Santa Ana Municipal Code Art. II II. - Public Meetings for Certain Development Projects

For purposes of this article, the following terms have the following respective meanings:

City-sponsored development project means any development project that has received or will receive public subsidy from the city.

Community meeting means any meeting required pursuant to subsection 2-153(a) whose purpose is to provide input into the review of development projects.

Public subsidy, as used in this article, means financial assistance provided by the city, including, but not limited to: grants; rent subsidies or reductions; loans; loan forgiveness; city-issued bond financing; a sale or lease of city-assembled land for less than its fair market value (i.e., a "land write-down"); a development agreement or disposition and development agreement; contingent obligations taken on by the city such as any guarantee or pledge of city funds; and any city fee or tax reduction or waiver.

(Ord. No. NS-2838, § 4, 10-15-12)

Prior to the submittal of the application for discretionary approval which meets the criteria of subsection 2-153(a), the applicant shall meet all community meeting requirements as set forth in section 2-153.

(Ord. No. NS-2838, § 5, 10-15-12)

(a) Applicability. The requirements of this article apply to development projects requiring discretionary approval and that meet one (1) or more of the following criteria:

(1) City-sponsored development projects.

(2) New residential projects containing twenty-five (25) or more units, except that the director of the Planning and Building Agency may exempt a developer from one (1) or more of the requirements of this article if, in the case of affordable housing, the developer can show that it will be in jeopardy of losing tax credits, or if an applicable project does not require a resubmittal following initial submittal.

(3) New non-residential projects (including additions to existing buildings) of ten thousand (10,000) square feet or more and which are, in the determination of the city, subject to a negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration or environmental impact report as defined under the California Environmental Quality Act.

(4) Development projects requiring a zone change, specific plan amendment, specific development amendment, or general plan amendment.

(b) Number and timing of community meeting. For those development projects that meet the criteria listed in subsection 2-153(a), the applicant shall hold two (2) community meetings. The first community meeting shall be held no later than twenty (20) days after submittal of an application for administrative development project review. The second community meeting shall be held at least ten (10) days prior to the development project being resubmitted by the applicant to the City after receipt of comments resulting from the City's development project review. Should the applicant fail to hold the community meetings within this time, the development project resubmittal will be deemed incomplete and not accepted until such time as the community meetings are held and the information per subsection (h) is provided to the City.

(c) Noticing.

(1) Notice of any community meeting and public hearing held for development projects that meet the criteria listed in subsection 2-153(a) shall be provided to all property owners and at least one (1) occupant per tenant space having a valid United States Postal Service address within:

a. A 2,000-foot radius of the subject property within the city boundary; and

b. A 300-foot radius of the subject property where the notification radius extends over the city boundary into another jurisdiction.

(2) Notice of any public hearings for projects that do not meet the criteria listed in subsection 2-153(a) shall be provided to all property owners, and at least one (1) occupant per tenant space having a valid United States Postal Service address within:

a. A 1,000-foot radius of the subject property within the city boundary; and

b. A 300-foot radius of the subject property where the notification radius extends over the city boundary into another jurisdiction.

(3) Said notices shall be mailed no less than ten (10) days prior to the community meeting or public hearing. The notice shall also be posted on the city's development project website if the project meets the criteria listed in subsection 2-153(a), and published in a newspaper of general circulation no less than ten (10) days prior to the community meeting or public hearing. The city shall then post the notice on the city's website. It shall be the sole responsibility of the applicant to prepare and distribute notices for any required community meeting.

(d) Notice content. The notice shall include the time, place and date of the community meeting; a map depicting the location of the subject property, including the properties contained within the notification boundary; a brief description of the project; and the applicant's contact information. The notice shall be written in English and Spanish and include instructions as to how to request language interpretation services for those wishing to have interpretation during the community meeting in languages other than English and Spanish.

(e) Community meeting time and place. Community meetings shall be held either on a weeknight during the early evening hours or on a Saturday. The meetings shall be held in any facility that is accessible to the public and that is no more than one (1) mile from the project site. Should there not be any such facilities available in the required area, the applicant may arrange, at their own expense and subject to availability, to use the next closest city facility.

(f) Community meeting language interpretation. The applicant shall provide language interpretation services for in-person attendees in Spanish during all required meetings. Should the applicant receive a written request for language interpretation services for languages other than Spanish no later than forty-eight (48) hours prior to the meeting, the applicant shall provide interpretation services for in-person attendees in the language requested. It shall be the applicant's responsibility to arrange for such services to be available at the community meeting.

(g) Community meetings format and content. The applicant shall provide and hold all required community meetings in accordance with all of the following:

(1) Give a single presentation detailing the components of the proposed development project and a description of any impacts or benefits to the community.

(2) Provide contact information whereby individuals can contact the applicant to solicit further information.

(3) Allocate sufficient time for the attendees to pose questions and provide input.

(4) Livestream the meeting and subsequent questions and discussion on a publicly-accessible streaming platform.

(5) Provide the City with a video and audio recording of the presentation and subsequent questions and discussion to post to the City's project webpage.

(6) Provide a summary of the presentation and questions and answers provided during the first meeting as part of the presentation at the second meeting.

(7) Provide a description of all specific community-suggested input and/or proposed changes to the project which were discussed at the first meeting and identify which community-suggested items were incorporated into a revised project scope. To the extent any community-suggested input and/or proposed changes were not incorporated into a revised project scope, the applicant shall describe in the presentation for the second meeting why those items were not included within the revised project scope, if applicable.

(8) Detailed minutes of the meetings including a written record of the comments provided by the community members.

(h) Providing information to city after community meeting. Not more than four (4) days following the community meeting, the developer shall submit to the city an affidavit under penalty of perjury that the required community meetings were held in compliance with this section and will submit copies of all notices, notification lists, site postings, advertisements, or other communications used to publicize the meetings. The applicant shall also provide to the city a copy of the presentation materials, minutes and the written record of, and response to, the public comments made at each community meeting, and the video and audio recording of the meeting. The public input will be made part of the public record and included on the City's project's website and as attachments to planning commission staff reports. Should the applicant fail to provide the city all information and materials by timelines required under this subsection, any development project application resubmittal will be deemed incomplete and not accepted until such time as all required information and materials are provided.

(i) [Notice.] Notice of planning commission public hearings shall be in conformance with the requirements provided in subsection 2-153(c), except that it shall be the responsibility of the applicant to provide the director of planning and development services the mailing lists of the names and addresses of those entitled to receive notice under subsection 2-153(c). The noticing provisions contained subsection 2-153(c) shall supersede those contained in section 41-672.

(Ord. No. NS-2838, § 6, 10-15-12; Ord. No. NS-3012, § 2, 12-7-21; Ord. No. NS-3040, § 3, 6-6-23; Ord. No. NS-3057, § 3, 2-20-24)