Downtown Santa Ana Loncheros Find an Ally Against Renaissance Plan

By Gustavo Arellano Thu., Jul. 30 2009 at 12:06 PM

Categories: News

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Taco Man appreciates those who help his preparers...

My cover story on Orange County loncheros sparked an outraged letter from Sean Mill, longtime SanTana activist, sometimes-blogger for the wonderfully libelous Orange Juice!, and current SanTana planning commissioner. What got his attention was this part of the piece:

But the taco-truck battle in Santa Ana isn't over. Santa Ana officials have created the Renaissance Specific Plan (RSP), an ambitious redevelopment project for the city's downtown that critics claim will gentrify the area's heavily Latino businesses and residents out of the area. Among the new rules proposed is the elimination of taco trucks altogether. The RSP states, "All business activities [within the RSP boundaries] shall be conducted and located within an enclosed building" and, "No sales shall be made directly from a building to persons on a public sidewalk."

Mill hadn't heard of the provision and told us he confronted the rest of the Planning Commission about the issue at their most recent meeting this past Monday. "They looked at me as if I had three heads or something," he said. "They didn't seem to recall that being in there."

Such bull! It's right there, in section I(a) and (e) in Chapter 4.3 of the current plan.

"It will be my pleasure to oversee its exclusion," Mill says. All right, taco truck lovers: email SanTana city officials! And thank Mill for being a voice for the hungry...

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