Santa Ana council approves Caltrans agreement letting city crews maintain state transportation corridors

The Santa Ana City Council this week approved an agreement with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) that authorizes city crews to enter Caltrans-owned property within city limits to perform routine maintenance and clean-up.

The agreement allows city staff to work on on- and off-ramps, beneath freeway bridges and other Caltrans property inside Santa Ana to remove litter and debris, abate weeds, remove graffiti and address encampments. Under the terms described at the meeting, Caltrans will reimburse the city for expenses incurred under the program up to $200,000 per year for two years; city and Caltrans staff will evaluate the program at the end of that period to decide whether to continue the partnership.

Mayor Valerie Umesqua (identified in the transcript later as Valerie Meschke) said the agreement gives the city new tools to maintain “the front door, the front stoop, the front porch of our community.” In the meeting she described the measure as “a big win for the City of Santa Ana, for you, for me, for our entire community.” Councilmember Phil Becerra, Ward 4, called the agreement “a wonderful accomplishment for the residents, for the businesses, for everybody here in Santa Ana.”

City staff said the work covered by the agreement will include litter and debris removal, weed abatement, graffiti removal and addressing encampments on Caltrans right-of-way inside Santa Ana. The reimbursement cap and two-year term were presented as part of the agreement; the transcript records that Caltrans will reimburse the city “up to $200,000 per year for the next 2 years,” and that city and Caltrans staff “will get together and evaluate the effectiveness of the program” at the end of the two-year period.

The council approved the agreement during the meeting; the transcript does not provide the motion text, mover, second or a roll-call vote tally. The agreement description in the meeting did not specify a contract number or ordinance citation.

City officials framed the change as addressing maintenance challenges along transportation corridors that cross Santa Ana but are under state ownership. The agreement enables the city to perform and manage routine maintenance on Caltrans property within the city rather than relying solely on Caltrans crews.

The council and city staff said the program is intended to be cost-neutral to Santa Ana taxpayers during the two-year reimbursement period. Officials also said the joint evaluation after two years will determine whether to extend or modify the arrangement.

Actions and formal documents related to the agreement were not attached to the transcript excerpt; further public records (meeting agenda packet or contract documents) would provide contract identifiers, vote tallies and implementation specifics not stated aloud during the remarks.