Santa Ana : Neighborhood Issues Forum Set for Today

Santa Ana residents will have a chance to talk over local issues with government leaders in a city-sponsored neighborhood forum, beginning at 9 a.m. today in the Johnson Center at Santa Ana College.

The conference, authorized by the City Council last December, is intended as a grass-roots forum for discussion of problems relevant to the city’s residential areas, such as public safety, crime, overcrowded schools, housing development, education and neighborhood improvements.

According to Steve Slater, Neighborhood Improvement coordinator, the forum idea is part of a creative trend in urban planning.

“This approach is beginning to happen more and more, but it’s not practiced by all communities,” Slater said. “(Santa Ana) has a unique housing situation, and the city government has taken a broad approach in dealing with the issues we face. . . . The residents live out there and often come up with some very good ideas. They know their neighborhoods better than we do.”

Lorraine Lazarine, Neighborhood and Housing Forum coordinator, said an idea to have a meeting to explain city housing code enforcement was expanded into a forum, with speakers and panel discussions emphasizing neighborhood preservation and development.

Antonio Monroig, the assistant secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Office in Washington, D.C., will be the keynote speaker in the seven-hour program. Representatives of the Santa Ana Unified School District, City Council and police department will lead some of the discussions.