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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 09 - Comprehensive Zoning Code Update Public Communications and Engagement Planning and Building Agency 71 www.santa-ana.org/pb Item # 9 City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 Staff Report July 21, 2026 TOPIC: Receive and File— Comprehensive Zoning Code Update Public Communications and Engagement AGENDA TITLE Comprehensive Zoning Code Update Public Communications and Engagement RECOMMENDED ACTION Receive and File a Comprehensive Zoning Code Update Public Communications and Engagement Briefing. GOVERNMENT CODE 484308 APPLIES: No EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Comprehensive Zoning Code Update is a monumental initiative by the City to streamline and modernize Santa Ana's land use and development regulations and is a direct follow-up Implementation Action (IA 1.1) required by the adoption of the 2022 General Plan Update. Given the citywide implications of the draft Zoning Code, it has been critical that the City keep the public and community stakeholders informed and involved throughout the drafting of the regulatory updates and the upcoming adoption process. For an update of this scale, State law only requires public notification in a one-eighth page display advertisement in a local newspaper of general circulation. However, the City's longstanding practice is to exceed State law minimums to solicit maximum community input and involvement. The City's proactive communications campaign has already generated over 800,000 community touchpoints to date and will culminate with a postcard notice being sent for both the Planning Commission and City Council meetings to all property owners, residences, and business owners/tenants, estimated to be over 189,000 recipients for each notification. Overall, it is anticipated that over 1,000,000 total direct outreach and notification touchpoints will have been achieved citywide through the course of the update process. The City's monumental outreach and notification efforts significantly exceed State law requirements and affirm the City's commitment to thorough and meaningful engagement throughout the planning process. Receive and File — Comprehensive Zoning Code Update Public Communications and Engagement July 21, 2026 Page 2 DISCUSSION In October 2023, following the 2022 adoption of the General Plan Update, the City initiated a Comprehensive Zoning Code Update to modernize Chapter 41 (Zoning) of the Santa Ana Municipal Code (SAMC). The intent is to implement the updated General Plan, create a user-friendly format, streamline land use permitting, promote economic development, enhance health and address environmental justice issues, facilitate housing production, and incorporate new State laws. Communications and Engagement to Date The City's approach to outreach and engagement for the Zoning Code Update (ZCU) is designed after the promotoras model, a communication framework where trusted and trained community members act as liaisons to educate, advocate, and empower their networks. During the initial stage of the project, Planning Division staff met with key community-based organizations to develop the approach, which included convening 39 community members at a Community Planning Collaborative (CPC) from backgrounds including residents, representatives of Neighborhood Associations, and representatives of organizations that promote civic participation, quality of life, and multilingual access. During the Community Planning Collaborative, the project team introduced zoning, described the role of the Community Planning Collaborative members, and equipped them with tools to share information about the Zoning Code Update with their peers and their networks. Specific tools provided to the Community Planning Collaborative members included a guidebook, project-branded business cards, a mini-slide deck, flyers, and a link to a customizable graphic for posting on social media. These outreach materials are also posted to the Comprehensive Zoning Code Update's website. The members were encouraged to use the tools to promote attendance at Zoning Code Update workshops and a Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) grant helped provide partial reimbursement for CPC member's expenses. In addition to the outreach of the Community Planning Collaborative members, the Zoning Code Update project team has implemented a broad communications strategy to build public awareness and draw participation through: • A project website (6,891 digital engagements), • Articles in 18 newsletters including the City of Santa Ana Stories, Neighborhood Initiatives and Environmental Services, and Economic Development (reaching inboxes over 158,600 times), • Door-to-door canvassing in key commercial and industrial districts to more than 12,000 members of the business community, Receive and File — Comprehensive Zoning Code Update Public Communications and Engagement July 21, 2026 Page 3 • More than 20 email campaigns to interested stakeholders, community-based organizations, neighborhood association leaders, and business advocacy organizations (over 13,000 emails), • Social media posts, ads, and stories on Instagram, Facebook, and Nextdoor (over 676,000 opportunities to view), • News articles on the City's website (approximately 1,200 readers), • Event listings on the City's website, • Posting at City Hall, libraries, and community centers, • CTV3 advertising, • Tabling at 10 community events, • Announcements at two Com-Link and one Family and Community Engagement (FACE) meetings, • Push notifications through MySantaAna App (over 21,000 recipients), • VoiceShot automated voicemail reminder to over 90 neighborhood association leaders, and • Leveraging the networks of community-based organizations, the Chamber of Commerce, neighborhood associations, and other advocacy groups. Using these tools, the communications strategy has generated over 800,000 measurable touchpoints beyond those facilitated by the members of the Community Planning Collaborative. While the communications strategy was used to attract involvement, engagement strategies have been used to solicit input that has informed development of the draft Zoning Map and Zoning Code. Engagement strategies have included: • 74 stakeholder interviews with City Council members, Planning Commissioners, community-based organization leaders, and members of the development and business community such as developers and business owners, • 21 stakeholder workshops, including three workshops per Council Ward, two exclusive business-focused community workshops, and a virtual workshop, • Six presentations at various commission meetings, • Two field visits to industrial sites in the West Santa Ana General Plan Focus Area and in the vicinity of the Cornerstone Village neighborhood, • Attendance at 11 neighborhood meetings, • Phone interactions, emails, and meetings with stakeholders, and • One Planning Commission Study Session (two additional study sessions planned in July and August 2026). Receive and File — Comprehensive Zoning Code Update Public Communications and Engagement July 21, 2026 Page 4 Next Steps for Planned Communications and Engagement The final phase of the Comprehensive Zoning Code Update involves releasing the public draft for comment, hosting Planning Division staff office hours, conducting two study sessions with the Planning Commission and one with City Council, and holding formal public hearings before the Planning Commission and City Council for adoption. Notification Plan Minimum Requirement Section 65091 of the California Government Code states that a local agency, in lieu of mailed or delivered notice for projects affecting more than 1,000 property owners, may provide notice by placing a display advertisement of at least one-eighth page in at least one newspaper of general circulation within the local agency. In accordance with Section 65091 of the Government Code, the City will utilize the display advertisement provision for this large-scale project to ensure fiscal responsibility and conserve vital municipal resources. Additional Planned Notification Measures Recognizing the significance and citywide impact of the Comprehensive Zoning Code Update, the City will meet the minimum legal requirement, as discussed above, and will exceed the minimum legal requirement by: • Mailing over 91,000 postcards to all property owners citywide (two postcards to each; over 45,500 property owners citywide), • Mailing over 189,000 postcards to all residences and business owners/tenants citywide (two postcards to each; over 94,700 residences and business owners citywide), • Distributing information through city newsletters, • Disseminating emails, • Posting on social media, including Instagram, Facebook, and Nextdoor, • Publishing news articles on the City's website, • Issuing press releases, • Posting notices at City Hall, libraries, and community centers, • Advertising on CTV3, • Sending push notifications through MySantaAna App, • Announcing via VoiceShot automated voicemail, and • Promoting through business and community-based organizations and stakeholders including Neighborhood Associations, Com-Link, the Chamber of Commerce, NAIOP (the Commercial Real Estate Development Association), the Small Development Center of Orange County, and the Orange County Business Receive and File — Comprehensive Zoning Code Update Public Communications and Engagement July 21, 2026 Page 5 Council, which has a multiplier effect as organizations and individuals forward social media posts and emails to their networks. These enhanced methods are anticipated to result in over 1,000,000 total direct outreach and notification touchpoints citywide through the course of the project. The notification plan includes postcards instead of conventional letters because recipients view the message instantly, allowing readers to immediately to absorb key information about the Zoning Code Update at a single glance. This enhanced visibility bypasses the friction of opening mail, or those who often toss envelopes without opening and reading inside contents, making it more effective than mailing a formal letter. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT There is no environmental impact associated with this action. The proposed receive and file of the public noticing approach is an administrative activity of the City that does not constitute a "project" under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5), organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment are explicitly excluded from the definition of a project. Because the receive and file of a noticing procedure involves no physical environmental changes, the action is not subject to CEQA review. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact associated with this action. However, the cost of notification in the newspaper, through social media, and through direct mailings of postcards is approximately $95,000. No additional appropriation for this amount is requested through this action. Submitted By: Ali Pezeshkpour, AICP, Executive Director of Planning and Building Agency Approved By: Alvaro Nunez, City Manager