In an ongoing effort to clean up First Street, the Santa Ana City Council voted unanimously on April 15 to allow the city attorney to take legal action against the owners of three businesses on East First Street for allowing rampant drug activity.
The most extensively discussed item during the Tuesday night meeting was the motion to
authorize the city attorney’s office to file nuisance abatement actions in the Orange County Superior Court against the owners of El Tapatio Restaurant, Royal Roman Motel and Royal Grand Inn.
Since 2022, the Santa Ana Police Department has responded to 1,441 calls for service at these three businesses — including 765 at the Royal Roman Motel, 584 at the Royal Grand Motel and 92 at El Tapatio Restaurant.
This decision by the city council allows the city attorney to force these businesses to close for up to one year, fine each owner up to $25,000 and delegate a receiver to control the property and sell to a responsible owner.
Councilmember David Penaloza voiced strong support for the city’s legal action against properties identified as “drug dens.” Penaloza emphasized the need for accountability among business and property owners.
“This is years in the making, and I hope that this sends a message loud and clear to every business across this city,” Penaloza said at the meeting. “It is a shame that our residents have to deal with this nonsense day after day.”
The City of Santa Ana has the statutory authority to file nuisance abatement actions under California Health and Safety Code Sections 11570-11587. Section 11570 of this code states, “every building or place used for the purpose of unlawfully selling, serving, storing, keeping, manufacturing or giving away any controlled substance … is a nuisance which shall be enjoined, abated and prevented.”
Santa Ana City Attorney, Sonia Carvalho disregarded claims that this abatement violates the business owners’ rights to due process.
“If you’re a property owner in that corridor, and you tell us that you had no idea that there have been over 1,400 calls for service in a three-year period — yes, I do find that very disingenuous,” Carvalho said.
Multiple councilmembers emphasized that these abatements would not be the end of the crackdown on illegal activity on East First Street. In the past six months, there have been 8,224 police incidents reported on First Street — around 10% of Santa Ana’s total during that period.
Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua concluded the council’s statements on the abatements, describing the street’s condition as “awful.”
“First Street has always been a disaster,” she said. “This has been a problem for a very long time.”
Amezcua emphasized her belief that citizens want a tougher crime policy, and that a more sympathetic approach is no longer appropriate. Amezcua positioned the crackdown as part of a directional shift in Santa Ana’s approach to drug crime and disorder.
“The pendulum has swung,” she said. “This city is not looking at people on First Street anymore and saying ‘aw poor pobrecitos, they need help, they need a place to live’ — no, they’re criminals, and they’re doing drugs.”
Throughout the meeting, Amezcua and other city council members criticized past city leadership for failing to act sooner on this issue. Amezcua stated that neighboring cities have fewer issues with homelessness and drug-related crime.
“Our constituents deserve better. You don’t see this in Newport, you don’t see this in South County, you don’t see this in other cities — you see it in Santa Ana,” Amezcua said at the meeting.
According to the CA Department of Justice, when comparing other Orange County cities to Santa Ana and their crime rates, Santa Ana ranks among the highest in cities across Orange County for violent crime rates. In 2023, Santa Ana had 18.3% of Orange County’s total reports of violent crime.
According to LAist, Amezcua’s 2024 reelection campaign was supported by the Santa Ana Police Officer Association, who spent approximately $27,000 on her campaign. Supporting law enforcement was one of her top priorities during her original mayoral campaign in 2022.
Since taking office, Amezcua has continued to prioritize police funding and public safety initiatives, allocating $963,000 in federal funding to the Santa Ana Multi-Disciplinary Response Teams (SMART). SMART attempts to reduce the burden on law enforcement by assigning mental health clinicians and nurse practitioners to respond to non-emergency 911 calls related to substance abuse and homelessness. Additionally, The Orange County Register reported that Amezcua approved a $27.2 million police contract to increase officer pay and budget.
“First Street is just the beginning of where we are going,” Amezcua said before casting her vote in favor of the resolution.
Niko Wilson is a News Intern for the spring 2025 quarter. He can be reached at nikow@uci.edu.