Residents of a central Santa Ana neighborhood have organized a community forum to discuss their public safety concerns directly with the city’s police chief.
Lacy residents plan to speak with Police Chief Carlos Rojas at the forum, which is open to the public.
The meeting is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. at the Latino Health Access Park and Community Center on Fourth Street between French St. and Lacy St.
Among the issues likely to come up is the proliferation of unregulated pot shops around the community, which was a major issue at last week’s council meeting.
José Leal, president of the Lacy Neighborhood Association, told council members many parents and residents have asked him why so many marijuana dispensaries have been allowed to open up near their homes.
Children in the neighborhood will spend the next 15 to 20 years growing up there, Leal said.
“If they are seeing these dispensaries across from their house, on their way to school, on their way to downtown…they are being exposed to things they shouldn’t be exposed to.”
According to a city map, the Lacy neighborhood is bounded on the west by Main St., on the north by Civic Center Dr., on the east by Santiago St. and railroad tracks, and on the south by First St.
Click here for a flyer about the meeting.
You can reach Nick Gerda at ngerda@gmail.com, and follow him on Twitter: @nicholasgerda and on Facebook.