New Santa Ana | Category Archives: Planning

Aging adults still run Santa Ana even though the population is much younger

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Neighborhood Associations, Phil Bacerra, Planning, Santa Ana, Seniors 21 Comments

People over 65 make up only 6.8% of the City of Santa Ana, according to the U.S. Census – but they still rule this town.

Here’s how that works. Take a look at the Santa Ana Neighborhood Associations – they are mostly made up of adults over 45. The average member is closer to 65.

We live in the youngest city in Santa Ana. Over 30% of our population is under 30! There are 56,000 kids enrolled in the SAUSD’s K-12 schools (source – SAUSD)- and that does not include the Santa Ana schoolchildren who go to private schools or are in the Garden Grove Unified School District. Continue reading→

SAUSD principal votes to slash OC Lutheran schools’ funding

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Development, Education, Planning, Santa Ana, SAUSD 7 Comments

Patrick D.Yrarrázaval-Correa

Planning commissioners have moved forward with a plan to build houses on the old Sexlinger property, and to save the century-old farmhouse and to preserve 10 orange trees of the more than 200 on the property, according to the O.C. Register.

But one Planning Commissioner voted against the compromise. Patrick Yrarrazaval, a Principal at the SAUSD’s Valley High School, spoke in favor of the conservancy’s 50/50 alternative as he voted against the compromise.

“I ask the question to the applicants, how much money do the two schools need to fulfill the desires of Martha Sexlinger?” Yrarrazaval said. Continue reading→

Updated: Bruce Bauer nominated to the Santa Ana Planning Commission

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Bruce T. Bauer, Civic Affairs, Planning, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Update: The Santa Ana City Council voted tonight to approve the appointment of Bruce T. Bauer to the Santa Ana Planning Commission. We know he will do a great job!

Good news for Santa Ana’s bike trail enthusiasts. Bruce T. Bauer, an attorney and a leading proponent of completing the Santiago Creek Bike Trail, has been nominated to the Santa Ana Planning Commission by Council Member Angie Amezcua. His nomination will be voted on by the Santa Ana City Council at tonight’s Council meeting.

Amezcua’s previous appointee to the Planning Commission, Joel Crespo, resigned to take a job with a law firm up north, from what I have heard. Continue reading→

Santa Ana Planning and Building Agency’s Director to retire

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Planning, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Photo: Jay Trevino pictured with the current members of the Santa Ana Planning Commission

The City of Santa Ana’s Executive Director of their Planning and Building Agency, Jay Trevino, will be retiring on December 30 after a 32-year career serving four cities. In addition to his ten years in Santa Ana, Trevino previously worked for the cities of Santa Monica, Brea and Pomona. He is an Orange County native, having grown up in Westminster. Trevino studied architecture initially and has a degree in urban and regional planning from the California State University at Pomona.

Trevino accomplished a lot in the City of Santa Ana during his tenure including: incorporating health and wellness into the planning process; emphasizing the quality of design in development projects; adopting award-winning plans like the Transit Zoning Code and the Housing Element; creating a balanced approach for affordable housing in the Housing Opportunity Ordinance; and, collaborating on the streetcar, to name a few of his many accomplishments. Continue reading→

Will Santa Ana College put a parking lot on the SE corner of Bristol and 17th?

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Development, Planning, Santa Ana 3 Comments

Can you believe it? My sources are reporting that Santa Ana College has purchased the land on the corner of Bristol and 17th, where several businesses were force off their land by the City of Santa Ana, due to the Bristol Street widening project. I am told that Santa Ana College plans to use this highly trafficked corner for – a parking lot for their administrators.

What a revolting development! This land should have gone to a retail establishment – particularly a restaurant or a convenience store. Instead the city is going to lose the resulting tax revenue and the poor Washington Square neighbors are going to have to put up with noise and trash from a parking lot that most likely will be operating at all hours. Continue reading→

City of Santa Ana launches online community planning survey

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Planning, Santa Ana Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community Alert: City Launches Online Community Survey: City Council Wants To Hear Your Opinions

SANTA ANA, CA (October 2, 2013) – The City’s Community Survey is now available for all to complete. The survey will run through the month of October. The survey results, together with all the other community input, will be presented to the City Council at a public workshop later this Fall. With this input, the City Council will shape the five-year strategic plan. Continue reading→

Santa Ana launches an online Strategic Planning Info Portal

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Planning, Santa Ana 1 Comment

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community Alert: Creating Our Future Together: Santa Ana’s Strategic Planning Information Portal Now Available

SANTA ANA, CA (September 19, 2013) – The Santa Ana City Council is pleased to announce that the Strategic Planning Information Portal can now be viewed on the City’s web page. (http://www.santa-ana.org/strategic-planning/) Santa Ana is undertaking a five-year strategic planning process to hear from the Santa Ana community about their priorities. The City Council is soliciting input into this planning process from representatives from a broad range of community interests such as: residents, business owners, nonprofit organizations, students, the faith-based community, property owners, educators, and other interested stakeholders. All members of the community are encouraged to visit the City’s web page to see the input that has been provided so far. This is an exciting time to be a member of the Santa Ana community and City Council wants everyone to participate in this important process. Continue reading→

Yes, we paid to send three Councilmen to Portland to look at streetcars

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Planning, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, Transportation, Vince Sarmiento 1 Comment

Can you believe it? Our city is broke but on August 28, 2013, “officials from Santa Ana conducted a one-day site visit to learn more about the highly successful transit and streetcar system in Portland, Oregon.”

That’s right. We paid to send a bunch of Council Members and city staffers to Portland, Oregon, to look at their light rail system. Now why in the world would our city leaders do this? Well, they allege that “Out of the 15 systems currently operating and the 40 under design or construction throughout the country, Portland’s has been seen as a model that reflects the Transit Vision for Santa Ana’s proposed streetcar system.”

But is that true? Does Portland really have anything in common with Santa Ana? Continue reading→

Santa Ana public Strategic Planning Forum set for August 10

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Entertainment, Planning Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community Alert: The City of Santa Ana Invites Community Members to a Strategic Planning Community Forum

Creating Our Future

SANTA ANA, CA (July 26, 2013) – The City of Santa Ana invites community members to an upcoming STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMUNITY FORUM.

Saturday, August 10, 2013, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Southwest Senior Center, located at 2201 W. McFadden Avenue
in Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Benavides apparently wants to keep bars in town open until 4 a.m.

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Alcohol, Bars, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Phil Bacerra, Planning, Public Safety, Santa Ana 27 Comments

Santa Ana Councilman David Benavides is apparently pushing for a modification to the City of Santa Ana’s Proposed Alcohol and Entertainment Ordinance that I can at best call irresponsible and ridiculous. Click here to read what Benavides is proposing.

Benavides wants to allow after-hours alcohol sales up to 4 am. Currently bars in town have to close up at 2 am at the latest. Continue reading→

Benavides attempting to appoint a paid consultant to the Planning Commission

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in David Benavides, Planning, Politics, Santa Ana 13 Comments

Bacerra at the podium

Santa Ana City Councilman David Benavides, who failed badly in his attempt to beat Mayor Miguel Pulido last year, is trying to appoint planning consultant Phil Bacerra to the Santa Ana Planning Commission, according to the City Council’s agenda for tonight’s meeting.

Bacerra is no doubt qualified for this position but his presence on the Planning Commission would be a major conflict of interest. His company, Jacaranda Enterprises, was retained by Downtown Inc., the non profit that oversaw the spending of the PBID tax proceeds in Downtown Santa Ana, according to his contract, to: Continue reading→

Council to consider the marijuana dispensary measure, which is a hot mess

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Civic Affairs, Drugs, Elections, Health and Medical, Marijuana, Planning, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Kids smoking pot

One of our readers asked me to have a look at the information that the Santa Ana City Council will be reviewing and voting upon at tomorrow night’s Council meeting, regarding the medical marijuana dispensary ballot initiative that may end up on the ballot in November, 2014.

You can read the info yourself by looking over the Council’s agenda, however note that the medical marijuana info is way back towards the end of the document.

The initiative specifies that the dispensaries will be allowed in the City’s commercial, industrial and professional office zones, but they cannot be closer than 600 feet from any public or private schools, grades K-12. Continue reading→

Santa Ana Political Chismes – Special Bustamante edition

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Carlos Bustamante, Carlos Rojas, Civic Affairs, Crime, David Benavides, Food, Kevin O'Rourke, Michele Martinez, Planning, Politics, Public Safety, Safety, Santa Ana 18 Comments

David Benavides and Carlos Bustamante

There is so much going on today in Santa Ana that I chose to report it all in our infamous Political Chismes format, rather than post several articles. Here we go!

Bad news for Busty. Today was a bad day for former Santa Ana City Councilman Carlos Bustamante, as a “judge refused to dismiss a number of felony sex crime charges against him,” according to the O.C. Register. Bustamante is accused of sexually assaulting seven women he worked with in his former job in the county’s Public Works Department. The judge also denied a motion to have the Orange County District Attorney’s Office taken off the case. Bustamante worked to elect his former colleague, David Benavides, in last year’s Santa Ana Mayoral race. Luckily Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido prevailed. Will Benavides commisserate with Bustamante tonight? Stop by Chapter One, in Downtown Santa Ana, and see if they show up. Be sure to send us any pictures you get of these two tossing them down! Continue reading→

City to host a Harbor Blvd. Corridor transit plan workshop on 1/30

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Development, Entertainment, Planning, Santa Ana, Transportation Leave a comment

Harbor Plan

You are invited to be part of creating a sustainable vision for the Harbor Boulevard corridor. The City of Santa Ana is hosting a Community Workshop on Wednesday, January 30, 2013, at 3904 West First Street (Plumbers & Steamfitters Local Union Building), from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Come see draft land use concepts for the Harbor Boulevard Corridor Plan. These ideas reflect two years of study and outreach with local residents, businesses, property owners, and stakeholders.

Harbor Boulevard represents one of the City’s first efforts to implement the principles of a “complete” street with land use concepts. Continue reading→

Tinajero selected unanimously as the new Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Angelica Amezcua, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Planning, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 29 Comments

In the end, Santa Ana Councilman David Benavides realized he was outnumbered and so he sucked it up and made the motion tonight to select his colleague, Council Member Sal Tinajero, as the new Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem.

The rest of the fading Team Benavides tucked their tails twixt their legs and followed suit – one by one they all seconded the motion and finally Mayor Miguel Pulido, who was so horribly attacked by Benavides during this year’s mayoral campaign, announced that, by proclamation, the clear choice was Tinajero. And just like that the “Santa Ana Spring” was over. Continue reading→