Santa Ana council receives draft zoning-code update after broad outreach; residents press for more time

The Santa Ana City Council on July 10 received a staff report and draft of a comprehensive zoning-code update, a project staff described as the first major rewrite addressing residential–industrial interfaces and environmental-justice concerns in the city’s history.

Planning staff told the council the outreach effort supporting the draft included what they characterized as roughly 800,000 "points of contact," and that the document presented is the beginning of a multi-step process. "This is the information the staff has collected; receiving it tonight does not mean we are adopting it," a planning representative said during the presentation. Councilmembers asked staff to schedule additional study sessions and to provide clearer details on how community input will change specific map or use proposals.

Public commenters raised concerns about short public-comment windows and asked for more time to craft neighborhood-specific feedback. Nina Yurich, a Washington Square resident, asked the city for two updates: one on the legal status of an in-progress property purchase for a neighborhood park and another on how residents can help secure the funding still needed. Neighborhood advocates also pressed for stronger zoning protections where homes sit adjacent to industrial sites, arguing those areas face elevated pollution and health risks.

Councilmember Jonathan Becerra, who led parts of the discussion, said staff would return with more detailed outreach plans and study-session dates. "We’re not approving the code tonight — we are receiving the information so we can engage with the community further," he said.

Next steps: council voted to receive and file the draft zoning-code update and asked staff to present a schedule of upcoming community workshops and study sessions to ensure residents have additional opportunities to comment.