In this edition of the COSAS newsletter, meet our new city manager, get ready for Fiestas Patrias, learn how we’re making it easier to do construction projects and build in Santa Ana, join our upcoming Adult Flag Football League, job fair, code enforcement workshops and more events and activities.
Spotlight Photo
Our 2024 Chicano Heritage Festival
Photo Credit: City Staff.
To submit your own original photo of Santa Ana to be featured in the next newsletter, complete this form.
City Manager’s Highlights
Meet our new City Manager
The Santa Ana City Council unanimously appointed long-time Santa Ana resident and tenured local government executive Alvaro Nuñez as the new City Manager of Santa Ana. City Manager Nuñez, who has been serving as the Acting City Manager since March 25, joined the City of Santa Ana team in 1993. With over 30 years of service to Santa Ana, he has held leadership positions in the Planning and Building Agency and the City Manager’s Office.
We asked City Manager Nuñez a few questions to help our community get to know him.
Q. What do you love about Santa Ana?
A. I love living and working in Santa Ana because of the strong sense of community and family, the proud neighborhoods and local businesses, and the art and culture. Of course, I can’t forget the best Mexican food in Orange County.
Q. What is your vision for the City of Santa Ana?
A. The Santa Ana community deserves a City government that provides the highest quality services, that responds to the needs of residents and businesses, and that the public can rely on to get the job done. We must respect the traditions and history of this beautiful city while working to attract new businesses and jobs, to create more homeownership opportunities, and to move Santa Ana into the future.
Q. What’s one fun fact you can share about yourself?
A. I own over 10 pairs of cowboy boots. I’ve worn boots almost every day since working in the fields as a young boy in the eastern Coachella Valley.
Read more about City Manager Nuñez
News
Fiestas Patrias festival and parade returns Sept. 14-15
The City of Santa Ana will celebrate Mexican independence and commemorate Santa Ana’s vibrant Hispanic and Latino cultures at the 44th annual Fiestas Patrias festival and parade with a return to the Downtown Santa Ana historic district.
The Fiestas Patrias festival will take place on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 12 to 11 p.m. and on Sunday, Sept. 15, from 12 to 10 p.m. on 4th Street. The Fiestas Patrias parade will begin at 10 a.m. Sept. 15 at the cross streets of Main Street and Washington Avenue, and will continue along Main Street to Santa Ana Boulevard, ending by 12 p.m. right before the Fiestas Patrias festival.
There is still time to apply for the interest list to be an exhibitor, vendor, or community performer! Interest lists are open until 5 p.m. Aug. 20. Please visit the Fiestas Patrias website to apply.
Read more about Fiestas Patrias
Celebrate our Chicano Heritage
Over 7,500 community members came joined us at the third annual Chicano Heritage Festival on Sunday, Aug. 11, at Centennial Park. The free event including an amazing lineup of live entertainment headlined by Lakeside, a car cruise and show, a community art show, inflatables, food, a basketball tournament, and vendors. We’re proud that Santa Ana was the first city in the country to proclaim August as Chicano Heritage Month in celebration of our Mexican-American culture and history that are such essential parts of our community.
We want to give a special thanks to our annual Title Level Partner, Project Kinship, and our annual Headline Level Partner, Orange County Soccer Club, for helping make the day extra special.
See photos from the Chicano Heritage Festival
New PBx service offers same-day express permits for many residential and commercial projects
The next time you have a small home or commercial project, try out our new PBx same-day express permit service! Our Planning and Building Agency launched PBx to allow residents, contractors and others to get same-day permits at the Building Safety Division counter in Santa Ana City Hall for projects that do not require plan check and are not designated as historic. It is intended to improve customer satisfaction, streamline the development process, reduce wait times, and speed up the review and approval process.
You can use PBx to get commercial and residential mechanical, electrical and plumbing permits, and for projects including kitchen and bathroom remodels and alterations, replacement of existing exterior stucco or siding, interior drywall replacement, and more!
Office–to-industrial transformation illustrates new approach to development
Three outdated office buildings and a vacant land parcel in south Santa Ana will be transformed into a modern industrial campus called the South Coast Technology Center that will revitalize business activity in the area.
The approval is one of a number of major development projects currently undergoing entitlement review by the City and is reflective of the vision and nimbleness of the City Council and of the new City administration to keep pace with change. The proposed development is anticipated to generate 687 permanent jobs and 555 one-time jobs associated with its construction, while increasing the production of goods and services in Santa Ana by $256.1 million annually.
Read more about the South Coast Technology Center
Major development projects list and map
Registration open for Adult Flag Football League
Registration for the new Adult Flag Football League is now open through Sept. 13! We have a co-ed division that plays on Mondays and a men’s division that plays on Tuesdays. Play begins on Sept. 23. Must be 18 or older to participate. Learn more and sign up below.
Sign up for Adult Flag Football League
Register for OCFA Girls Empowerment Camp by August 30
Parents, sign your girls up for the Orange County Fire Authority’s Girls Empowerment Camp by Aug. 30! This is a great experience for kids to push themselves, learn new skills, and consider a career in firefighting. The camp takes place Sept. 28 and 29 and is open to teens ages 14-18. Register at the link below.
Stay cool this summer
It’s been a hot summer out there! Our emergency operations staff are always monitoring weather conditions. So far, the temperatures haven’t triggered the extreme levels that would necessitate activating our cooling centers with special hours of operation. But if you need a place to cool down, please visit the Newhope Branch Library, our community centers or our senior centers during regular hours. The County of Orange has a list of all cooling sites countywide at the link below.
Street closures and permitted events
You can find the locations of upcoming permitted events and road closures in Santa Ana at the link below. Please drive slowly and safely in construction zones and around crowded events. If a weather event occurs on the anticipated start date, the street closures for construction activity will be delayed until the weather clears.
Street Closures and Permitted Events
Sports field closures through September 30
To effectively provide and maintain City athletic fields, scheduled rotating field closures occur during the year for turf recovery, field maintenance and overall improvements. Our Public Works Agency staff coordinate the schedule with our local sports leagues to minimize the impact and ensure that they have the highest quality fields when it’s time to play. Find the list of field closures at the link below.
Sports field closures: https://www.santa-ana.org/current-park-sport-fields-closures-through-september-30-2024/
Tales of the City
Planning and Building Agency leads the way
We are proud to see our Planning and Building Agency staff prominently featured in two conference sessions at the American Planning Association California Statewide 2024 Conference, scheduled from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, 2024, in Riverside.
Highlighting Santa Ana’s Expertise and Commitment to Excellence
The first session, on Sept. 28, will spotlight Yvette Portugal, the City’s Code Enforcement Principal. She will join an esteemed panel of city code enforcement professionals, a city prosecutor, and a consultant from a code enforcement firm to tackle pressing issues such as massage parlors, cannabis, and sidewalk vending. This session, the first of its kind to ever discuss code enforcement issues at a Planning conference, aims to provide valuable insights and strategies developed by Santa Ana to balance these contentious topics and enhance the quality of life for residents, businesses, and diverse communities.
On Sept. 29, the focus will shift to “Santa Ana’s Environmental Justice in Action: Meeting Needs and Sowing Seeds.” This session will feature Santa Ana Planning Division team members, including Planning Manager Ali Pezeshkpour, Principal Planners Margarita Macedonio and Ricardo Soto, and Jose Rea, Executive Director of the Getting Residents Engaged in Empowering Neighborhoods-Madison Park Neighborhood Association (GREEN-MPNA). They will share Santa Ana’s pioneering efforts in implementing the General Plan Environmental Justice (EJ) framework, highlighting community needs, policy formation, regulatory accountability, investment opportunities, and the formation of the new EJ Action Committee.
Environmental Justice Initiatives
The City Council’s 2022 adoption of the General Plan Update marked a significant milestone, embedding 77 actions focused on environmental justice. This plan received robust support from Santa Ana’s EJ neighborhoods and advocacy groups. In July 2022, the City furthered its commitment by establishing an EJ section within the Planning Division, renaming the Neighborhood Initiatives Program to the Neighborhood Initiatives and Environmental Resources to better align with the City’s EJ goals. In October 2022, the Planning Division hired a dedicated staff member to develop the EJ section, focusing on environmental resources, education, and equitable public engagement.
The City has reinforced its long-term dedication to environmental justice through formation of the EJ Action Committee. This committee, which includes resident representatives from each of the five EJ Cluster areas, community-based organizations, and County Health and City staff, will play a pivotal role in implementing future EJ actions as outlined in the City’s General Plan. Their first community kickoff meeting is scheduled for September 2024.
A Vision for a Sustainable and Equitable Future
Santa Ana is steadfast in its mission to foster a sustainable and equitable environment for all its residents. For these efforts, the City has won numerous recognitions from esteemed organizations such as Harvard University, the American Planning Association, the Southern California Association of Governments, the American Institute of Architects, and the Orange County Business Journal. The City’s active participation and leadership at the American Planning Association California Statewide 2024 Conference demonstrate its commitment to sharing knowledge, advancing best practices, and collaborating with other cities to build resilient communities.
City Council Meetings
At their regular meeting on August 6, 2024, the Santa Ana City Council:
- Authorized a grant agreement with the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and approved an appropriation adjustment to recognize $2.5 million in grant funds for the Downtown Business Improvement Initiative Project to provide downtown wifi and parking structure improvements.
- Awarded an agreement with Outdoor Dimensions, LLC of up to $1.8 million to build and install digital marquees at six properties across the city to improve communications with the public. (Revive Santa Ana project)
- Approved an appropriation adjustment and construction contract of $19.3 million to PCL Constructions Services, Inc. for the Main Library Renovations Project. (Revive Santa Ana project)
- Introduced and approved a first reading of the zoning ordinance amendment for South Coast Technology Center and West Lake Center Drive to facilitate the construction of three industrial buildings.
- Unanimously appointed Alvaro Nuñez as City Manager.
Subscribe here to receive City meeting agenda notifications. City Council meetings are typically held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, with the closed session beginning at 5 p.m. or earlier. The open meeting session begins at 5:30 p.m. Meetings have both in-person and virtual participation and attendance and are live streamed on the City’s YouTube channel and our TV channel, CTV3 (channel 3 on Spectrum.) If you’d like to provide public comments on agenda and non-agenda items, you can email, attend in person, or join the Zoom webinar online or by phone.
Events
Santa Ana WORK Center Job Fair – August 21
The Santa Ana WORK Center will bring employers and employees together at its next Job Fair on Aug. 21. Bring your resume to the event and meet top employees to explore job opportunities. Companies include Lendistry, Disneyland, GKN, Retail Odyssey and Partners in Diversity.
- Wednesday, Aug. 21
- 1-3 p.m.
- Santa Ana WORK Center, 801 W. Civic Center Drive
Educational Celebration of Culture – August 29
In honor of Chicano Heritage Month, the Santa Ana Public Library will host an Educational Celebration of Culture featuring a Chicano history panel, a presentation on the history of Chicano films, a unique Aztec dance performance by Ballet Folklorico Leyenda, with participation of Mariachi Folklore, directed by Oscar Garibay, and more.
- Thursday, Aug. 29
- 4-7 p.m.
- Santa Ana City Hall Courtyard, 20 Civic Center Plaza
Renter Protections Workshop – August 29
Learn about your rights as a renter! Join our upcoming informational workshops to learn about the City of Santa Ana’s Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance.
- Thursday, Aug. 29
- 6-7 p.m.
- Jerome Community Center, 726 S. Center St.
Learn more about renter protections: www.santa-ana.org/renter-protections
Down Payment Assistance Workshop – September 5
Are you thinking about buying your first home in Santa Ana? First-time homebuyers may qualify to borrow up to $120,000 with 0% interest rate. Join our upcoming workshops to learn more about this program and ask questions!
- Thursday, Sept. 5
- 6-7:30 p.m.
- Santiago Park, 2615 Valencia St.
Code Enforcement Community Workshops – September 5 & 12
Struggling with abandoned vehicles or trash on private property? Join us for a two-part Code Enforcement workshop in September at Santa Ana College to learn how our Code Enforcement Division can help! Discover enforcement tools, due process, and how code violations impact our community. Plus, get tips on reporting issues and working with our division.
- Thursdays, September 5 & 12
- 6-8:30 p.m.
- Santa Ana College, 1530 W. 17th St., Johnson Center Conference Room JSC 219-4
RSVP for Code Enforcement Workshops: https://www.santa-ana.org/code-enforcement-community-workshop-rsvp/
Garage and Yard sale weekend – September 7 & 8
Residential garage and yard sales are allowed the weekend of September 7 and 8, 2024. Sales may begin at 8 a.m. and must end at 5 p.m. each day. Garage and yard sales for residential properties are permitted in Santa Ana on the first full weekend of March, June, September and December each year. No permit is required. Please follow the rules and regulations at the link below.
Fiestas Patrias – September 14 & 15
Celebrate Mexican independence as well as our Hispanic and Latino communities on Saturday, Sept. 14, and Sunday, Sept. 15. The festival will include a street fair and vendors, live entertainment, a carnival and so much more family fun. Stay tuned for headliner announcements and more. We hope to see you there!
- Saturday, Sept. 14: 12-11 p.m.
- Sunday, Sept. 15: 12-10 p.m. (parade at 10 a.m.)
- Bush and Main streets
Fiestas Patrias: https://www.santa-ana.org/fiestas-patrias/
Resources
Report issues with the mySantaAna app
The mySantaAna mobile app puts the power of the City of Santa Ana government in the palm of your hand! Download the app to quickly and easily report issues such as potholes, graffiti, downed trees and much more.
Who do I call at City Hall?
Important phone numbers:
- City Hall main line: (714) 647-5400
- Code Enforcement: (714) 667-2780
- Graffiti Hotline: (877) 786-7824
- Emergency Water Services: (714) 953-8026
- Public Works dispatch (street sweeping, trees): (714) 647-3380
Find more phone numbers for all City services
Utility services
- City utility services
- Southern California Edison: Call (800) 447-6620
- Southern California Gas: Call (800) 207-8567
- Trash pick up: Call (657) 467-6220