Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-06-18 PUBLIC SAFETYCITY OF SANTA ANA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT MINUTES June 18, 2013 CALL TO ORDER: Santa Ana Police Department 60 Civic Center Drive, Police Community Room Santa Ana, California 6:00 PM ATTENDANCE: Council Committee members: David Benavides Michele Martinez Roman Reyna MEMBERS ABSENT: (None) STAFF PRESENT: Carlos Rojas, PD Jay Trevino, PBA Laura Rossini, CAO Scott Brown, OCFA Doug McGeachy, PD Ann Matulin, PD Ken Gominsky, PD Karen Haluza, PBA Eileen Greene, PD PUBLIC SIGN -INS: Evangeline Gawronski Pierre Desjardins Jennifer Teodoro Alexis Nava Teodoro Natali Rodriguez Jose Ventura Marilynn Montano Carlos Perez Abraham Medina Erika Pintor Dave Hoen Darren Shippen AGENDA ITEMS 1. By Laws Assistant City Attorney Laura Rossini proposed a final draft of the By -laws which the full City Council would vote on for the various subcommittees. Chairman Benavides moved to have the By -Laws item brought back for further discussion at the next Public Safety Meeting. (Item 4 is taken out of order.) 4. Jail Operations Overview A discussion was held regarding the operations of the City Jail. An overview and update of jail operations and its history was given by Jail Administrator Ann Matulin. Administrator Matulin mentions that we currently have contracts with Irvine PD, ICE, and the U.S. Marshall's. The contract with ICE is not a part of Secure Communities. PUBLIC COMMENTS Evangeline Gawronski states that Alvaro Nunez, Code Enforcement for the City, said there is a new ordinance which will allow garages to be turned into apartments. She is very concerned about parking, among other things. Jay Trevino, Executive Director, Planning & Building, explains that the process to get approval would be very, very difficult. Pierre Desiardins, owner Bistro 400, says that he supports all the changes being made regarding the alcohol and entertainment permits. He provides the Committee with letters he has received from the different organizations within Santa Ana who also support these changes. Jennifer Teodoro, resident, speaks about the trauma that she and her family have experienced with ICE coming to their home in the middle of the night. She says that she learned that children of undocumented parents are not taken into account in conversations about immigration enforcement. She further addresses Chief Rojas and Councilman Benavides directly saying, in part, that "your cooperation with ICE causes irreversible damage. I know you have the power to say no to ICE, and you can keep families together. And I know that the City Councilmembers have the power to pass the city's ordinance cancelling the ICE contract and saying Santa Ana will no longer honor any ICE hold requests. I would like to end with a question for the City Councilmembers. How would you like it if ICE came pounding at your door and traumatized your children? Think about it." Alexis Nava Teodoro talks about the jail administration and the relationship that this city has with the Department of Homeland Security, via ICE and Customs enforcement. He states that this city government entered into an agreement with ICE to house detainees, but they are actually parents and mothers. He says that there have been several counties and cities that have passed ordinances where their jail administrations and their county officers do not honor ICE hold requests because of the controversy that they carry. He says there is an amendment in the Constitution that talks about the commandeering doctrine that says the federal government cannot impose its programs on local jurisdictions. Teodoro addresses the Council Committee saying, in part, "you guys have the power because you guys own the jail to tell the Santa Ana Police Department that you don't have to honor ICE hold requests because there's no law on the books in this nation that you have to honor these requests or you have to hold detainers." In closing, he states that when dealing with the issue of immigration enforcement, the Committee should be listening to the people that are most affected by it: community members who are undocumented or part of an undocumented family. Natali Rodriguez talks about ICE detainers and the issue of community members feeling safe in their neighborhoods. She says that the last thing the Police Department would want is a community afraid to trust the police, afraid to call and report crime. Ms. Rodriguez states that Santa Ana is a city of immigrants who need protection. She does not believe in subcontracting the Santa Ana jail, as it would be a form of collaborating with ICE. In closing, she directs a question to Chief Rojas, to City Councilmen Benavides and all other city representatives, "what will the City Council do, as well as the Santa Ana Police Department, to protect our undocumented residents who are afraid to trust the police and are afraid to trust in their own city representatives ?" Chairman Benavides explains that this part of the meeting is strictly public comment; however, she could set up meetings to follow -up directly with any of the committee members. Chief Rojas also assures her that she may contact his office to discuss her concerns. Jose Ventura talks about Secure Communities and how it actually creates the opposite: a community afraid to report crimes and to give their testimony to the Santa Ana Police because they are afraid of the police sharing information with ICE. He quotes research showing that 45% of Latinos surveyed stated that they are less likely to contact officers if they've been a victim of a crime, because they fear that police officers will use this interaction to inquire into their immigration status or that of people they know. 70% of undocumented immigrants reported that they are less likely to contact law enforcement authorities if they were victims of a crime and, lastly, they fear that police contact is not confined to immigrants. Marilyn Montano is a resident attending Santa Ana College. Ms. Montano is part of an undocumented family. She shares her story of ICE knocking on her family's door and how they had to move many times because of the fear of her parents being deported. She says her parents only wanted to provide a better life for her but is questioning what is being done to provide the safety for her and her parents. Carlos Perez says he is advocating not just for the people of Santa Ana, but also families in the southern region of California. He states that the contract with the City says that the ICE contract should never be relied on to be one of the main sources of income or money for the jail to continue to operate. He believes that what the City is doing is contrary to humanity; making a profit out of immigrants to keep the jail afloat. Perez calls for an end to the contract with ICE. Abraham Medina is a resident who talks about the information shared with ICE and how it categorizes people in three levels. The low level category is for driving without a license, maybe being a day laborer, maybe being criminalized for being a street vendor. ICE made a report that 80% of the people in the ICE detention center in Santa Ana from 2008 -2013 had not committed a crime. They were picked up through Secure Communities who share this information with ICE who, in turn, also pick up people in the communities. Medina says the city jail shouldn't be solely dependent on the ICE contract. He says the contract was not to cover salaries of elected officials or staffing of employees, and there is an injustice occurring in the communities. Mr. Medina is asking that the contract with ICE be terminated. Erika Pintor is a resident who spoke about ICE and her concern for the youth in Santa Ana who are afraid to go to school for fear of being deported. She said if students were tardy or truant, their information is shared with ICE, and they can be deported. She called for an end to the contract with ICE. Dave Hoen is a longtime member of the Forest Park neighborhood in Santa Ana. He wanted to commend the Planning Department for going back and listening to the input of the public regarding the new procedures for the alcohol and entertainment permits. He was also concerned to hear that rates for the parking permit program might be raised. Chairman Benavides stated that Council took action regarding the rate increase by reducing what was proposed to $60.00 flat; it was $86.00 proposed by the City. Darren Shippen supports the new alcohol /entertainment updates and appreciates that all the rules are across the board in equality. AGENDA ITEMS (Cont'd.) Chairman Benavides acknowledges the brief update by Jail Administrator Matulin in regards to jail operations and comments from the public in regards to the jail. Chairman Benavides requests the jail operations analysis study continue and that the City Manager, Chief of Police and jail staff comeback with jail operations and whether or not we will stay in business. Further, that for the next meeting some type of action options are offered to recommend to the City Council on processing recommended detentions by the federal government and contracts. (Item 3 was taken out of order.) 3. Alcohol and Entertainment Permit Processing Update Karen Haluza, Planning Manager, provided a PowerPoint presentation with an update on the alcohol and entertainment permit process as well as a handout with a copy of the draft ordinance and standard conditions for businesses who are applying for alcohol licenses and entertainment options. A discussion was held whereby it was stated that any public hearings will go directly to the Planning Commission. A set of standardized conditions has been created and will be part of the Santa Ana Municipal Code. A new category of business being proposed will be called a concert venue with its own conditional use permit. The entertainment permit will have different Categories depending on the type of entertainment; all will have a standard set of conditions. The issuing authority for the entertainment permits will be the City Manager's Office. Chairman Benavides had the following modifications: 1) Section 11 -1, extending after hours to 4:00am. No alcohol served after 2:00am but allowing food and entertainment until 4:00am. No entertainment between 4- 8:00am; 2) Section 13, subsection 11 -11, allow entertainment after 2:00am, push out to 4:00am; 3) Section 41 -191. Regulated uses, subsection (b) (5), currently the proposed ordinance says that bars as defined in Section 41 -25.5 are regulated by certain restrictions and ultimately not permitted. Recommend to strike that and add subsection (e), which is currently stricken from the ordinance, to state it shall be lawful for bars defined under Section 41 -25.5 to be established within the separation requirement of 500 feet of any other bar or any property zoned to be used for park purposes or schools primarily attended by minors; 4) Section 41 -196 (g)1 - strike item 1, of the proposed Ordinance; and 5) Section 41- 196(g)2 - add language of an eating establishment, essentially making the distinction between a bar and a restaurant. Motion: Accept the Alcohol /Entertainment Ordinance with the proposed modifications /changes; move this to full council with the modifications for Council's approval. MOTION: Benavides SECOND: Martinez VOTE: AYES: Benavides, Martinez, Reyna NOES: None (0) ABSENT: None (0) (Council Committee member Martinez excuses herself.) (Item 2 was taken out of order.) 2. Red Light Camera Enforcement Program Deputy Chief McGeachy provided a PowerPoint presentation with an overview of the Red Light Camera Enforcement Program. The contract is with Redflex since the beginning of the program in 2003. On average, there are 4,000 activations a month and about 2,100 citations. In terms of costs, there is a flat fee of $78,000 a month for the system and that doesn't include performance credits if the system is down. That's down from about $107,000 a month in the prior contract. The reason for that reduction was due to amortization of equipment. The fine is $100; that is set by the legislature; it is mandatory, the judge cannot reduce that fine. The Court makes penalties and assessments so a $100 fine is $390. The total fine for a red light violation today is $490. This is how it breaks down: the City gets $153.71 of every violation that somebody pays to the Court and then break down the rest of the money that goes to the state and the county. The cameras record 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on a 30 -day loop. Footage is used to look at an accident at an intersection and for criminal investigations when it's appropriate. (Council Committee member Reyna excuses himself.) 5. City of Santa Ana Fire Services Update Chairman Benavides continues this item to the next Public Safety Meeting. 6. Committee Member Comments Chairman Benavides mentioned that there would be further discussion and information needed on Jail Options and the Red Light Camera Enforcement Program. 7. Items for Next Meeting A. City of Santa Ana Fire Services Update Adjournment — 8:05 P.M. CARLOS ROJAS Acting Chief of Police