to follow up.

Okay, I really wish. Can you stay close in case there's another question? Yeah, I really wish that this conversation happened before we had the public hearing, just because I think that that's always the most fruitful conversation, right? Yes. Because then we wouldn't have had a staff meeting

So to add to that, we did have a conversation a month ago in regards to various adaptable reuse projects. So the practice is repetitious. So that's why we came here to speak in regards to before this project does get approved to let you know what the circumstances are happening in regards to these adaptable reuse projects. We will set up a meeting to speak in regards to this project that's up and coming with Gary Lee after this meeting is set.

Okay, and then Madam City Attorney, if you can just help clarify for me, because this is a discretionary item, right, we don't have to make any particular findings to deny the tougher hearing, correct?

Correct. It's either a positive, up or down. You can approve it, and that will facilitate their financing through this vehicle. If they can't get financing through this vehicle, which is advantageous, obviously, tax-exempt bonds, then they could explore other market-rate bonds, but it's just an up or down vote.

Right. I guess I just wanted to make clear that the city council is not required to approve this. It's purely discretionary. It is a benefit that the city and many public agencies provide to developers. And I want to make clear that this project sounds like a great project to me. I've stayed on the record many times that I will support anything that will build more housing, that will get people into housing, that will keep people in housing. So, yes, I think... we all have stated that we do support labor. I think that it's important that whatever these allegations are, they get addressed. I also believe that you, if there are other mechanisms for reporting them for unfair labor practices, I think those also need to be made with appropriate agencies, right, whether it's a state or federal level. So for me, I would like to see that. Now, I guess my question is, what is the impact of the 30 or 60 day delay regarding this project? Or maybe, sorry, it might be to the applicant. I guess I want to hear from them, but if you have a response for yourself.

Hi, Anthony Stubbs with the California Municipal Finance Authority. We are the issuer of the tax stamp bonds on the project. 30 days is amenable, we could do that. 60 days puts it very, very close to the deadline with the state that has allocated the bonds to this project. So dealing at 60 days would be, would have a tough impact on the project financing.

Okay, so I would like to see a 30-day return of this project. I think that we all know this is at, I believe, 60% affordability, right, for the county. That is generally better than the vast majority of, quote, affordable housing that we've built here, right? We do have a variety, but this is also in our downtown area, which is a really great location. I mean, I've seen prices at the Rafferty. I've seen prices at, you know, Artist Village. I've seen prices at these other developments, and I think this could be a really great project, but it can only be a really great project that's realized if we have fair labor practices. So I guess I would like to make a sub-motion or request a friendly amendment to bring the 60 days down to 30 days to return this item. So October 20th.

Can I suggest 45 days if that's going to be an issue where our colleagues don't agree?

We don't have the first meeting in November, so it's either going to be late November or late October.

Okay. So October 21st or November 17th?

October 20th.

October 20th.

Because if we can bring it back by then, and if they're still not in conversation or things are not moving along, well, then that might be a different conversation. But let's get this back. Let's get everyone at the table and let's make this happen. I think we can do that here.

I will accept the amendment.

That's a friendly amendment.

Yes, ma'am. I'll accept the amendment.

So there's a motion and then there's a friendly amendment. What do you got, Jennifer? I'm sorry.

So the motion now with the acceptance of the friendly amendment is by Council Member Hernandez to return the item in 30 days, which would be the council meeting of October 20th. But you would also have to be amenable to your second to that friendly amendment or withdraw your second and let someone else second that motion. For the 30 days. The original motion was by Council Member Hernandez seconded by the Mayor to return in 60 days. Council Member Phan has now requested to amend that to 30 days. Council Member Hernandez is amenable to that. It would be up to you on your second.

Did you say 30 or 45?

30. Or I can make a sub motion. That's fine too.

It doesn't matter to me. I just want to be really clear that I appreciate the comments about housing and affordable housing, and I'm supportive as well. However, the issues that the carpenters have brought up are very serious. And so when we say we delay it for 30 days, My expectation is that in 30 days, we'll hear there was some conversation, some agreement, and they're working with the carpenters, and they've addressed whatever issues they may have. Allegedly, the issues that, I mean, I can show what I've pulled up and things that I've learned about this project, this company. And so I'm very concerned. So if you all vote for 30 days, that's fine. I'm just being very clear that to me, we do need housing. We know that. Santa Ana leads the way for affordable housing. So we can take pride in that, that we do lead the way on affordable housing, but we want to lead the right way. That's the key here. So Madam Secretary of Attorney, thank you for clarifying alleged allegations, but when the carpenters come in, you know that there's something behind there. So we'll just leave it at that. So go ahead, Madam Clerk.

I just want to confirm that you'll stay the second on the motion for the return in 30 days,

Yeah, I'll pull my measure 60. I don't, go back to 30. That's fine. Because no matter what, it's going to be taken care of. And we are the legislative body. I want to be clear again that we approve it or not. And then it can go to the county or school district. And I'm sure they'll have the same discussion there as well.

This is a motion by council member. Mayor Pro Tem.

I just would like to suggest that whatever meeting was going to happen in a week or two, that that happens this week. Because as you've seen, time is of the essence. So 30 days puts you in a short window. So I hope something is cleared up and arranged and agreed upon quickly.

So before we go forward, Madam Clerk, I apologize. Council Member Lopez, you wanted to say something?

Oh, I was. Similar concerns, comments as my colleagues. Councilwoman Fann asked some of the questions that I had. And so, you know, happy to proceed with roll call. Thank you. Councilmember Vasquez.

Thank you. And, you know, many times often I said my dad raised his family as a laborer, as a union member. Four kids now, a few grandchildren are in the teacher union. which I represent, I'm the Vice President of the Santa Ana Educators Association. That being said, I'm also a victim, I was a victim of wage theft in my junior year. I went to a construction site and was hired to do work under the table, cash, never paid for months of work. So this is real and how people are affected and their time and their dignity is taken from them. So we wanna make sure that we do right by the workers here and by the people in Santa Ana. So I'm glad we have the 30 days. I hope we can work it out. But if it was today, I'd be a no, but let's see if we could do something.

Thank you, Council Member Vasquez. Go ahead, Madam Clerk. Motion by Council Member Hernandez, seconded by Mayor Mezcua, to continue item 29, Tax Equity Fiscal Responsibility Act hearing for 1,200 main apartments to the City Council meeting of October 20th. Council Member Becerra?

Yes.

Council Member Hernandez? Yes. Council Member Lopez? Yes. Council Member Phan? Yes. Council Member Vasquez?

Yes.

Mayor Pro Tempeñaliza?

Yes.

Mayor Mezcua?

Yes, and the expectation is they come back with some news.

Vote is seven ayes, no nays. Motion carries, item is continued to October 20th.

Great, thank you very much. All right, next item, Madam Clerk. Public hearing item number 30. Number 30, before hearing item, Hearing public item number 30, Madam Clerk, please provide instructions to the public who'd like to make a comment on this public hearing item only.

Yes, members of the public joining us by way of Zoom or conference call who would like to make a comment on public hearing item number 30 only, which is a TEFRA hearing for Garden Court Apartments, please dial star nine from your phone or select raise hand from Zoom in order to be called once the public hearing is opened.

Thank you very much. Item 30 is a public hearing regarding the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act regarding core departments. Does the Council need a presentation? Seeing none, are there any questions by the Council? I now open the public hearing for members of the public that would like to provide their comments in person or virtually. Madam City Clerk, do we have any speakers?

Mayor and City Council, there are no in-person speakers on this public hearing. There are no Zoom speakers on this public hearing, and we did not receive any e-comments related to public hearing item number 30.

Thank you. With no further comments, I hereby close the public hearing. Any council members have comments or questions?

I'll make a motion to move the item, Madam Mayor.

It is moved by Council Member Becerra, seconded by Council Member Hernandez. Madam Clerk?

Motion by Councilmember Becerra, seconded by Councilmember Hernandez, to approve the recommended actions for item number 30, which is to conduct a Tax Equity and Financial Responsibility Act hearing for the issuance of tax-exempt bond financing from the California Municipal Finance Authority for Garden Courts, Santa Ana LP, and approve the resolution of the City of Santa Ana approving the issuance by the California Municipal Finance Authority of exempt facility bonds for Garden Court apartments. Councilmember Becerra?

Yes.

Council Member Hernandez? Yes. Council Member Lopez? Yes. Council Member Phan? Yes. Council Member Vasquez?

Yes.

Mayor Peña-Losa?

Yes.

Mayor Mezcua?

Yes.

Vote is seven ayes, no nays. Motion carries.

Great, thank you. Now we're going to, before hearing public item number 31, Madam Clerk, please provide instructions to the public who'd like to make a comment on this public hearing item only, please.

Members of the public joining us by way of Zoom or conference call who would like to make a comment on public hearing item number 31 only, which is a public hearing on the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report for fiscal year 2025-26, please dial star 9 from your phone or select raise hand from Zoom now in order to be called upon once the public hearing is opened. Thank you.

Thank you. Item number 31 is a public hearing regarding the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report for fiscal year 25-26. Do we need a staff presentation, Council? Seeing none, are there any questions by Council? I now open the public hearing for members of the public that would like to provide their comments in person and virtually. Madam City Clerk, do we have any speakers?

Mayor and City Council, there are no in-person speakers, no Zoom speakers, and no e-comments received for public hearing item number 31.

With no further comments, I hereby close the public hearing. Again, any comments by council members?

I'll make a motion to move the item, Madam Mayor.

I'll second the motion. Madam City Clerk.

Motion by Council Member Hernandez, seconded by Mayor Meskwa. To authorize submission of the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report for Fiscal Year 2025-26 to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Council Member Becerra?

Yes.

Council Member Hernandez? Yes. Council Member Lopez? Yes. Council Member Phan? Yes. Council Member Vasquez? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Penalosa?

Yes.

Mayor Meskwa? Yes. Vote is seven ayes, no nays. Motion carries.

Great, thank you. This time item number 32. I close this here. The end of public hearing. Councilmember requested items at this time. Item number 32 was requested by Councilmember Lopez. Councilmember Lopez, the floor is yours.

Thank you. I'd like to begin by thanking staff for meeting with me on this request. I'd also like to note that this request was placed prior to the most recent actions by Planning Commission. If anyone's been keeping up to date with that, then you know why that would be relevant to this. Planning Commission requested did move language in regards to data centers on the six to one votes. And originally, just for context, this came forward because of some of the confusion that had happened where there was a discussion where commissioners were asking for clear language to be implemented or moved forward. as we go through the zoning code update, and then, you know, confusion as to language, prohibitive language being added, but then possibly staff having discretion to move forward with data centers, and so I think for my office and for my constituents, because we've gotten so many and questions about this topic that has received a lot of attention. I thought it would be important for my office to have a public discussion about this, understanding now that, of course, it's moving forward with the zoning code. And again, I think when this is able to come back, Some of the things that my constituents have questions about is essentially how many data centers exist in the city. There's been a lot of conversations about there's one data center that people were able to find on Google Maps. Other people have said there's actually three in the city. So there's no clarity with the community right now as to how many exist. And so we would like to see that clear information come back. We would also like to see information about... I believe we're going to have our conversation about the zoning code during the next city council in October. And so I think it would be very fruitful and beneficial for us to discuss here not only the number of data centers in the city, but what the change in language to the zoning code actually means. The difference between an outright ban versus a not allowable use, because that's an ongoing question with people thinking that if it's an outright ban, what will happen to existing data centers? And there is a little bit of a difference. They're not gonna not operate in the city as I understand it. But our constituents really want to hear that from this body, that clarity that they don't seem to have. And additionally, another question that was submitted is what happens if there's a request for upgrades here? And I thought that was a really great request that was submitted. And I don't have that response now because it really is going to depend on the outcome of the zoning code update that we have or that we go through. Again, non-allowable versus does not mean a closure versus what is non-compliant use in the city. There's also been conversations that we've received about people's water bills seeing an increase. And there's a 2026 study reviewed by Count Matters that found that data center development is expanding into water stress regions of of California, including the Central Valley, the Imperial Valleys, and while current states and local disclosure requirements leave the public largely unable to determine actual water use, sent legislation to mandate water use disclosure by data center operators was vetoed by the governor in 2025 and remains pending in the legislature, meaning that there has been no statewide action requirement currently existing, underscoring the value of, as we see it, of local action. And so again, I think that ties back to request number two in my report, and it's something that I would love to see be expanded on when we discuss the zoning code update. And so I want to thank, again, city staff for meeting with me. And I want to thank the Planning Commission for their work, particularly Commissioner Ramos, who led this conversation. And I am open to hearing the comments of my colleagues. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Lopez. Council Member Becerra, please.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. So data centers, they are attracting a lot of attention lately, especially in places that happen to have a lot of open land. Mr. City Manager, could I have our Executive Director of Planning and Building to the podium? I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask him. Hi, Ali. Thank you for stepping up. So the standard size for the data centers that are attracting a lot of this attention tend to measure around 100,000 square feet. Do you know right now, as we speak, how many data centers are within Santa Ana today that are 100,000 square feet or larger?

Thank you, Councilmember Becerra. So based on staff's research following the Planning Commission's discussion, staff were able to confirm that there's three data centers in Santa Ana, none of which exceed 100,000 square feet.

Okay, great, so you answered my next question, which is how many do we have regardless of size? So we have three. So a typical full-scale data center roughly occupies 40 acres of land, and that's needed to house the cooling and the power equipment that they need. The site of the Bristol-related project site is 41 acres, is that correct?

That's correct.

Okay, are there any sites similar to that size that you're aware of in Santa Ana that are available to be developed?

There's no 40 acre plus sites that I can think of that are vacant raw land available for development.

Perfect. Thank you for that. And so often the shopping centers, like I'm trying to think of some of the bigger ones, like maybe 17th and Tustin, maybe even Northwest corner of Grand and 17th. Would you say that those kind of range in size from about 15 to 25 acres?

Yeah, for perspective, Main Place Mall is about a 50-acre site, so if you were to subtract 20% of that site, that would be 40 acres.

Okay, and so has the city received any new applications for data centers?

No.

Zero. Okay. So, and if one were to submit one, so let's just say tomorrow morning, someone waltzed into the counter, submitted, or went to the planner and said, I want to open up a data center. Can you clarify, would they just get an over-the-counter permit, or would they need some sort of discretionary permit, like a conditional use permit?

It'd be discretionary, and it's a three-step review for data centers in the present code that the city has. So firstly, they'd have to be zoned industrial, M1 or M2. Second of all, the zoning code says that data centers may not be within 500 feet of a major arterial roadway or 1,000 feet of a freeway interchange. So staff would look at the zoning, staff would look at the location criteria I just described, and then lastly, it would be subject to a conditional use permit. So under today's code, if they met the zoning, the location criteria, then it would undergo a review process that ultimately places it before the planning commission as a discretionary item.

And so with it going to the planning commission, again, thinking about person walks into the counter tomorrow morning, would that person get through the initial review, environmental review, agendized for a planning commission meeting, noticing a decision, appeal period exhausted, could that all be done in 45 days?

It would be exceptionally rare. I would say no.

Say no. Okay, perfect. Ollie, thank you for all that. You can go ahead and sit down. So I think with just what we talked about right now, we satisfied number two and Council Member Lopez's item as far as the request for information. Madam City Attorney, she left. I guess you're on the hot seat. So from what Ali just told us, our cities receive no applications for permits for a new data center. And even if we did, it would take more than 45 days to process the application. So can we even legally adopt a moratorium? Because from based on what I just heard, I don't know that we could make the findings to begin with.

Thank you for the question.

Can you speak in the microphone, please?

Thank you for the question. I think it would be challenging to make the findings, and as I understand it, the zoning code amendments are on the horizon.

I mean just focusing on the moratorium the fact that 45 days we have no pending applications you know it sounded like from our executive director of planning and building didn't seem like he was anticipating any so I guess just thinking about a moratorium you know could be legally challenged we've had moratoriums challenged in the city on land use issues would you wouldn't feel confident bringing this forward then and having it be legally defensible.

Are you talking about a 65858 moratorium?

I'm saying for what was being proposed in the signing.

Yeah. So the law wouldn't require you to have specific applications as a finding. The finding you have to make is whether you believe that given your current zoning documentation, not the fact that you're adopting one, is whether under your current zoning documentation you feel that there is a need to put this off to be studied. So I think the real question would be, the finding would have to be, do you believe your staff is studying it and are they coming forward with regulations? Do you feel like you need to plug a hole? And it doesn't, you don't have to prove that there's an application, you just have to prove whether you believe there's a need to protect it. And I am knowledgeable enough at the moment to know what your current standards say. That would be most relevant.

Well the director, our executive director said that basically, they would have to apply for a conditional use permit. That conditional use permit process would take them beyond 45 days. The proposal before us is a moratorium for 45 days.

That's initial. And under 65858, you can extend them, as you know, up to an additional year and 15 days if you can make the finding. I think that it would really depend. I can't sit here right now and say that you could or you couldn't. I don't have enough evidence in front of me. I believe that the standard for making those findings are fairly low. It's just protection of your community interest in land use.

So we have the zoning code update coming to us, Mr. State Manager, on October 6th. Is that correct?

Yeah, that is our intention. I assume we meet with most of the council members that we have to meet with, yes.

and the industrial land use section, that's not gonna be omitted. That will be part of the all-inclusive zoning code update, correct?

Yes.

Okay, so and that's coming out on October 6th. I'm not a mathematician, but that's less than 45 days, is that correct?

It's gonna be in October.

Okay, so I'm just, I guess one other question for staff is, did Councilmember Lopez meet with the city manager and city attorney about this item?

As required by our policy, they are required, each of you are required to consult with us, yes. Oh, I know the requirements, but did she meet with you guys? Yes, I had a conversation with council member.

Yes.

Okay, so you don't have to disclose what you guys talked about, but I just feel like this back and forth I just had with our Executive Director of Planning and Building kind of flushed out the lack of need for this item because it's not that I don't have concerns about the data centers, but the fact of the matter is we're literally gonna deal with this in two weeks. THERE'S NO NEED FOR A MORATORIUM BECAUSE, AGAIN, PUSHING THIS OUT 45 DAYS, GIVEN THE FACT THAT OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PLANNING AND BUILDING JUST CONFIRMED, THERE'S NO WAY A DATA CENTER COULD BE APPROVED IN 45 DAYS EVEN IF SOMEBODY APPLIED TOMORROW MORNING. SO THIS IS JUST FRUSTRATING THAT THIS ITEM IS BEFORE US. AGAIN, IT'S A HOT TOPIC AND WE'RE 49 DAYS OUT FROM AN ELECTION. I JUST WISH THE ENERGY WOULD HAVE BEEN CHANNELLED MORE TOWARD SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE, I WOULD SAY, MORE URGENT, LIKE say a prisoner reentry center in the council member's ward. So I won't be supporting this item because this is redundant and a waste of our time. And so I'm looking forward to discussing data centers when we are all geared to, which is on October 6th when the zoning code update comes before us. Thank you.

Thank you. Councilman Hernandez, do you have a speaker?

Yes, Madam Mayor. I'm supportive of this item coming back. Thank you.

Any, Council Member Vasquez, is that, you wanna speak? Yes, please, I'm supportive of this item. When we get our new updates, we don't know how long we're gonna speak to it or push it forward, and there's a problem of anything getting passed, and we can extend it, like the city attorney said, to 115 days, so this is just a precautionary, that it is precautionary, it's a moratorium, so I'm gonna say I'm with it. Mayor Pro Tem.

Yeah, thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to say that I'm supportive of this item already from the Planning Commission's actions coming before us to have this conversation. It's definitely a problem that we are seeing increase throughout, not just here, but around the world of these data centers getting built and whatnot and the usage of water, the amount of water they're using and the stress on our electrical grid. So whatever, I don't even think a moratorium goes that far. I mean, I think there's room to go further and to potentially ban just the outright ban here in the city. So those conversations need to happen, and I'd be supportive of seeing all of this and the studies and the clear definitions that staff comes up with, because that's another thing that we're unclear of coming back to us with the zoning code update. So yes, thank you. That's it, Mayor.

Thank you. Mr. City Manager, I have a question regarding water use. So who would you like me to ask that to? Is that you or Cesar, Rudy?

That depends on the question. I got Rudy and I got Armando here. Unless Rudy walked away.

I don't see Cesar here.

Right, Armando's here.

Armando, where's Armando? Rudy.

Yes.

Armando's not here either. Rudy, come on up, Rudy.

Rudy, I guarantee you can handle this.

Just a quick question. People talk about water use and our water bills going up. I know that there was a vote, Mr. City Manager, several months back that we did not increase our water bills. But can you talk a little bit about the data centers? So we have three data centers that Ali made clear in our city. I don't think they're large. I think they're small size data centers. Have you seen an increase in water usage? And what are you seeing?

Sure, thank you for the question. The data centers that Ali referred to I imagine have been in the city for a long time because there hasn't been any new development of data centers. So in terms of water use, whatever those are using are relatively low, hasn't had a direct impact on our system that would move the cost of water in any direction.

No, I'm not a fan of our water bill increasing either. So has there been an increase in our water bill? Because I believe that this council did not support that. Yes, you can laugh, Mr. City Manager. It was a topic. We did not support that.

There have not been increases in our water rates for, I believe, three years now.

Something like since 2019 or 2022.

I believe it's been three years.

Okay, so three years. So we have not increased our water bill?

That's correct.

Okay, I just want to make sure. Yeah, I just wanted to clarify that because, you know, when we say the water's increasing, I want to make sure that it's not accurate. If it is accurate, we'd all like to know. So, Council Member Phan?

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you to my colleagues for bringing this issue forward, but I, as of right now, the way it's written, I am not supportive of this item. I'd rather staff just bring this information to us with the zoning code update. And the reason for that is there's no definition, The word data center is so broad. That's like saying industrial building. Data centers exist because there are many businesses, office buildings, that need to have off-site servers that store data so they can process it faster than going to a mega data center off-site in another state. These are necessary for the offices that we have in Ward 1 in the city. We want to encourage that. these types of white-collar jobs, right? And we want to have, whether it's fast internet, fast cloud storage, all of those things. These 100,000 square foot buildings are about 60% of the size of the Walmart Supercenter in Ward 1. The Walmart Supercenter is approximately 175,000 square feet. That is the average size of a Walmart Supercenter. So we don't even know that they were here because, again, they have generally smaller footprints. They are not these football field-sized footprints. buildings built in the middle of nowhere that does not have the infrastructure necessary for electricity or water. And they provide a service that our office buildings, whether it's businesses that are trying to grow, new companies that are trying to start here in Santa Ana, or just more offices that we want to function to meet the realities of today's growing internet and storage demand. So I don't think that that is a useful way of applying or using a moratorium, especially when, at least here in the city of Santa Ana, we are not seeing that type of development. When we come back, I know it's a tall ask because it is coming back soon, but let's have that discussion. If there is something like that, I would like to see, you know, things more like conditions or if we're talking about electricity, what are they really adding? Think more in the realm of a CUP rather than an outright ban. Because if we are saying we want economic development in the city of Santa Ana, we want better paying jobs, we want better businesses that are going to pay property taxes and all of that, sales tax and business tax, when we have to support, we have to have infrastructure that support those types of businesses, doing an outright ban of data centers when we don't actually know What they look like in the city, what they're doing, and how they actually affect us is, I think, not the best route to take, especially when we, again, are not the Coachella Valley. We are not the middle of nowhere Texas or Wyoming or Idaho. So instead of doing something separate, bring it back, address it, talk to us about it, and we can go from there. And I think that anybody who has a public comment regarding that, let's talk about it all in the realm of the zoning code update rather than a separate moratorium because I personally don't have the findings necessary or the information to say that a temporary moratorium is warranted at this point. Thank you.

Thank you. Ali, I have one more question. And then I think we're done. Council Member Lopez, were you going to speak again?

Yeah.

Okay. Let me ask one question.

Sorry, I should have asked when you were up here.

Can you tell us where the three are located? I know one of them is on Grand Street and it's a county property, correct?

Correct, so the three that staff were able to verify, firstly, 1400 South Grand, that's on county owned property, serves the county. The second one.

I'm sorry, say that again. It's a data center that serves the county on county property. Correct. Got it.

Secondly, it's 2001 East Dyer Road. That's the Park and Paseo Heritage development. When the applicant approached the city for that project, there was a data center already there, and they were unable to secure the rights to actually redevelop that property, so it actually sits in the middle of a mixed-use development. and that's a private facility co-location used by multiple users. And then lastly, there's one at 1924 East Deer Avenue, and that one is also a co-location facility that's available to multiple users, but it's primarily used by Verizon Wireless based on staff's research.

It's used by Verizon Wireless?

Correct.

So I have a Verizon phone used by my phone company, right? All right, thank you, that's what I wanted to know. Thank you very much, Ali. Council Member Lopez.

Yeah, thank you. And thank you, Mayor, for the question about water. Again, I can't make that correlation because I don't have that information. None of us have that information here. But my job is to uplift the questions that are being asked by my constituents who are noticing something different about in their monthly bill. And so, again, thank you for the clarification. I think that they're gonna appreciate hearing that tonight. And I agree also with Council Member Phan regarding the definition. It's why we did not include a definition in my report, which I hope the public reads. because there's a lot of good information in there. I don't think that it was going to be, I didn't think that it would be conducive for me to try and define such a broad use, particularly because it can be defined in so many different ways, and cities define them differently per what they're trying to achieve within their boundaries, and again, what their constituents want to see. And that is something that, again, was an intentional choice for my office. And so, you know, and as I said it in my opening statement, the Planning Commission has already taken the six to one vote. So again, as I stated when I opened this, right, this is going to come back to us. We're definitely going to have a robust conversation, whether it comes back during the first meeting of October or during the second meeting of October, regarding the language the staff ultimately presents to the city council. And also with the recommendations of our community, right? because that's going to be really important to my office. And so again, I just want to thank my colleagues, and I really encourage the public to read the report, and I really want to thank staff for your time, for meeting with me, and city leadership for addressing the questions tonight.

And Mayor, may I just make a comment? I want you to be well informed. What we do on these city council agenda items is we hear you and we get input on whether and how to bring these items back to you. You're just giving us direction as a council. But one of the things you should know is under 65858 of the government code, which is the moratorium section, it does require a four-fifths vote of the city council, which is unusual. Sometimes it's just supermajority. If you do the math, a four-fifths vote is six of seven, not five of seven. And we as staff would, if this is moved forward on four votes, we would prepare all that work and do all that and bring it back to you. It just doesn't appear to me from the conversation tonight that we would have six of seven votes. So I'd like you to consider that when you consider that this evening because even if you tell us on four votes to go do all this work, if it doesn't look like we're going to have four-fifths, then that's something you should consider. And I'm sorry to interrupt the conversation, but I thought that was relevant.

No, thank you, Madam City Attorney. That's very, very important because I'm with Council Member Fan. I can't support this item at this time. I'm looking forward to the zoning project coming forward, the report coming back to us, and I'm sure it'll address this if need be. So, Mayor Pro Tem.

Yeah, Mayor, thank you. I just wanted to offer some clarity on what the public might be seeing or think they're seeing reflected on their water bills, any potential increases. I think there's also the known concern um fact that earlier this year four members of the city council including council member lopez tried to raise water rates by 55 through a prop 218 notice so thankfully unfortunately we were able to pull that uh thank you city manager for reading the room but i think that's important that we also stay on top of so uh ali and if you're working with public works i mean it's important that we bring that information back as well so that There's a clear understanding of what type of increases have been seen over the last 10 years and how that could play a part as we have this bigger conversation on the 6th. So with that, Mayor, thank you. Those are my final comments.

Thank you, I thought you were gonna be the final, but Council Member Fans over here kicking me under the table. Go ahead, Council Member.

Yes, the quick clarification is that it is not a water bill. It is the utility bill, which includes basic service charge, water, utility user tax, refuse, sanitation, sewer, So let's be clear. It is not the Santa Ana water bill. It's a utility bill. And if there are changes, it is possible that is from other agencies and not the city of Santa Ana. Thank you. Thank you for that clarification.

Thank you for being honest. I call it the water bill all the time. But you're right. I know. You always tell me that. It's the utility bill. It has everything in there. Water and sewage. Water, sewage, trash, everything that you mentioned. And then some more, I'm sure. So thank you for clarifying that. I think, Mr. City Manager, you have direction. Madam City Clerk, you said you need a four-fifths of a vote, and I think we're coming back with the zoning anyway, so we don't have to worry about it.

It is correct.

Because there's at least two of us, if not three of us up here that are not supportive of this item. All right, let's move on. Okay. Go to, sorry, council comments at this time. City manager comments? Yes, go ahead, Madam Clerk.

I was just going to see if you wanted to see if the city manager had comments before you did the council comments.

I'm going to do that right now. Oh, okay. Comments on the item we just discussed or his comments? His comments. Yeah, I'm going to do that right now.

Okay, I thought you were going to your colleagues first.

Sometimes I forget him and he makes a face at me. Mr. City Manager, do you have any comments?

I do not have any comments.

Yes, you do. You want to tell all of us it's Kat's birthday today. Catherine Downs. Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Kat. Happy birthday to you.

all right mr city manager i saved you on that one all right let's go to council member comments at this time council member vasquez oh he's not here okay we passed that council member lopez yeah i want to thank city staff for a wonderful weekend celebrating um a few of patriots here in the city of santana today is the 15th a lot of latino american cities celebrate independence today and i want to thank our community for being out there and just experiencing joy and really sharing so much of themselves with us. Earlier this month, we also celebrated Labor Day, which recognizes the workers of our community. We're a very blue-collar city, and so it's a really meaningful opportunity to spend time with them and to hear about their worries, their concerns, as so many of the members of our community continue to work longer hours and are asking questions about what they're getting in return. And so I just really want to thank all the hardworking people of Sonana and that includes my parents who still to this day can't retire like many people because of all of the financial pressures that we're experiencing. You know, the mayor opened up and I do want to thank her commemorating the lives lost during the tragic attack of 9-11 and Even more tragic, we've learned now that so many more lives were lost because of the actions of local government in hiding information that could have saved the lives of many people and told them that the air was breathable when it wasn't. And so I really spent that day hearing so many of the, I think, testimonials of those families. And it's one of the reasons why My cousin ultimately ended up enrolling and going to Afghanistan and Iraq and fighting. And so it was a really meaningful event for my family. And I'm just really grateful for the leaders that have been elected that have the courage to speak the truth even when that truth is painful and very, very sobering. Today, as Councilmember Vasquez has reminded us on social media, is National Voter Registration Day, so if you're eligible to vote, you should vote. I think there's a lot of power in using your civic duty, and so many people, prior generations, fought for so many of us to have that. So take a minute to check your registration, make a plan to vote. and encourage your family or friends to participate civically. I also want to thank, again, Public Works and the city manager's office. I approached you guys. We've had a really hot summer about splash pad hours. Thank you for extending those hours. It's something that directly came from our families, and so I just want to let you know that they're really happy and that they want me to thank you publicly. So thank you so much. Appreciate it. Good night.

Thank you. Let me go back to Council Member Vasquez. He was out of the room. Go ahead, Council Member Vasquez.

Thank you so much. I want to end this meeting by dedicating it to Scott Sink. I'm deeply saddened by the loss of my friend Scott Sink, who passed peacefully with his friends and family by his side on August 15th. Scott is a long time high school teacher and community organizer. He was also a creative, releasing work under the name Scott Celtic Knot. Scott lived with both an extraordinary curiosity about the world and an equally extraordinary commitment to making it better. He was a tireless advocate for justice, the arts, and the environment. He encouraged people to think more critically, care more deeply, and participate in the world around them. He truly made me a better person. Some of this work includes organizing around May Day marches here in Santa Ana, celebrating workers' rights, teaching self-defense classes at the Centro Cultural de Mexico for free as a a black belt in jujitsu. Organizing with Colectivo Tonantzin for day labor rights and as a member of Orange County Media Coalition, he worked to change the vehicle tow and impoundment policy. Scott has supported the Children's March by supporting a safe route for children as they protested with the march. scott spent his life bringing people together standing up for human rights protecting the environment challenging unjust law and using his writing music humor and organizing to inspire others he did all this with dignity humility and joy for life Scott leaves behind a legacy not only in the causes he fought for, but in the many people he encouraged, taught, and challenged, and befriended. I feel fortunate to have known him, and I will remember him with gratitude, admiration, and love. Thank you, Scott.

Thank you, Council Member Vasquez. And Council Member Phan, please.

Wow, it's been a really long break since our last council meeting. I kind of forgot how all this runs.

No, you never forget. Go ahead.

First off, thank you so much to Parks and Rec, our staff, our city team for Chicano Heritage Festival. just so hot, but so wonderful, and Fiestas Patrias, which was just, it's always my favorite event every year because it's just so wonderful to see everybody out and be so proud to be both Latino and American. We had a lot of events this time, even though there were no council meetings, just to name a few. We officially did the ribbon cutting for Palomino Elementary, so I'm looking forward to Palomino Park. We did the graduation for Goodwill of OC's EVSE program, which is the Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Program Lab, in which students got to learn how to care for, maintain, electric charging stations. And so that's really cool. They get to go around to different parts of Orange County and really learn about how to maintain those because our infrastructure for EVs is only as good as our ability to charge them as we continue on. And before I forget, just a reminder for everybody, this Sunday is the Sabil USA food distribution from 8 to 10 a.m. And we have, in collaboration with actually several of my colleagues, the Santa Anita Neighborhood Association mural unveiling between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. And lastly, I would like to say that Crystal Ray Orange County High School is doing the ribbon cutting for their inaugural, well, not inaugural, but inaugural in that building school program. So very excited for all of these events coming up. With that, have a great night, everyone.

Thank you. Council Member Serra, please.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Just to echo the sentiments of my colleagues, I want to thank staff for putting on a wonderful Fiestas Patrias. That was a great event from the grito to the parade to just the entire celebration. It was wonderful to see the community out there. So thank you, both city manager's office, Parks and Rec, and all the staff that helped out on that. Saturday, October 3rd, I'll be hosting my monthly community office hours at Segerstrom Triangle Park over there on Segerstrom and Shelton, just across the street from Saddleback High School. And for my Ward 4 residents, we're getting close. Sprouts is going to be opening their doors soon. Ali, do we know, do you have any updates for us as far as dates?

of their final inspections coming up at the end of this month, and they've disclosed to us that they're aiming for end of October opening, October 23rd.

October 23rd, that's wonderful, great. Thank you for that update, Ali, and I'll end on that good note. Good night, everybody. Thank you, Mayor Pretem.

Thank you, Mayor Mesquite. Maybe we could purchase some snacks from Sprouts for our grand opening the next day at Memorial Park, which is still on track for October 24th, correct, Mr. City Manager?

Yes, absolutely.

Beautiful. Love to hear it.

Assuming there's some, you know, dignitary that we have, we're trying to get it.

Wonderful, yeah, I heard. Okay, thank you just everybody, all of the city staff, Public Works, Police, Parks and Rec, City Manager's Office for all your work that you did over the last weekend. Over the entire weekend, it was, again, Fiestas Patrias, one of our most beautiful events in the city where we get to gather and celebrate our culture. And it was a little bittersweet for me because it's my last Fiestas Patrias event. You know, here as a city council member representing the city. So it was bittersweet for me to be there and participate in these events, but I was so happy to be there. I know Assemblymember Valino Valencia was able to join me on Sunday evening to recognize our headliner, who is a Santa Ana native, Legado Siete, so we were happy to do that. And super excited for just... Love seeing all the talent that's coming out of our city across the board, whether it's musical talent, artistic talent, athletic talent, and just talent in many different areas of our society and seeing them thrive and seeing them coming out of Santa Ana, which is super cool to see and important that we always recognize them whenever we can. And so that was just, again, super beautiful event. I feel like every year there's more and more people. So looking forward for the years to come to visit. With that, I want to just announce the birth of my beautiful new niece, baby Gianna. So congratulations, Nathan and Dahlia. So excited to welcome my new little niece that was born last night. So super excited to meet her. I was supposed to meet her today, but we have a city council meeting. So congratulations. But also just want to wish my beautiful wife, Kim, a third year anniversary. We got married on September 15th, 2023. I, being the good Catholic boy that I am, wanted to make sure I married her before the birth of our daughter. So... You know, the pattern didn't work out the way I had always planned. But, hey, it is what it is. And I just want to wish her a happy anniversary and hopefully many, many more to come. And babies and anniversaries, who knows? But with that, good evening, everybody. Thank you. Councilman Hernandez.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I want to thank the residents and the city staff for their hard work in putting this council meeting together. I want to thank all the residents who took time out of their day to comment and show up. Today is September 15th. We are celebrating Fiestas Patrias. On September 16, 1810, Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang his church bell in Dolores. This was a call to arms. He gave a speech known as Grito de Dolores, urging people to rise up against Spanish rule. The result of that was an 11-year war that saw Mexico finally win its independence in 1821. Today is a very important day for Santa Ana and for Mexican people all over the United States and Mexico. We also are celebrating today the independence of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The in 1821, the act of independence of Central America and Guatemala City ended Spanish colonial rule for an entire region. So today is a historic day for Santa Ana and for many, many countries. We are also celebrating a lot of amazing history in the city. We just celebrated two days back to back where we had a Santa Ana resident Legado Siete headline, a festival where thousands of residents came out. multi-generational it was a wonderful event the businesses were very happy i want to thank the city staff if we could please put our hands together for the city staff for putting this event on the city manager's office i i think there's a lot of good things that is that happens in the city but i would be remiss to not center the city staff because that is who's highlighting. That's who we are highlighting at these events. We're highlighting the services that are being offered to the community, and that means the city staff. And so thank you, city manager, and thank you to all your staff. I also want to thank Holiday Market and the Delhi community. What a wonderful business they are. They recently worked with Jose Ortiz and the Delhi community neighborhood to unveil a mural celebrating a resident, Vicky Tafoya, who was a soul singer and a rock and roll singer from Santa Ana, born and raised in Del High. And so we are very, very sad of her loss and we pay our respects to Vicky. Vicky was formerly from Saddleback High School. She was born and raised in this community. Her family's been in Santa Ana since 1908. And her family were amongst the founders of the Del High Community Center. And so to see her passing, it was a sad loss for the city. And so please visit her mural on Holiday and Central. I also want to highlight Washington Square Neighborhood Association's park. If we can, city manager, please ensure that we get a status update for the residents. I know that's important to every single one of us here at the dais. I also want to thank the residents who showed up today and gave their public comments, particularly my neighbor here who's passionate about native plants. I had the honor of meeting with the residents in Washington Square, learning about their desire to protect green space. you can count on me to work with those residents to bring something to your office, Mr. City Manager. I also want to thank the mayor, I want to thank the supervisor, Vicente Sarmiento, I want to thank Councilmember Phil Becerra, and I want to thank, more importantly, Councilmember Tyviat Phan, because this is, a partnership that has long been in existence, Councilmember Phan, with you and I working with Santa Anita. And so I want to thank my colleagues because you guys are going to help decrease graffiti in a neighborhood that was historically a hotspot for our graffiti removal services. Working with Felipe and all of us here as colleagues, we're going to be able to help Santa Anita neighborhood tell their story, so I just want to personally thank all of you. That mural unveiling will take place Saturday, September 19th, and it will be from 10 to 12 p.m., 5th and Jackson. We invite the community to come out. The mural will celebrate the Catholic faith of the Santa Ana community that is adjacent to Santa Anita. There's a number of Catholic churches where many of the families call home. And so you will see a Virgin Mary mural that was decided by the residents of Santa Anita. You will also see coming into the later part of the year, the Santa Ana library will be coming close to opening up. So I just want to share for residents of the city, look forward to your library coming back before the end of this year. And then I also want to close in memory of Scott Celtic Knot, Scott was a resident of the city that I had the honor of meeting over many, I would say probably 15 years ago. I had the honor of joining him for a self-defense class at El Centro, and we were teaching Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and he taught me about the connection and the rooted shared histories of anti-colonial resistance between the Irish and the Mexican. He was somebody with Irish descent, and he taught me about the Batallón de San Patricio, The St. Patrick's Battalion, the history between the Irish and the Mexican was something that I will never forget. Thank you for educating me on that. Thank you for being a leader that the community could count on and lean on. And may you always be missed in the city of Santa Ana. God bless you and your loved ones.

Thank you, Council Member Hernandez. So Fiesta Patria's weekend, I won't say too much about my colleagues. Thank you so much to all the staff. It was wonderful. And then on Friday, we were at the Grito with the Mexican concert. That was at the Bowers Museum. That was also a great thing. So it was a fun weekend, and it wouldn't happen without the city staff. So I want to thank everybody that participated and everybody that came from our community and from surrounding communities. We are the second largest community Fiesta this weekend, I think LA's first or something like that, and we're second. So I was looking at the drone pictures when Legado Siete was playing. There was a lot of people out there, and I believe he used to live in Mini Street area, and he's a true, you know, that term is a true something. I don't now look at him traveling all over the world playing. So Legado Siete was with us, so it was a big deal, and I'm glad that we had him in all the groups that were here with us. I'm sorry? I saw you on stage, yeah, I saw you there too, don't worry. But the weekend was just great, and the parade's always a lot of fun with all of our community out there. So you know when we're tired when Mayor Pro Tem starts to interrupt me. It has been a while since we've had a city council meeting, and I don't want to miss out thanking Victory Outreach for the event on August 29th at Salvador Park. It was a great event. Lots of people there. It was hot, but it was a good celebration, and a lot of resources were given out to our community. And people came from all different neighborhoods. It wasn't just the Atisipilat neighborhood, but they came from all over. So it was wonderful to see our families out there. As Mayor Pro Tem mentioned, the Memorial Park ribbon cutting on October 24th. You don't want to miss it. You want to be there. It's historical, right? This is going to be... It didn't start when you were in diapers, Mayor Pro Tem, but it is historical. And so I'm gonna miss the Santa Anita mural unveiling because I have coffee with the mayor on Saturday from eight to 12, no, 10 to 12, excuse me, from 10 to 12 at Charlie's Burgers on Grand Street. So I'm sure many have eaten at Charlie's Burgers, has the best burgers in town and they have a great Greek salad and whatnot. So from 10 to 12, we'll have coffee with the mayor And so please come out, city staff will be there, city manager's always there with the executive directors, answering questions on our police department, answering questions. I think the two most popular people that the community always wants to talk to is Rudy from Public Works and our police department. So the rest of us can probably go home. But so I look forward to seeing you all at Coffee with the Mayor at Charlie's Burgers this Saturday from 10 to 12. And so before I close, Mr. City Manager, in honor of the Independencia celebration here, I received some calls over the weekend about city staff being yelled at or spoken harshly to publicly by council members or a council member. I just want to remind, and correct me if I am wrong, please, I want to remind all of us up here that the only three people that work for the council is the city manager, city attorney, and the city clerk. City staff do not work for us. They work for you, is that correct, Mr. City Manager?

Yes.

So if there's a problem or there's an issue that comes up, the council and myself should go to who? Me. To you, right? Yes. And so not publicly, you know... raise your voice or direct or point your finger or just treat them poorly because you're not happy with what happened at a celebration or you're not happy with what's going on, that is not something we should be doing as the mayor and the council. And so I would hope that it's a reminder to everybody up here that there's only three people who work for us. Everybody else works for the city manager. This is a city manager run city. city manager, city attorney, and city attorney work for this council. Is that correct? You want to say something?

Yeah, that is correct, but for the record, I think on behalf of the clerk and the city attorney, we also didn't appreciate being yelled at.

You're right. I was going to get to that.

But, I mean, just being a little bit... I second that motion. I appreciate the comment, and thank you very much, yes.

No, and I was going to get to that. I mean, when there's a lot of activities, and I really want to thank the city staff and the city manager, his office, his staff, I mean, Paul, everybody, Sue, everybody out there, you know, everybody's out there. Because it was hot, there's a lot going on, police department's out there, you know, everybody's out there, public works. So things are going to go wrong. or there's going to be miscommunication, or you're not going to get what you want. And so we don't yell at city staff. We don't demean them publicly, ever. We deal with the city manager. So, and again, you know, Mr. City Manager, if you were scolded, hey, I don't know. I didn't scold you. I wasn't there for that. But I'm just saying that, please, I would like to remind the council up here that we always talk about treating people right. So let's treat people right. I was not there on Sunday, but I did get a couple calls were like, hey, Mayor, there's a council member pretty much yelling at a city employee, a Parks and Rec employee over something, and I said, hey, I can't do anything about that. You need to call the city manager's office, and I'm so sorry that you witnessed that as a community member. So I just want to remind everybody that three people work for us, city attorney, city manager, city clerk. Nobody else does. When I want to talk to Rudy about cutting a tree, I call Sylvia or Alvaro or I'm in the office and I say, hey, can I talk to Rudy? And they say yes. Can I ask this? Yes. And then I don't have to do that, but I do because that's the right thing to do because I know my position very well and I respect that. So we want to treat everybody with respect and dignity. So I just want to remind people, please do not treat our staff poorly because we always hear about it and it just reflects badly on us. So... With that, we want to close in honor of celebrating the Mexican Independence Day and our Mexican, Latino, and Hispanic heritage and history. The grito ceremony is a celebration of both Mexican independence and of the courage, unity, and resilience of our community. We celebrate the generations who came before us and the traditions and shared history that unite us. In Santa Ana, we embrace and preserve our Mexican and Latino American heritage. We see the heart of Santa Ana in immigrants, children, descendants of immigrants, Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, Chicanos, Salvadorians, Guatemalans, Hondurans, Nicaraguans, and people from all diverse backgrounds across the world. We celebrate our history, our heritage, our people, and our cultures with pride, joy, and gratitude. With that, thank you, this meeting is completed.