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Santa Ana City Council <br />October 6, 2021 <br />Page 2 <br />Most importantly, the City's standard of two acres of parks per 1,000 residents is not <br />sufficient to meet the needs of City residents and is much less than the ratio of parkland to <br />residents in other comparable jurisdictions. The City should increase its park standard from two <br />to three acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. The City does not meet its current, low standard, <br />and under the Update the total "parkland deficiency" is projected to increase further, from 118.14 <br />acres to 299.48 acres at build -out unless the City develops new parks. RDPEIR at 5.15-28. In <br />order to address this parkland deficiency and meet the needs of City residents, the City needs <br />more ambitious policies to facilitate parkland creation. <br />The City should increase the Open Space Element's park standard to a ratio of three acres <br />per 1,000 residents, and should amend the Municipal Code to reflect this standard. In addition, as <br />outlined in the attached memo, we urge the City to revise the Open Space Element to: <br />(1) define the terms "parks," "parkland," "open space," "park deficient area" and <br />"environmental justice area," <br />(2) apply the "no net loss" policy to open space as well as to parkland and strengthen <br />provisions on replacement of lost open space, <br />(3) increase parkland dedication requirements for new development projects in order to <br />meet the City's enhanced park standard, <br />(4) extend parkland dedication requirements to a broader range of market -rate <br />development projects, <br />(5) require that parkland created by dedication be located within a half -mile walking <br />distance of the associated development, and <br />(6) include more specific incentive mechanisms to create new parkland, especially within <br />park deficient and environmental justice areas. <br />The attached memo suggests language for General Plan policies and implementation <br />actions that would address each of these issues. We respectfully request that the City revise the <br />Open Space Element to reflect these proposals. Thank you for your consideration. <br />Very truly yours, <br />Rise Up Willowick <br />Cynthia Guerra <br />