Tonight is the first meeting of the Santa Ana City Council to scheduled to begin at the new time of 5:45 p.m. Once the Council wades through the nine agendized recognition’s and proclamations they will eventually get to discussion of two items which should dominate public comment for the evening.
Agenda Item # 65B is related to the report from the council’s Code of Conduct and Ethics committee regarding proposed “Sunshine” regulations proposed by the community groups SACReD and OCCORD. The proposals include:
- Establish Pre-Application Meeting and Hearing Requirements for Development Projects;
- Provide Earlier Notification/Release of Agendas for Council/Commission Meetings;
- Develop Process to Include Community Experts in RFP/RFQ Selection Pamels;
- Establish Budget Outreach Hearings by Wards;
- Provide Public Access to Calendars of all Elected and Appointed Officials;
- Establish Lobbyist Registration and Disclosure Requirements
The staff report indicates that the Council will consider these proposals and other from staff and provide direction for the development of a Sunshine Ordinance.
The second item is:
85A ADDRESS PROPERTY AND BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (“PBID”) ISSUES AND CONCERNS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO PROCESS FOR DISESTABLISHMENT, AMENDING RESOLUTION TO ADD PROCESS FOR DISESTABLISHMENT BY PROPERTY OWNERS, HOLDING ADVISORY ELECTION, AND SETTING PUBLIC HEARING FOR DISESTABLISHMENT – Mayor Pro Tem Alvarez and Councilmember Tinajero Continued from the August 24, September 19, October 3, and October 17, and November 7, 2011 City Council meetings.
This item is of particular interest in light of the Orange County Grand Jury Report released last week that the tax on downtown Santa Ana property owners that funds Downtown Inc., the organization charged with promoting and securing the area, is illegal. Voice of OC’s Adam Elmahrek has a story on the report here.
The agenda item includes attachments of 23 letters of support for the PBID and Downtown Inc., the contractor hired by the city to promote and operate the district.
Item 85A is followed by:
85B DIRECTIONS TO PREPARE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES – Sponsored by Council members Martinez and Sarmiento, and co-sponsored by Mayor Pulido
It is unclear from the description exactly what this means, but it may be a proposed direction to staff to place the Downtown Inc. contract out to bid.
Those following tonight’s meeting should expect a late night.