Planning and Building Agency
www.santa-ana.org/planning-and-building
Item # 10
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
April 1, 2025
TOPIC: Ten-Day Written Report Pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858(d) Following the Adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. NS-3064 Moratorium Extension (Transit Zoning Code (SD-84) Moratorium)
AGENDA TITLE
Ten-Day Written Report Pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858(d) Following the Adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. NS-3064 Extension of Ten (10) Months and Fifteen (15) Days, Pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858(a), regarding a Moratorium on the Approval, Commencement, Establishment, Relocation, or Expansion of Industrial Uses within Specific Development No. 84 (Transit Zoning Code (SD-84) Moratorium)
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Issue and file a Council report to the public, pursuant to Section 65858(d) of the California Government Code, describing the City’s measures to alleviate conditions that led to the adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. NS-3064 on May 21, 2024, regarding a moratorium extension of ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days on the approval, commencement, establishment, relocation, or expansion of industrial uses within Specific Development No. 84 (the Transit Zoning Code (SD-84) Moratorium).
GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES: No
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Pursuant to Section 65858(d) of the California Government Code, the purpose of this staff report is to provide a written report no less than ten (10) days prior to the expiration of Urgency Ordinance No. NS-3064 describing the measures the City has taken to alleviate the conditions which led to the adoption of Ordinance No. NS-3064.
On May 21, 2024, the City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. NS-3064, which establishes a ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days extension period of a moratorium on the approval, commencement, establishment, modification, relocation, or expansion of industrial uses in Specific Development No. 84 (SD-84), also known as the Transit Zoning Code (commonly referred to as the “Transit Zoning Code” or “TZC”) while City staff researches appropriate permanent regulations and determines whether an additional extension, pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858(a), is necessary.
Ten-Day Report Describing Measures Taken to Alleviate the Conditions which Led to the Adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. NS-3064 (Transit Zoning Code Moratorium Extension)
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Urgency Ordinance No. NS-3064 shall have no further force and effect ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days from the date of its adoption, unless, after a report during the TZC moratorium extension period and a public hearing, the City Council members, again by four/fifths (4/5) vote, extend the Ordinance for up to an additional twelve (12) months beyond the additional ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days of the initial Ordinance extension. Based on the adoption date of May 21, 2024, the Ordinance is scheduled to expire on April 15, 2025.
City staff continues to analyze and develop permanent regulations to address industrial business uses within the TZC. Staff continues to research, obtain community feedback, and work with planning and legal environmental consultants to prepare recommendations for the City Council’s consideration, following the Planning Commission’s recommendation to do so on March 6, 2025. Such actions may entail a zoning map amendment, zoning text amendment, or both, which would address industrial land uses in the TZC.
DISCUSSION
Background
On April 16, 2024, the City Council adopted Urgency Interim Ordinance No. NS-3063, establishing a 45-day moratorium on the approval, commencement, establishment, relocation, or expansion of industrial uses within the TZC. The purpose of the moratorium was to immediately offer protection of public health, safety, and welfare from industrial uses significantly causing pollution burden to adjacent residential neighborhoods within the TZC.
On May 7, 2024, the City Council issued a report to the public, pursuant to Section 65858(d) of the California Government Code, describing the City’s measures to alleviate conditions that led to the adoption of the moratorium.
On May 21, 2024, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. NS-3064 to extend the moratorium for an additional ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days pursuant to the Government Code as necessary to provide sufficient time for staff to continue with data tracking and reporting, research appropriate regulations, and coordinate with outside regulatory agencies and City departments to determine whether further, permanent action was necessary and to generate recommendations to the Planning Commission and City Council. During the moratorium period, the City has not issued permits that have resulted in the approval, commencement, establishment, modification, relocation, or expansion of industrial uses in the TZC.
Staff held a work-study session at the Planning Commission on February 10, 2025, which was open to the public. During the work-study session, Planning Commission members Ten-Day Report Describing Measures Taken to Alleviate the Conditions which Led to the Adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. NS-3064 (Transit Zoning Code Moratorium Extension)
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and members of the community posed additional questions and provided input on topics of key importance surrounding land use, code violations, the role of outside agencies and their enforcement, and financial and legal implications that required staff to carry out additional research. On February 24, 2025 and March 6, 2025, the Planning Commission held a public hearing and recommended approval of the TZC ordinance and map amendments with clarifying edits. However, this recommendation is advisory and the City Council retains the ultimate authority to approve, modify, or reject the proposed amendments after their own review and consideration of all presented information, including the Planning Commission's recommendations, staff reports, and public input.
Measures Taken
Review of City Department Activities
During the initial 45-day moratorium and the moratorium extension of ten (10) month and fifteen (15) days, City staff conducted interagency meetings that included representatives from multiple City departments: the Planning Division, Building Safety Division, Code Enforcement Division, Business License, and Information Technology. Additionally, engagement with agencies such as the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD), Public Works Agency, and the Community Development Agency’s Economic Development Division has produced critical information illustrating the extent to which industrial activities interface with residential land uses in the TZC area, specifically and most concentrated in the Logan and Lacy neighborhoods.
Data based on Business License and Economic Development records indicate that application of the moratorium affects up to 127 industrial businesses in the TZC. Of the affected businesses, approximately three have active applications for permits, primarily seeking to legalize unpermitted work on industrial properties.
City staff has continued to review public safety data from SAPD and Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) to assess community concerns regarding emergency responses in the TZC. SAPD records show a total of 18,736 calls for service between March 2023 and July 2024, with 226 of those occurring between April and July 2024 within the Logan and Lacy neighborhoods. These calls encompassed a wide range of incidents, including patrol checks, disturbances, and traffic-related issues. Notably, 1,909 calls involved collisions, vehicle impoundments, domestic violence, and SAMC violations. OCFA data from 2022 to August 2024 indicates 238 calls for advanced life support emergencies. In 2022, 29 calls were related to respiratory issues, chest pain, and cardiac arrest, with a subsequent 7% increase in health-related calls in 2023. While the data reflects a broad spectrum of emergency responses, the concentration of industrial businesses in the TZC raises the possibility that some of these calls, particularly those related to respiratory issues and traffic incidents, may be influenced by industrial operations.
Ten-Day Report Describing Measures Taken to Alleviate the Conditions which Led to the Adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. NS-3064 (Transit Zoning Code Moratorium Extension)
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Currently, City staff has an internal process established that continues to track and monitor incoming notices of compliance or notices of violations from outside regulatory agencies issued to a particular business/operator. City Code Enforcement activities and implementation of the City’s Noxious Uses Ordinance continue being monitored at these facilities. Code Enforcement data show enforcement activity within the TZC, where at the time of adoption of the moratorium, 16 active open cases were issued Notice of Violations and administrative citations for the following types of violations: illegal storage, land use, zoning, property and landscape maintenance, unpermitted work, business license, and certificate of occupancy. Such violations include issues of odors, dust, traffic, noise, vibrations, and other documented impacts. Recent code enforcement complaints on properties in the Logan neighborhood involve complaints for recurring unpermitted work and land use violations that involve large commercial vehicles blocking street access and impacting nearby residents. In the past 12 months, the Code Enforcement Division conducted investigations at over 35 commercial and industrial properties within the TZC.
These investigations led to administrative citations, ongoing enforcement actions, and onsite meetings with business owners.
The City of Santa Ana Code Enforcement Division is currently addressing 21 open code enforcement violations or compliance reviews specifically involving industrial businesses within the TZC area. This activity demonstrates the City’s direct involvement in overseeing these businesses to mitigate potential environmental and public health risks.
Review of Records and Activities of External Agencies
To broaden the analysis beyond the City's local land use impacts, City staff have received public records requested of compliance status, violation records, and violation status of outside regulatory agencies, and have contacted staff from external regulatory agencies such as the South Coast Air Quality Monitoring District (SCAQMD), Santa Ana Regional Quality Water Control Board (SARQWCB), the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), Certified Unified Program Agencies (CUPA), California Environmental Reporting System (CERS), and others responsible for issuing regulatory permits for industrial uses in the TZC. Specifically, these agencies are responsible for permit issuance, compliance activities, and/or monitoring hazardous clean-up sites, or other industrial facility-related activities and have received current data requests for sites located within the TZC zoning district.
Data from outside regulatory agencies assist City staff in further understanding activities between external regulatory agencies and industrial businesses that may place additional impacts on public health, safety, and welfare in affected neighborhoods adjacent to industrial businesses in the TZC. This information would enable City staff to understand the correlation and environmental burdens that may be attributed to permitted activities for industrial Ten-Day Report Describing Measures Taken to Alleviate the Conditions which Led to the Adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. NS-3064 (Transit Zoning Code Moratorium Extension)
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businesses in historically environmentally disadvantaged communities, specifically the Logan and Lacy neighborhoods.
Records show SCAQMD issued two notices to comply with one industrial business on August 2023 and April 2024 for failure to maintain records, such as temperature graphs, poundage logs, and source test data. SCAQMD issued several permits to construct and to operate to the new operator of this same facility, which is currently in compliance with SCAQMD. Two notices of violation were issued to one industrial business for operating a paint spray booth without a valid permit to operate from SCAQMD.
The report from the SARWQCB from 2024 shows three (3) active industrial business in the TZC in violation of their permit for providing a late report or incomplete and/or insufficient information for their Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SPPP). In March 2025, one of the three businesses with active violations concluded a financial settlement directly with the SARWQCB agency.
Public records from the CUPA for Orange County, spanning 2022-2024, reveal a pattern of non-compliance with environmental and hazardous materials regulations among industrial businesses within the TZC. While some 2023 violations related to Hazardous Material Business Plan staff training and reporting were later corrected, current records indicate four businesses still have multiple open violations. These ongoing issues include non-compliance with documentation for hazardous waste transportation and disposal, as well as deficiencies in industrial stormwater reporting requirements. These violations highlight potential risks to public health and the environment.
Air emission complaints continue to be reported to SCAQMD. These complaints included one involving black smoke and another regarding unpermitted soil vapor extraction equipment onsite. SCAQMD staff has clarified that for air quality complaints they receive, their inspector is required to be physically present to observe the activity from the facility described in the complaint to determine if the complaint warrants further investigation or enforcement action in accordance with SCAQMD Rules 401 (Visible Emissions), 402 (Public Nuisance), and 403 (Fugitive Dust). Therefore, although community members continue to share concerns with City and SCAQMD staff, the turnaround time for an SCAQMD inspector to be physically present at an SCAQMD-permitted facility to investigate an air quality complaint, especially if a complaint is reported after working hours or on weekends, is ineffective in addressing the immediate needs of the community.
Public Engagement and Planning Commission Recommendation Following City Council's extension of the TZC moratorium on May 21, 2024, City staff have been developing permanent regulations for the TZC district for the City Council’s consideration. Leading up to the special Planning Commission meeting held on March 6, Ten-Day Report Describing Measures Taken to Alleviate the Conditions which Led to the Adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. NS-3064 (Transit Zoning Code Moratorium Extension)
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2025, City staff engaged in a comprehensive outreach effort regarding TZC regulations, holding 20 meetings in various formats with affected stakeholders. This included:
•Direct engagement through eight individual and group meetings with business owners and brokers,
•Two focus group meetings with TZC business owners,
•Community outreach involving two neighborhood/resident group meetings, •Two City-hosted TZC (SD-84) meetings: the October 22, 2024 City Informational Meeting and the March 3, 2025 Community Meeting,
•Three site visits at the request of businesses, and
•Three Planning Commission meetings (February 10, 2025 Study Session and February 24/March 6 Public Hearings).
This extensive engagement aimed to gather diverse input for the development of permanent TZC regulations. To proactively ensure important communications reached all stakeholders, City staff mailed notices to all property owners and occupants, comprising 3,599 addresses, within the Transit Zoning Code area for each of the following meetings:
the October 22, 2024 City Informational Meeting, the Planning Commission February 10, 2025 Study Session and February 24, 2025 Public Hearing notice, and the City Council April 1, 2025 Public Hearing Notice.
City staff from the Neighborhood Initiatives and Environmental Services (NIES) section of the Planning Division continue to coordinate with City departments, external regulatory agencies, and staff from other federal and state agencies to identify additional resources available to enhance deeper awareness of pollution exposure in disadvantaged communities, long-term health effects, and immediate solutions. The NIES team has held meetings and discussions with staff from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and CalEPA Environmental Justice Team to identify opportunities for linking environmental justice (EJ) resources and support to the Logan and Lacy neighborhoods.
Next Steps
To address polluting industrial uses in the TZC during the ten (10) month and fifteen (15) day extension of the moratorium approved by Urgency Ordinance No. NS-3064, staff continues interagency coordination efforts, stakeholder outreach, and data analysis to inform permanent code amendments to the TZC zoning district that will be presented to City Council for their consideration. Permanent code amendments to address incompatible land uses in the TZC may include a zoning map amendment, zoning text amendment, or both, which would permanently address industrial land uses in the TZC (SD-84).
Ten-Day Report Describing Measures Taken to Alleviate the Conditions which Led to the Adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. NS-3064 (Transit Zoning Code Moratorium Extension)
April 1, 2025
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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
There is no environmental impact associated with this action.
FISCAL IMPACTS
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.
EXHIBITS
1. Adopted Urgency Interim Ordinance No. NS-3063
2. April 16, 2024 City Council Staff Report (without attachments)
3. Ten-Day Written Report – May 7, 2024
4. Adopted Urgency Interim Ordinance No. NS-3064
5. May 21, 2024 City Council Staff Report (without attachments) Submitted By: Ali Pezeshkpour, AICP, Acting Executive Director, Planning and Building Agency
Approved By: Alvaro Nuñez, City Manager