HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-11-24 - AGENDA REPORTS - TITLE VI FED NON DISCRIMINATION PGM (2)O
Agenda Item: 8
P
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:1
DATE: November 24, 2020
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT 2020
TITLE VI FEDERAL NON-DISCRIMINATION PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT: Neighborhood Services
PRESENTER: Adrian Aguilar
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council approve the 2020 Title VI Federal Non-discrimination Program.
BACKGROUND
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
color, and national origin in programs that receive federal funding. The Federal Transportation
Administration (FTA) is tasked with ensuring nondiscriminatory transportation practices are
upheld by all transit agencies that receive federal funds. The City of Santa Clarita Transit
operates, in part, using federal dollars. As such, the FTA requires that Santa Clarita Transit
demonstrate compliance with Title VI by submitting an updated Title VI Federal Non-
discrimination Program (Title VI Program) every three years. The last program was approved by
the City Council in April of 2017.
Section 601 of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states the following:
No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be
excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under
any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
The Title VI Program consists of a report and supporting documentation that provides evidence
of the equitable distribution of services; promotion of full and fair participation in public
transportation decision -making without regard to race, color, or national origin; and meaningful
access to transit -related programs and activities by persons with Limited English Proficiency
(LEP). The Title VI Program also outlines procedures in place for the public to file a Title VI
complaint and monitors service delivery, specifically with respect to low-income, minority, and
LEP populations. The current Title VI Program is available to the public on the Santa Clarita
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Transit website.
While no major programmatic changes have been made, this update addresses ridership, fleet,
and service area changes across the last three years. The update also confirms that Santa Clarita
Transit routes continue to cover nearly all areas of the Santa Clarita Valley, with the most
productive lines being those that serve communities with high LEP and minority populations.
Upon City Council approval, the 2020 Title VI Program will be submitted to the FTA for review.
The FTA then reviews and concurs with the updated Title VI Program or requests additional
information. Failure to submit an updated Title VI Program could result in the loss of federal
funding.
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of the updated Title VI Program poses no fiscal impact.
ATTACHMENTS
2020 Title VI Program (available in the City Clerk's Reading File)
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`"' of SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT
TITLE VI PROGRAM UPDATE
November 2020
Prepared by:
City of Santa Clarita, California
23920 Valencia Blvd. Suite 300
Santa Clarita, California 91355
City of
SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT Title VI Program
Ml 19MBUBM
CHAPTER1: INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 TITLE VI of the Civil rights act of 1964..................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT......................................................................................................................................... 1
SantaClarita Transit Local Map....................................................................................................................................... 2
Santa Clarita Transit Commuter Map.............................................................................................................................. 2
CHAPTER 2: GENERAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS...............................................................................
3
2.1 TITLE VI NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC.............................................................................................................................. 3
2.2 SCT TITLE VI COMPLAINT FORM AND PROCEDURES...............................................................................................4
2.3 TITLE VI INVESTIGATIONS, COMPLAINTS AND LAWSUITS.......................................................................................7
2.4 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN..................................................................................................................................7
2.5 LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY PLAN(LEP)............................................................................................................7
2.6 MINORITY REPRESENTATION ON PLANNING AND ADVISORY BODIES....................................................................8
2.7 MONITORING OF SUBRECIPIENTS AND CONTRACTORS..........................................................................................8
2.8 FIXED FACILITY IMPACT ANALYSIS...........................................................................................................................9
CHAPTER 3: SERVICE STANDARDS AND POLICIES....................................................................................
9
3.1 MAJOR SERVICE/FARE CHANGE POLICY..................................................................................................................9
3.2 DISPARATE AND DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT THRESHOLD................................................................................
10
3.3 SERVICE EQUITY ANALYSIS....................................................................................................................................
10
3.4 SERVICE STANDARDS.............................................................................................................................................
10
VehicleLoad..................................................................................................................................................................10
VehicleHeadway...........................................................................................................................................................11
On -Time Performance...................................................................................................................................................11
ServiceAvailability........................................................................................................................................................12
3.5 SERVICE POLICIES..................................................................................................................................................12
VehicleAssignment.......................................................................................................................................................12
TransitAmenities..........................................................................................................................................................13
CHAPTER 4: DEMOGRAPHIC AND SERVICE PROFILE MAPS & CHARTS .............................................
13
4.1 MINORITY CHARACTERISTICS................................................................................................................................
13
4.2 INCOME CHARACTERISTICS...................................................................................................................................
14
4.3 COMPOSITE MINORITY & LOW-INCOME CHARACTERISTICS................................................................................14
4.4 DEMOGRAPHIC RIDERSHIP AND TRAVEL PATTERNS COLLECTED BY SURVEYS.....................................................14
City of
SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT Title VI Program
4.5 MONITORING TRANSIT SERVICE..................................................................................................................................15
CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................................... 16
APPENDICES......................................................................................................................................................
16
APPENDIX A
- 2020 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN
APPENDIX B -
2020 SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY PLAN
APPENDIX C -
2016 MINORITY DEMOGRAPHIC MAP
APPENDIX D
- 2016 LOW INCOME DEMOGRAPHIC MAP
APPENDIX E -
2016 MINORITY AND LOW INCOME DEMOGRAPHIC MAP
APPENDIX F -
2016 MINORITY AND LOW INCOME CENSUS TRACT DATA
APPENDIX G
- TITLE VI INVESTIGATIONS, LAWSUITS, AND COMPLAINTS
City of SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT Title VI Program
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and
national origin in programs that receive federal funding. The Federal Transportation Administration (FTA)
requires transportation agencies to demonstrate compliance with Title VI by submitting a Title VI Plan Update
every three years. City Council must review and approve the Title VI Plan Update prior to its submittal.
Section 601 of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states the following:
No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation
in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal
financial assistance.
The 2020 Title VI Program represents an update of the council approved 2017 Title VI Program. It consists of a
report and supporting documentation that provides evidence of the equitable distribution of services; promotion of
full and fair participation in public transportation decision -making without regard to race, color, or national origin,
and meaningful access to transit -related programs and activities by persons with limited English proficiency. FTA
reviews and concurs with the Title VI plan update or requests additional information. Failure to submit a Title VI
plan update or to have a Title VI Plan Update approved by City Council and the FTA could result in the loss of
Federal funding.
1.2 SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT
The City of Santa Clarita Transit began operating local bus service on August 5, 1991, assuming responsibility
for local transit operations from the County of Los Angeles as Santa Clarita Transit. The City provides
supervision over a contract operator responsible for all transit operating and maintenance related services
including: local, commuter, Dial -A -Ride and Access Services. Santa Clarita Transit began with 300,000 riders,
8 fixed local routes and 13 vehicles. By November 1991, the City began providing Dial -A -Ride services. Soon
after, the City began operating commuter service to Downtown Los Angeles, UCLA, Century City, Westwood,
and the San Fernando Valley.
Each year, the Santa Clarita Valley continues to grow as new residents and businesses relocate to the region. In
keeping with this growth, the City of Santa Clarita Transit has expanded its services to include nine local fixed
routes within the Santa Clarita Valley and seven commuter routes linking Santa Clarita and downtown Los
Angeles, Century City, Westwood, Warner Center and North Hollywood.
Santa Clarita Transit's total fleet is comprised of 60 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, 1 CNG trolley, 1
diesel trolley, 10 diesel and 20 CNG commuter buses, and 30 demand response vehicles. Santa Clarita Transit
operates 62 peak hour buses and provides low cost, easily accessible public transportation for approximately
11,909 weekday patrons.
Additionally, Santa Clarita Transit operates paratransit services seven days a week for seniors over 60 and the
disabled within the Santa Clarita Valley, as well as the general public during evening hours. Our 122 vehicle
fleet provides service to nearly three million riders annually.
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SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT
Title VI Program
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CHAPTER 2: GENERAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
The FTA requires that Santa Clarita Transit provide information to the public regarding the recipient's
obligations under the Department of Transportation's Title VI regulations and explain to members of the public
of their protections against discrimination afforded to them by Title V1.
2.1 TITLE VI NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC
The following notice is printed on all Santa Clarita Transit routes and schedules, and is stated on the Santa
Clarita Transit websitei.
Title VI — Civil Rights Policy
The City of Santa Clarita operates its programs without regard to race, color, and national origin in accordance with
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Any person who believes she or he has been aggrieved by any UnlaWfill
discriminatory practice Under Title VI may file a complaint with the City of Santa Clarita.
If YOU believe YOU have been discriminated against, YOU may file a signed, written complaint within one hundred and
eighty (180) days of the date of alleged discrimination. The complaint should include the following information:
- Your name, address, and how to contact YOU (i.e., telephone number, email address, etc.)
How, when, where, and why YOU believe YOU were discriminated against. Include the location, names, and contact
information of any witnesses.
The complaint may be filed in writing with the City of Santa Clarita at:
City of Santa Clarita
28250 Constellation Road
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
Printable Form: I NY Vt (PDF)
Email: ol Snii1n f' -11nin
Telephone: 661-295-6300
Hearing Impaired: 661-295-6382
If information is needed in another language contact, 661-295-6300.
Para mds informaci6n en Espahol Ilame al 661-295-6300, oprima el nUmero 1.
The "I i�lc Vt f' - loiTqflnitil marl may be Used to detail the complaint, but is not mandatory. Complaint forms may
also be obtained by calling 661-295-6300. The City of Santa Clarita will provide appropriate assistance to
complainants who are limited in their ability to communicate in English.
In addition to the Title VI complaint process at the City of Santa Clarita, a complainant may file a Title VI complaint
with the Fcdci n1 I (F1 A) 011 icc ol f, I ix�il Region IX, 201 Mission Street, Suite 1650,
San Francisco, California 94105-1839. The FTA's complaint procedure is contained in the FTA Circular C4702. IA.
I http: //www. santacl aritatransit. com/abO Lit- U s/title-vi -civil -ri ghts-policy/
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2.2 SCT TITLE VI COMPLAINT FORM AND PROCEDURES
The following complaint form is available by e-mail, in print on request, and by PDF download on the Santa
Clarita Transit website.
City of � '4,, TRANSIT SANTA CLARITA "'�'���
TITLE VI COMPLAINT FORM
Any person who believes she or he has been discriminated against on the basis of race, color, or national origin
by the City of Santa Clarita Transit (hereinafter referred to as "SCT") may file a Title VI complaint by
completing and submitting the agency's Title VI Complaint Form. SCT investigates complaints received no
more than 180 days after the alleged incident. SCT will process complaints that are complete.
Once the complaint is received, SCT will review it to determine if our office has jurisdiction. The complainant
will receive an acknowledgement letter informing her/him whether the complaint will be investigated by our
office.
SCT has 90 days to investigate the complaint. If more information is needed to resolve the case, SCT may
contact the complainant. The complainant has 15 business days from the date of the letter to send requested
information to the investigator assigned to the case. If the investigator is not contacted by the complainant or
does not receive the additional information within 60 business days, SCT can administratively close the case. A
case can be administratively closed also if the complainant no longer wishes to pursue their case.
After the investigator reviews the complaint, she/he will issue one of two letters to the complainant: a closure
letter or a letter of finding (LOF). A closure letter summarizes the allegations and states that there was not a
Title VI violation and that the case will be closed. An LOF summarizes the allegations and the interviews
regarding the alleged incident, and explains whether any disciplinary action, additional training of the staff
member or other action will occur. If the complainant wishes to appeal the decision, she/he has 15 business days
after the date of the letter or the LOF to do so.
A person may also file a complaint directly with the Federal Transit Administration, at FTA Office of Civil
Rights, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.
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0
SAN"'I"A CLAIZITA
'rRANSi"r
Title V! Complaint Form
I Pfint Form
28250 Constp.Hatan Rd Hfl-294-1287 Tel
Santa Clarila, CAD1,355 w%wwsantaolarhatrarsit.com
Title VI of the 1964 CiNfl IRiglifts Act and related non dlisc riM i nafion stakies and regitflationis reqiLfire
that no, person in the Unded Sates shaft, oiT the ground of i-ace, coJorl nalfonn .al agd n, ZE,"Y' age, or
disability be chided from padicipation rn, h�c- denied the benefits of, orbe &ibjected to
discf-uninahon andei- any program ar activfty receiong federal firiancoal assistance.
The followiing iinfformiatiion iis, necessary to assist: us in processing YOUr complaint. Should
you req6ire any assistance in comiplletinig this forrn, Iplease lieu pus know.
Compliete and return, this form, to the City of Santa Cilainta Transit Diviisilon: 28250
ConsteHafioii, Rd Santa Clarita, CA 91355
1. Com#lainant's Name
2. Address
3. city State Zip Code
4. Telephone INulrmlaer (honie) (b,UlSimess)
5. Peirson disedrninated against: (if sameone other than the comipllainant)
Nanne
Address
City —
State — Zip ("ode
16. Which of the following best describes the reason you Ilaelliieve the cfiscrimination took pizve?
Was it becaLIS,e of your:
a. IRace/Color 13 C. Sex 1:1 C. Disability 11
b. INatiionap (Drigin El d. Age D
7. What diate 6d the Mleged discriiminatjon take pNace?
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0
Gilyaj SAN"' CLARrck
1,RAN SFY
28250 Cbnsl�qdklslion Rd M1-194-12R,7 T�?dl
Sarita Cliadtla, CA OV355 wwo santac ashatran Bit. com
B. Irl YOUr Offil words, describe the aEleged discrimJnaton. Expll what happened and
whoni, you believe was Iresponsi6le. IPlease use the back of this form Iif acicIfti6nall space iis
reqUiired'L
9. IHave you filed this cornplaint with any other federa�, state, or local ages-tcy-1 or with
any federal or state COLfirt? El Yes El Il o
If yes, check each box that appiIiie&:
Federall agency 0 Federall COUirt 0 State agency 0
State couirl, 13 Local agenicy 0
10. Rease Ipnrovidle ilnfomiation aboUt a contact peirson at the agency/colurt where
the complaint was fifed.
Name
Address
city
Telephone INUmber
State
Zip Code
11. Rease sign below. You may attach any written materiWs, or other informabon that you
tHink is relevanit to your coniplainit.
Coniplainaint's Signature
Date
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City of SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT Title VI Program
2.3 TITLE VI INVESTIGATIONS, COMPLAINTSAND LAWSUITS
All transit recipients shall prepare and maintain a list on any of the following that allege discrimination on the
basis of race, color, or national origin:
• Active investigations conducted by the FTA and entities other than FTA;
• Lawsuits; and
• Complaints naming the City of Santa Clarita Transit.
This list shall include the date that the transit -related Title VI investigation, lawsuit, or complaint was filed; a
summary of the allegation(s); the status of the investigation, lawsuit, or complaint; and actions taken by the
recipient in response, or final findings related to the investigation, lawsuit, or complaint. This list shall be
included in Santa Clarita Transit's Title VI Program submitted to the FTA every three years.
There are currently no active lawsuits or investigations against the City of Santa Clarita Transit alleging
discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin arising from the service provided. Since the last Title
VI Update, nine (9) formal Title VI complaints were received. As shown in Appendix G, all complaints have
been investigated and closed.
2.4 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN
Under 49 USC Chapter 53, Section 5307, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requires "a locally
developed process to consider public comment before raising a fare or carrying out a major reduction in
transportation service". The public, as the primary customer and beneficiary of transit service, is provided the
opportunity for input and review through the public engagement process. Actions such as the establishment of
new service, fare adjustments, major modifications of existing service, and/or suspension or abandonment of
any bus routes may include a formal process of review by SCT, including meaningful public engagement
conducted by SCT staff. SCT uses a broad range of outreach tools documented in the Public Participation Plan
(Appendix A) to serve this requirement.
SCT is in communication with many organizations throughout the region and often attends meetings and events
sponsored by these groups. These groups consistent of cultural organizations, the local senior center, City and
County partners, business associations, and others vested in SCT's service area. In this arena we are able to
create relevant conversations and dialogue between SCT and the specific community regarding transit needs.
If special accommodations are desired at any public meeting held by SCT, the public can call SCT's Customer
Service prior to the meeting to arrange the proper accommodations. SCT will provide Spanish translation and
offer interpreters for other languages, including sign language, upon request. SCT selects meeting and hearing
locations to provide reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990. Santa Clarita Transit public meetings are all wheelchair accessible.
2.5 LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY PLAN (LEP)
Per Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) implementing
regulations, and Executive Order 13166 "Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English
Proficiency (65 FR 50121, Aug. 11, 2000)", Santa Clarita Transit is federally mandated to develop and
implement a Language Assistance Plan by which Limited English Proficiency (LEP) persons can meaningfully
access translations of written and oral information. As such, SCT must take reasonable steps to ensure
meaningful access to the benefits, services, information and other important portions of their programs and
activities for LEP persons.
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Santa Clarita Transit's LEP plan is attached in Appendix B. The LEP documents the four -factor analysis
completed to identify appropriate language assistance measures needed to improve access to SCT services and
benefits for LEP persons. As a result of this analysis, it was determined that 11.5 percent of the population in
SCT's service area has limited proficiency in the English language. The most predominate language spoken
other than English, is Spanish with 14,024 residents indicating that they speak English "les than very well" (See
Appendix B).
To assist its Spanish speaking LEP patrons specifically, SCT has implemented the following measures:
• Network with local human service organizations that provide services to LEP individuals and seek
opportunities to provide information on Santa Clarita Transit programs and services.
• Provide a bilingual staff member at all community events and public hearings
• Provide translation of all transit flyers, alerts and notices to the public.
• Include language that "Spanish is a plus" on bus driver recruitment flyers, social media and onboard
recruitment posters.
• Provide a Google Translate link for the transit website, fully translated in Spanish.
• Bilingual customer service staff for both the contractor and City.
• Use the services of a translation firm for customer calls on an as -needed basis.
2.6 MINORITY REPRESENTATION ON PLANNING AND ADVISORY BODIES
The FTA states that a recipient may not, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, "deny a person the
opportunity to participate as a member of a planning, advisory, or similar body which is an integral part of the
program."2 Santa Clarita Transit established an Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC), comprised of
interested members of the public for the purpose of giving input to Santa Clarita Transit, Access Services, Inc.
and any other Santa Clarita Valley transit provider on the accessibility of its programs and services for people
with disabilities and seniors. SCT created bylaws that define the name, purpose, structure, and operating
guidelines for this committee.3 Currently, the AAC is comprised of 11 members, with one vacant position.
Active members include individuals from the senior and disabled community as well as local stakeholders and
riders throughout the service area. When available, membership is solicited at public meetings/workshops, with
an emphasis on diversity and transit use.
Minoritv Representation Among SCI " s Non -Elected Advisory Committee
2.7 MONITORING OF SUBRECIPIENTS AND CONTRACTORS
Santa Clarita Transit does not have any sub recipient providers. However, SCT does contract out their transit
operations and maintenance to MV Transportation. As part of its efforts to ensure MV Transportation complies
with the requirements of Title VI, SCT holds periodic meetings with representatives from MV Transportation to
discuss any Title VI issues that arise. SCT staff has briefed MV on their Title VI obligations and provided them
2 FTA Title 49 CFR Section 21.5(b)(1)(vii)
3 http://www.santaclaritatransit.com/services/dial-a-ride-asi/aac-b l
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with copies of the most recent Title VI circular from October 2012. They have agreed to abide by the Title VI
requirements.
2.8 FIXED FACILITY IMPACT ANALYSIS
Title VI requires a Fixed Facility (transit operations facility, yard, etc.) Impact Analysis for construction projects
to assess any impacts to minority communities. If this information has been prepared as a result of an
environmental impact statement, the application recipient, or sub recipient, should reference the relevant
information by documenting page numbers and submission to the FTA.
A Title VI Equity Analysis should also be conducted during the planning stages to assess where a project is
located or sited to ensure the location is selected without regard to race, color, or national origin. Recipient shall
engage in outreach to persons potentially impacted by the placement of facilities. The Title VI equity analysis
must compare the equity impacts of various site alternatives, and the analysis must occur before the selection of
the preferred site.
Additionally, environmental justice principles as reflected in the DOT Order on Environmental Justice (DOT
Order 5610.2(a)), address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low -Income Populations. The
order describes the process the Department and its modal administrations (including FTA) use to incorporate
environmental justice principles into programs, policies, and activities.
As a result of FTA requirements, environmental impact analysis for fixed facilities shall include:
• A Title VI Equity Analysis conducted during planning stages to assess if or how the location will impact
minority communities and provides alternatives analysis.
• A project history and background for each project or service plan within the document.
• A discussion of the potential impacts on minority communities and minority -owned businesses during
and after construction.
• A discussion on all potential negative environmental impacts, such as traffic congestion, noise, air or
water pollution.
• A list of minority owned businesses and household affected by construction projects.
• A description of other significant impacts on minority communities, such as: increased traffic, reduction
in parking availability, etc. and
• A description of the relocation program and/or other measures adopted by the applicant used to mitigate
identified adverse social, economic or environmental effects of the proposed construction project or
service plan all of which should include an environmental justice component.
CHAPTER 3: SERVICE STANDARDS AND POLICIES
3.1 MAJOR SERVICE/FARE CHANGE POLICY
All transit providers that operate 50 or more fixed route vehicles in peak service and are located in urbanized
areas (UZA) of 200,000 or more people must conduct a Title VI equity analysis whenever they plan a fare
change and/or major service change. Santa Clarita Transit is required to develop a Major Service Change Policy
that identifies what constitutes a "major service change" for its system. Transportation decisions that occurred
on or after April 1, 2013 at the level of a "major service change" require a service equity analysis.
In accordance with industry standard practice, SCT defines any proposed fare increase or major service
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reduction that reduces service hours and/or miles by 20 percent of the entire system, as a "Major Service
Change."
3.2 DISPARATE AND DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT THRESHOLD
For any proposed change that requires an equity analysis as defined in section 3.1, SCT will determine if the
change would create a disparate or disproportionate impact to minority and/or low-income populations,
respectively.
Determination of whether a proposed Major Service Change has either disparate or disproportionate impact is
based on whether the percentage of minority and/or low-income passengers on an affected transit route is greater
than the transit system's percentage of minority and/or low-income riders.
Determination of whether a proposed fare adjustment has either a disparate or disproportionate impact is based
on minority and/or low-income populations bearing a fare rate change of greater than ten percentage points as
compared to the non -minority and/or non -low-income populations.
3.3 SERVICE EQUITYANALYSIS
Transit providers that operate 50 or more fixed route vehicles in peak service and are located in a UZA of
200,000 or more in population are required to submit a service and/or fare equity analysis. This requirement is
to comply with the Title VI regulations which prohibit disparate impact discrimination, and therefore should
document their policies and practices to ensure their service and fare changes do not result in disparate impacts
on the basis of race, color or national origin.
With the latest 2010 U.S. Census data, on March 27th 2012, the City of Santa Clarita went from a small UZA
(less than 200,000 people) to a now a large UZA, and as a result, the City of Santa Clarita is now required to
conduct a service equity analysis. No major service changes or fare changes were enacted during this triennial
period. The last fare change was effective July 2015.
3.4 SERVICE STANDARDS
FTA requires that all fixed route transit providers develop quantitative standards for all fixed route modes of
operation for the indicators listed below. Providers of public transportation may set additional standards as
appropriate or applicable to the type of service they provide.
Vehicle Load
Vehicle load can be expressed as the ratio of passengers to the total number of seats on a vehicle. For example,
on a 40-seat bus, a vehicle load of 1.3 means all seats are filled and there are approximately 12 standees (total
number of people/amount of seated people). According to the FTA, the average of all loads during the peak
operating period should not exceed vehicles' achievable capacities. Demand Response vehicles will always be
no more than 1.0 max load factor.
The City of Santa Clarita performance standard for fixed route maximum load factor is 1.5. According to the
City's Transportation Development Plan, vehicles should operate with standees on no more than 20 percent of
the runs for any route to avoid recurring loads of more than 150% of the seating capacity4. The table below
shows all vehicles used at SCT, and what their total capacities (seating and standing) should be during peak
operating service. While the achievable capacities are typically greater, to ensure service quality, if the ratio is
4 http://santaclaritatransit.com/tdp//
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City of SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT Title VI Program
exceeded by 1.5, it is the intention of City of Santa Clarita Transit to relieve any overcrowding by adding
supplemental runs, or through possible routing changes.
VEHICLE TYPE
ACHIEVABLE PASSENGER CAPACITIES
SEATED STANDING TOTAL
MAX. LOAD
FACTOR
40' New Flyer Low Floor
40
20
60
1.5
40' Nabi Low Floor
39
19
58
1.5
60' Nabi Low Floor
57
26
83
1.5
40Gillig Low Floor
37
20
57
1.5
28' Chance Trolley
28
15
43
1.5
35' Hometown Trolley
28
15
43
1.5
45'MCI
57
30
87
1.5
Ford 250HD
10
0
10
1.0
Dodge Ram
6
0
6
1.0
23' El Dorado Paratransit
12
0
12
1.0
23' Ford Starcraft
13
0
13
1.0
23' Ford E-450
18
0
18
1.0
23' Glaval Universal
18
0
18
1.0
23' Ford E-450Aerotech
12
0
12
1.0
Vehicle Headway
The City of Santa Clarita Transit operates nine local fixed -routes and two commuter rail feeder routes in the
Santa Clarita Valley. In addition, there are seven peak hour commuter routes, operating to downtown Los
Angeles, Century City, Warner Center, and North Hollywood. The nine local routes in the current fixed -route
bus system provide service Sunday through Saturday.
The commuter routes operate Monday through Friday at peak times only (approximately 5am-8am and 3pm-
7pm), at approximately every 30-45 minutes, except one commuter route which operates every day, all day,
from peak hours (ham-1lam, 3:15pm-9pm) every 30 minutes, and non -peak hours at every 1 hour.
On weekdays, all fixed -route service is provided generally between the hours of 5:15 AM and 10:30 PM at
every 30 minutes, on Saturdays buses run generally between 6:30 AM and 9:30 PM at 30-minute intervals, and
on Sundays and holidays, service is provided between 6:30 AM and 9:30 PM every 30 minutes. Commuter rail
feeders operate a limited service during peak hour commuter times, Monday through Friday.
On -Time Performance
A vehicle is considered on time if it departs a scheduled timepoint zero (0) minutes early and no more than 5
minutes late. Santa Clarita Transit's on -time performance objective for fixed route service is 90.5 percent or
greater. Santa Clarita Transit continuously monitors on -time performance and system results are published and
posted as part of monthly performance reports covering all aspects of operations.
November 2020 111 P a g e
City of SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT Title VI Program
Service Availability
According to the 2019 Transportation Development Plan (TDP), Santa Clarita Transit's main objective is to
contribute to the area's economic and social well-being by improving access to employment, shopping, and
activity centers for the maximum number of residents.
In order to fulfill Santa Clarita Transit's objective, the following 4 goals were established to reflect the five to
ten-year horizon of the TDP:
• Expand transit services to enhance underserved business areas.
• Review the City's fleet and maintenance standards to address changes in technology and clean fuels and
implement best management practices.
• Identify and develop a schedule for the maintenance and/or replacement of transit customer service
amenities including benches, shelters, trash receptacles, and signage.
• Enhance the customer experience so that it accurately represents the City's commitment to customer
service.
Like many urban areas, the Santa Clarita Valley has multiple activity centers instead of a single central business
district (CBD). Within the Santa Clarita Transit service area, there are vast areas of extremely low -density
housing and employment sites. The City of Santa Clarita Transit attempts to link major trip generating sites and
route vehicles along major commercial thoroughfares. This approach allows for better access to schools,
shopping centers, government centers, parks, libraries, hospitals, community and senior centers. The City of
Santa Clarita Transit intends to continue to route vehicles so that this type of access is preserved to these
facilities.
Local bus stops will be no more than 0.25 miles apart. If the geography or street infrastructure on a bus route
impacts bus stop spacing, bus stops will be placed as close to the 0.25 mile standard as possible.
3.5 SERVICE POLICIES
The Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) requires that all providers of fixed route public transportation
develop qualitative policies for the following procedures: Vehicle assignment and Transit Amenities. Santa
Clarita Transit has adopted these qualitative policies, which are summarized below, and were developed to help
Santa Clarita Transit better achieve equity for all of its transit riders.
Vehicle Assignment
The City of Santa Clarita Transit's fleet is relatively young. SCT's entire fixed route fleet is low -floor and also
equipped with air conditioning and automated stop announcement systems.
Commuter routes will only be assigned to the larger over the road, single door, high back coaches. They will be
rotated within the commuter routes. Due to the larger amount of riders, steep terrain, highways and long drives,
these larger coaches will ensure reliability. All local routes in the Santa Clarita Valley will rotate with the rest of
the fixed route fleet of two -door, low -floor coaches. This is to ensure that all vehicles are being deployed
throughout the entire local service area. Dial -A -Ride and Access vehicles are used in demand response service;
they are randomly assigned daily trips as maintenance schedules and capacity allow.
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City of SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT Title VI Program
Below is a list of the entire transit fleet:
1. Commuter Coaches
The City of Santa Clarita Transit owns thirty (30) commuter express fixed -route vehicles. That fleet
consists of six (6) 2013 and four (4) 2010 MCI model D4500 coaches, as well as five (5) 2016, ten
(10) 2017, three (3) 2019 and 2 (2) 2020 MCI model D4500 CNG coaches.
2. Local Coaches
The City of Santa Clarita Transit owns fifty eight (58) local fixed -route vehicles. That fleet includes
seven (7) 2010 and five (5) 2005 low floor CNG New Flyer coaches, eight (8) 2008 low floor CNG
NABI coaches, two (2) 2007 NABI 60ft CNG articulated coaches, three (3) 2020, seven (7) 2019,
four (4) 2018, eleven (11) 2014, and nine (9) 2013 Gillig model coaches, one (1) 2000 Chance
Trolley, and one (1) 2017 Hometown Trolley.
3. Dial -A -Ride
The City of Santa Clarita Transit owns twenty two (22) paratransit vehicles: two (2) 2016 CNG Ford
Starcraft vans, four (4) 2010 Ford E450 Cutaways, and sixteen (16) 2017 CNG Ford Starcraft vans.
4. Access Services
SCT also operates eleven (11) Access -owned paratransit vehicles which are only used for Access
customers. These Access vehicles consist of. one (1) 2014 and two (2) 2019 Ford E-450 cutaways,
five (5) 2016 Forest River Starcrafts, one (1) 2015 Dodge El Dorado van, one (1) 2019 Dodge Ram
and one (1) 2020 Ford 250HD.
Transit Amenities
The City of Santa Clarita Transit has 438 bus stops located within the City of Santa Clarita. In addition to the
City owned bus shelters, benches and trash cans, the City of Santa Clarita contracts with a vendor who provides
an additional fifty-one (51) transit advertising shelters. The installation of transit amenities along bus routes are
based on the number of passenger boardings, major landmarks, major transfer points and site availability. All
transit amenities installed at bus stops must meet and follow Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
requirements: A minimum sidewalk clearance of 48 inches and/or a 5'x 8'unobstructed concrete landing pad.
CHAPTER 4: DEMOGRAPHIC AND SERVICE PROFILE MAPS & CHARTS
The FTA requires transit providers receiving federal assistance to provide demographic maps that shade census
tracts where the percentage of total minority and low-income population reside in the service area. These maps
and charts will help the transit provider determine whether and to what extent transit service is available to
minority populations within the transit provider's service area. Using Census data, the City created "map layers"
and created a visual display to show demographic information in relation to the City's transit bus routes. It is
important to note that Route 757 extends beyond the City of Santa Clarita into North Hollywood. As a result,
the population and demographic profile differs from that of the City of Santa Clarita.
4.1 MINORITY CHARACTERISTICS
The 2016 American Community Survey identified 427,119 residents in the census tracts within the greater Santa
Clarita Transit service area. The minority population includes African Americans, Asians, American Indian and
Alaskan Natives, Pacific Islanders, other Non -White and Non -Hispanic two or more races. Within the Santa
Clarita service area, 14.6 percent or 62,454 individuals identified as minority in 2016. This nearly mirrors City
of Santa Clarita demographics; however, the greater service area had a lower percentage of minorities (0.3%
less) than the City. In reviewing minority populations staff used the lower threshold of 14.6 percent when
analyzing census tract data.
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City of SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT Title VI Program
SCT Service Area Minority Status (2016 American Community Survey)
Total Population
Minority
Non -Minority
Santa Clarita Valley
273,896
40,685
1 14.9%
2332111
85.10%
Greater Transit Service Area
427,119
62,454
1 14.6%
3646651
85.40%
Appendix C shows the demographic map with census tracts where minorities reside within the Santa Clarita
Transit service area. All local Santa Clarita Transit routes, including Route 757, are shown as of May 2020. This
map helped Santa Clarita Transit to determine that transit services are available to minority and non -minority
populations equally within the Santa Clarita service area.
4.2 INCOME CHARACTERISTICS
For the purpose of this Title VI analysis Santa Clarita Transit adopted the State's Housing and Community
Development (HCD) threshold in designating census tracts as lower income. In general, HCD considers tracts
whose average household income are 80 percent or less of the local area median income as "lower -income."
According to HCD thresholds and 2016 American Community Survey results, 12.9 percent of the population
within Santa Clarita are designated lower income. Further, when including tracts served by Route 757 we see an
increase in lower -income tracts as shown in the table below.
SCT Service Area Poverty Status 2016 ACS)
Total Population
Lower Income
% Lower income
Santa Clarita Valley
273,896
35,446
12.9%
Greater Transit Service Area
427,119
144,915
33.9%
Appendix D shows the census tracts within Santa Clarita as well as the greater transit service area which are
designated as lower -income. This map aided Santa Clarita Transit to determine that transit services are available
to lower -income and non lower -income populations equally within the Santa Clarita Transit service area.
4.3 COMPOSITE MINORITY& LOWER -INCOME CHARACTERISTICS
In order to better understand the minority and low-income population distribution patterns, each census tract in
Santa Clarita Transit service area is classified into one of the following four categories: Minority/Non-Low
Income, Low Income/ Non -Minority, Minority/Low Income, and Non-Minority/Non-Low Income.
Appendix E shows the distribution pattern map of minority and low-income population combined, in the Santa
Clarita Transit service area. A detailed list showing population ethnicity and income information for each census
tract in the service area is attached in Appendix F.
4.4 DEMOGRAPHIC RIDERSHIP AND TRAVEL PATTERNS COLLECTED BYSURVEYS
According to the City of Santa Clarita Transit's 2020 Limited English Proficiency plan (LEP), 30.4 percent of
residents speak a language other than English. Of this group, 11.5 percent are Spanish speakers (See Appendix
B).
In May of 2019 the City of Santa Clarita completed the Transportation Development Plan (TDP), to present a
November 2020 14 1 P a g e
City of SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT Title VI Program
plan for short-term and mid-term operational, financial and capital improvements for the City of Santa Clarita's
transit program. These strategies included an onboard customer survey of our local and commuter fixed route
services. Based on the TDP survey responses, 11 percent of respondents indicated that their proficiency in
English was below average. Of those, Spanish was the most -cited language, representing 14.5 percent. Only 2.5
percent spoke another language. This validates the largest LEP population in the Santa Clarita Transit service
area as Spanish speakers.
The TDP customer surveys also provided data on the income levels of the local and commuter riders. On local
fixed -route, the most frequent response (18.7 percent) was a household income level of under $15,000 a year.
The majority (21.3 percent) indicated an income between $15,000 and $34,999. On Commuter routes, the
majority of respondents (78 percent) cited a household income of $55,000 or more annually.
4.5 MONITORING TRANSIT SERVICE
Santa Clarita Transit regularly monitors the service throughout the service area. This evaluation includes route
specific ridership, passengers per service hour by route, monthly ridership by route, vehicle loads based on
electronic and traditional methods, on -time performance and level of service to various key transfer points. The
U.S. Census provides demographic information by census tracts including population estimates, ethnicity,
income and other quick facts. This report is used in the Santa Clarita's LEP plan and demographic maps and
data to determine where minority and low-income reside in the transit's service area.
Through this data, it was confirmed that Santa Clarita Transit routes cover all areas of the Santa Clarita Valley.
With approximately 30 minute frequencies on all routes, areas with high and low Limited English Proficiency
are equally served. Based on total ridership numbers for all local routes, the highest ridership by far comes from
the routes that serve our LEP and minority population of Canyon Country (91351) and Newhall (91321).
ROUTE
FY2019
Service Area
Ridership Totals
Route 1
131,622
Castaic & Valencia
Route 2
73,846
Val Verde & Valencia
Route 3
56,700
Saugus and Valencia
Route 4
124,605
Newhall, Valencia and
Saugus
Stevenson Ranch, Newhall,
Route 5
288,181
Valencia and Canyon Country
Route 6
488,420
Stevenson Ranch, Newhall,
Valencia and Canyon Country
Route 7
33,462
Saugus and Valencia
Route 12
520,738
Valencia, Newhall and
Canyon Country
Route 14
120,695
Newhall, Valencia and
Saugus
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City of SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT Title VI Program
CONCLUSION
This report fulfills the compliance reporting requirements for the Title VI as detailed in FTA Circular 4702.1B.
This report detailed Santa Clarita Transit's services, long-range planning efforts and general reporting
requirements mentioned in this circular. The program specific requirements were addressed with a demographic
and service profile along with a description of Santa Clarita Transit's service standards and policies. Service
changes and service monitoring were also described. Finally, a quality of service analysis was conducted. The
results demonstrate Santa Clarita Transit services a diverse population and supplies public transportation
equitably to all classified races, ethnicities, and income levels.
APPENDICES
APPENDIX A — 2020 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN
APPENDIX B — 2020 SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT LIMITED ENGLISH
PROFICIENCY PLAN
APPENDIX C — 2016 MINORITY DEMOGRAPHIC MAP
APPENDIX D — 2016 LOWER -INCOME DEMOGRAPHIC MAP
APPENDIX E — 2016 MINORITY AND LOWER -INCOME DEMOGRAPHIC MAP
APPENDIX F — 2016 MINORITY AND LOWER -INCOME CENSUS TRACT DATA
APPENDIX G — TITLE VI LAWSUITS
APPENDIX H — 2020 TITLE VI COUNCIL MINUTES
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APPENDIX A
Public Participation Plan
City of SANTA C�LARITA TRANSIT
Revised May 2020
November 2020 A-1 I P a g e
SANTA CLARITA CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PLAN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Goal of Santa Clarita's Public Participation Plan
II. What is Public Participation
a. Consensus building
b. Avoiding "worst case" confrontations
C. Maintaining credibility and legitimacy
III. When is Public Participation Needed?
a. Identifying issues that require public participation
b. When you're not sure public participation is needed
C. Design "checkpoints"
IV. Preparing a Public Participation Plan
a. When is one required?
b. Who is responsible for developing the plan?
V. Public Participation Techniques
a. Information techniques
b. Participatory techniques
C. Putting it all together
VI. Santa Clarita Transit
VIL Summary and Follow-up
Novembet- 2020 A-2 I P a g e
L Public Participation
Goal
The goal of the City's Citizen Participation Plan is to assure the City is operating with
the will of the public it serves and to provide a variety of forums for expressing the
ideals, values and desires of the citizens of Santa Clarita.
It is the goal of this plan to assure that public participation includes two-way
communication, with the overall goal being better decision -making by the City and
supported by the public.
Citizens cannot participate effectively in decision -making unless they have been
adequately informed of the alternatives and their consequences; thus, adequate public
information is always a central element in any public participation program.
It is important to recognize that public participation goes beyond informing the
public. The purpose of public participation is to both inform the public and get the
public's reactions regarding the proposed actions or policies. The City of Santa
Clarita will utilize two-way communication and problem solving.
II. What is Public Participation?
Public participation is the process by which our citizens' concerns, needs, and values
are identified prior to decisions, allowing the citizens to contribute to and become
involved with the City of Santa Clarita's decision making process. Two-way
communication and problem solving from the onset, result in better decision making
by the City supported by the citizens.
Public Participation and Legitimate Decisions
Of critical importance to the decision making process is making a decision count. It
is not enough for the city to just to reach a decision. If it is going to count, a decision
must be seen as legitimate by the citizenry. What makes a decision legitimate is not
only the substance of the decision, but also the perception by the public that the
decision making process by which the decision was made, was fair, open and
democratic.
Public participation provides a vehicle by which the citizenry is not only heard before
the decision, but has an opportunity to influence the decision from beginning to end.
Education is no longer enough. In effective public participation, even if groups or
individuals are not entirely satisfied with the final decision, they will have had the
opportunity to influence how the question or problem was posed, which alternative
got considered, how the alternatives were evaluated and what adjustments were made
to reduce impacts. Public participation does not ascertain that every decision will
result in a consensus decision; however, it can give legitimacy to decisions, because
November renrurmber 020 -3 I P a g e
every decision will be made in a visible manner with opportunities throughout the
process for the public to influence the outcome.
Santa Clarita Transit
The City of Santa Clarita's Transit Division is responsible to meet the Federal Transit
Administration's (FTA) guidelines and certify that there is a locally developed
process to solicit and consider public comment before raising a fare or carrying out a
major reduction of transit service. This document serves this purpose. This public
participation plan details the opportunity for a public hearing or public meetings, how
the meetings will be conducted and how the results will be considered in the process
of changing fares and service. A public meeting is not mandatory; however, an
opportunity for a public meeting in order to solicit comment must be given. Further
details on this process are described in Section VI.
Benefits of Public Participation
Public participation provides a wide range of benefits to the City. Among benefits
are improved quality of decisions, consensus building, avoiding "worst case"
confrontations and maintaining credibility and legitimacy.
Improved Quality of Decisions
The process of consulting with the public often will assist in clarifying the objectives
of a project or policy. Public participation often results in considering new
alternatives and approaches for the most effective solution. The public often
possesses crucial information, which makes a difference in how a decision is
implemented, making the difference between a successful or unsuccessful program.
a. Consensus Building
A public participation program provides a better opportunity to build a solid, long
term agreement and commitment between otherwise divergent parties. This builds
understanding between the parties, reduces political controversy, and gives legitimacy
to City decisions.
b. Avoiding "Worst -Case" Confrontations
Public participation provides opportunities for parties to express their needs and
concerns without having to be adversarial. Early public participation can help reduce
the probability that the City will be faced with acute unnecessary and avoidable
confrontation; however, public participation will not reduce or eliminate all conflicts.
c. Maintaining Credibility and Legitimacy
The way to achieve and maintain legitimacy, particularly when controversial
decisions must be made is to follow a decision making process, which is visible and
credible with the public, and involves the public. Public participation programs will
also leave the public more informed and provide a rationale behind decisions.
November renrurmber 020 A-4 I P a g e
As the creators of a new city, we in Santa Clarita have a unique opportunity to build
credibility among residents early on. By fully utilizing the various techniques
available, Santa Clarita can become known for its vast citizen input on major issues.
III. When Is Public Participation Needed?
a. Identifying issues that require public participation
There are a few guidelines that can be used to determine when citizen participation is
needed. These guidelines may or may not fit depending on the issue. New standards
should be adopted according to the situation at hand.
Public participation may be needed when?
• The decision will have a significant impact on the community.
The key word here is significant. Anytime a person or groups within the community
believe there is something to be lost or gained because of a decision that the City
makes, then, it becomes significant to them. What we have to understand is no matter
how significant a decision may seem it will have some form of impact on the citizens
of that community, whether it is positive or negative. What you have to remember in
decision making is that what is not important to you, may be to someone else.
• The decision will affect some citizens more than others.
These decisions made by the City may impact a large or a small number of its
citizens. These decisions usually involve some type of benefits that a particular
segment of the community will receive over others. These decisions tend to do more
harm to the community as a whole, because the controversies usually center on who
gets what and not the decision or the benefits of that decision. If there is any diversity
among the citizens of the community, then these types of decisions usually widen the
gap. It is important to look at the trade off when the City is making these types of
decisions.
• The decision will impact a vested interest or use.
These decisions usually involve some form of restrictions or cuts in services. These
decisions are usually controversial in nature because citizens view these decisions as
a restriction of their rights or freedom. Anytime that a decision is made to take away
something; it will impact someone. As City government, we hope that impact is
small. Example: The big rig truck ordinance involved taking away a way of life. To
the truck operators, not being able to park their rigs at home was a big deal. To most
residents of the City, however, the unsightliness and blocked views that resulted from
trucks being parked on residential streets were more of an issue that the City
originally anticipated, thus culminating in the new ordinance. The City thought they
had addressed the issue, but failed to see the total effect of the decision.
November 2020 A-5 I P a g e
• The decision involves a subject which is controversial.
These are the City's taboo decisions; no matter what you do, it will be controversial.
These taboos usually range from growth issues to City participation in economic
incentive packages to companies. Each citizen or group will view the subject in a
different manner. It goes back to, what is important for one may not be important to
another. Example: Growth Management. Some residents view this as a necessary
means to control excessive traffic, overcrowding and pollution; while others view
growth management as an obstacle for financial viability.
• The City needs active support to implement decisions
These are decisions that try to "sell" the citizen on joining the bandwagon by asking
them to participate in the decision making process. This is the key element when the
City needs a vast number of citizens to participate to make a decision happen or seem
like the decision has mass approval, which increases the power of the decision.
Example: The landfill issue. It could be said that a vast number of citizens do not
want a landfill near the City. These citizens will support any action that the City
takes to avoid this happening.
b. When you're not sure public participation is needed
The key to this question is when you are not sure if citizen's participation is needed,
ask others. Since no one can always accurately predict what the citizen's reaction
will be to a particular issue, here are some ways to increase the likelihood that you
will identify those issues, which justify public participation.
The first step is to review how other cities have handled the issues.
You may be able to tell if the citizens of Santa Clarita will react similarly to the
issues. This will require that you be familiar with the different actions in the City.
Example: Hillside Management. There are a number of cities that could have been
contacted early on to see how they handled this. That could have avoided a major
issue.
• There is a combination of things that the City can do when it is not sure public
input is needed
First, ask the citizens who will be affected by the decision. You usually can identify
the potential level of controversy and key issues that are surrounding the decision. It
is important to get a representative sample of participants in this process. Another
idea is to conduct focus groups. It is not a perfect method for predicting public
reaction, but you may be able to identify potential issues or controversy.
The key is to research the issues before the decision is made and not after it. It may
be too late by then, and the controversy of the issues will have clouded the citizen's
minds.
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Design checkpoints
When developing a public participation plan, include milestones as measuring points
to judge the effectiveness of your plan. This maybe done according to time, uses, or
controversies. Do not expect to be right all of the time. This is a key area because
any decision that you make will not please everyone. However, if you take the above
steps, you may be able to reduce some of the controversy that surrounds the issue.
IV. Preparing a Public Participation Plan
A. When is one required?
City policy requires a Public Participation Plan for City decision making whenever:
• A City decision is likely to be perceived as controversial or significant by the
public, or:
• The City needs active support to implement a decision.
Since the terms "significant" and "controversial" are subject to interpretation,
particularly when assessing how a decision will be perceived in the future, assessing
whether a decision requires public participation involves judgment on the part of the
City staff.
The following guidelines will serve as a barometer to determining when something
may be perceived as "significant" and "controversial":
• The decision will have a substantial impact on City residents in terms of taxes,
fees, uses or regulation (e.g., business registration fees).
• The decision will significantly affect some groups or neighborhoods in the
City more than others (e.g., Palmer's Santa Catarina project).
• The decision involves a subject, which is already controversial (e.g.,
developer agreements).
• A decision impacts a great many residents who may feel a sense of obligation
and desire to exercise their rights of democracy as part of a sense of
ownership and concern for the community.
Public Participation is also required when broad -based community support is needed
to implement a program such as the Santa Clara River Recreation Plan or the City
wide Recycling Program.
Each department will be responsible for completing a Public Participation Plan prior
to initiating a public participation program. This plan is to be filed in the City
Manager's Office, and should be signed by appropriate management of all divisions.
November renrurmber 020 A-7 I P a g e
a. Who is Responsible for Developing the Plan?
In most decision making processes there is one person designated as "program or
project manager", whether or not that title is used, who is responsible for seeing that
all the technical studies are done, reports are prepared, and recommendations are
developed for the Council. This person will be responsible for preparing the public
participation plan for their project. This person can ensure that public participation is
an integral part of how the decisions get made.
This person is encouraged to draw on others in the organization to assist in preparing
the plan, such as the Public Information Officer. But the overall responsibility for the
plan is located with the person who is responsible for making the entire process
happen.
V. Public Participation Techniques
a. Information Techniques
Briefings — Briefings are a way of keeping key elected officials, agencies or key
interest groups informed on the progress of specific work/plans. Briefings may
consist of a personal visit, or a phone call, to inform these persons before an action is
taken.
Exhibits/Displays — A visual way to inform the public and stimulate people to
participate is to set up exhibits or displays in public places which get a lot of foot
traffic, such as major shopping malls, transportation centers, major community
events, such as the SCV Business Expo or the Cowboy Festival, or even at sporting
events. It is best whenever possible to staff the exhibit with a knowledgeable person.
Feature Stories — A feature story is actually an expanded news story, written by a
reporter. Feature stories can provide an added dimension to your story, providing the
public with an in-depth profile of the different sides of your project. Be sure to
provide information that is timely, factual and objective.
Mailings — In addition to making reports and documents available at your department
counter, the City Clerk's office and in the library, expand your availability of these
reports by mailing them directly to leaders of organized groups and interests,
including businesses, environmental or neighborhood groups. Consider creating a 2-3
page summary of the reports to a larger list, while mailing the full report to key
players.
b. Participation Techniques
Advisory Groups/Task Forces — For some major issues, the Council may wish to
create a citizen's advisory group, such as the General Plan Advisory Committee.
Advisory Groups are useful in providing a citizen's perspective throughout the
decision making process. To be effective, advisory groups must be perceived as truly
November renrurmber 2020 A-8 I P a g e
representative. Second, it is essential to define the limits of the group's authority
must be understood in advance, preferably as part of a written mandate. Third,
working with an advisory group requires a significant commitment of time and staff
resources, and should not be undertaken if you are unable to commit the resources to
make it work right.
Task forces are a specific kind of advisory group. While most advisory groups are set
up to last the life of the decision making process, task forces usually complete a
specific task, then disband. A task force might, for example, recommend criteria for
site selection for a controversial facility. Or, a technically oriented task force might
assess the health risks associated with using reclaimed water in parks, etc. Once the
task force makes it recommendation, then it ceases to exist. It is possible that a
number of issues may be resolved by consensus at the task force level, reducing the
number of controversial issues, which must be addressed by policy makers.
Focus Groups — Focus groups are small discussion groups selected either as randomly
as possible, or alternately, as closely approximating the demographics of the
community as possible. Focus groups may be used as an alternative to polls to "test
market" the public's emotional reactions to a product, idea, etc. The prime value of a
focus group is predicting emotional reactions rather than assessing the number of
people taking particular positions. Knowing what emotional reactions are likely to
be, you may modify ideas, or present them in such a way that either appeals to or
avoids emotional responses. In the context of a public participation group, however,
there is a chance that conducting focus groups may be seen as an effort to manipulate
rather than learn from the public.
Hotlines — Hotlines (such as the one-time hotline set up for answering questions on
annexation or our on -going Concerned Citizen Hotline) allow the public to receive
answers to specific questions or concerns, without risking being transferred back and
forth between departments.
Hotlines are a form of two-way communication. Many people will (and do) call the
hotline to ask a question, while others call only to comment.
You may also use a hotline to dispense information, such as when the next meeting
will be on the subject of interest.
New Conferences — A news conference is a good way to stimulate the interest of the
media to do a new story. The value of a news conference is that the key City
player(s) will be doing the talking. It is a good rule to reserve news conferences for
major announcements, such as the release of a major report or study.
Other ideas may include a series of stories in "The Quarterly Report," which is
mailed four times a year home in the Santa Clarita Valley, or articles in the Santa
Clarita Valley View magazine, a monthly "freebie", mailed to every home.
November renrurmber 020 A-9 I P a g e
It is recommended that the wording of your articles or newsletters be reviewed by a
citizen advisory group to assure the language is objective.
Newspaper Ads/Inserts — One way to reach the whole community with the same
information is to prepare the information in the form of a newspaper insert.
Remember though, the more people know about the process the more likely it is that
the number of people who want to participate in the decision will increase. The
newspaper insert is a good way to reach beyond the most actively involved citizens
and to inform the public at large. Be sure the inserts are presented in an objective and
balanced manner.
Newspaper ads or paid advertisements are an excellent way to make an
announcement, especially about an upcoming meeting. Beware of large ads, which
tend to draw criticism. Even if they are providing information, they may come under
fire due to the use of public funds.
Speakers' Bureau — The City's Speakers' Bureau is an effective means for
communicating with people who are influential in the community. The City regularly
mails letter, brochures, and invitations for speakers and other items to our list of more
than 300 clubs, organizations and homeowners associations. If you anticipate
numerous presentations, perhaps a power point presentation would be beneficial and
more interesting to your audiences. Be sure to tailor your presentation to the
technical interests and aptitudes of your audience.
Public Service Announcements — Radio and television stations broadcast, without
charge, a certain number of announcements. In particular, they are very likely to run
announcements of public meetings, events or other opportunities for the public to
participate.
Workshops are highly interactive; they do not work as well with large groups. When
the number exceeds 20-25 people, it is difficult to achieve the kind of interaction you
want, although using some form of a large/small group format is possible.
Polls — Most participatory techniques do not tell you the proportion of views in the
community at large. Is the group you are hearing from just a small, vocal minority, or
do they speak on behalf of the majority of the community? Polls allow you to
quantitatively assess viewpoints in the community; however, polls do not always
predict outcome. Polls are expensive and often capture a snapshot of one moment in
time; not preferable if the issue is ever changing. Polls are helpful and informative,
but do not replace the need for other forms of direct participation by interested
parties.
Putting It All Together
Remember that there is no one public participation program that meets the needs of
all circumstances. The effectiveness of public participation does not result from
November 2020 -10 I P a g e
using a single public participation technique, but from combining involvement and
participation techniques into a total program.
To illustrate the use of citizen participation, let us say, for example, we are evaluating
alternate sites for a new City park.
• You decide that the meeting format most suitable for evaluating alternative
sites is a workshop format. Rather than hold one large meeting, you decide to
hold a series of workshops, one for each neighborhood in which there is a
potential site.
• To announce the workshops you might decide to use paid advertising as well
as contact the media to arrange feature stories describing the major topics to
be covered in the workshops.
• In all likelihood there are technical or environmental reports that have been
prepared and have information that bears on the topics to be discussed in the
workshops, so you will be able to mail out technical reports or environmental
documents to key agencies and groups so they can review prior to the
workshops.
• Prior to the workshops, you might issue a newsletter or flyer summarizing all
the key information which people will need to participate in the workshops.
Before printing, you might decide to have the Citizen Advisory Group review
the proposed copy for the newsletter, to be sure it seems objective and
impartial.
Meetings, Hearings, Workshops: — The most widely used technique for public
participation is the public hearing. Regrettably, public hearings are not a particularly
effective device for public participation. While they do meet legal requirements, they
do a poor job of trying to bring people together to resolve problems. In fact, public
hearings often exaggerate difference, because during hearings, leaders of
constituencies have to be seen defending their constituency's interests.
Another concept is the Town meeting, an honored tradition in New England. The
spirit of the town meeting is everybody coming together as equals, trying to solve
problems and make good decisions. However, public participation meetings never
have legally binding power, instead they influence decisions made by our elected
officials.
A good format is one that ensures everyone gets a chance to be heard. For example,
some public meetings use a large group/small group format in which, following an
open presentation the audience is broken down into small discussion groups.
Afterwards, a spokesperson from each of the small groups makes a short presentation
to the full audience, summarizing the discussion in their small groups.
November 2020 A It t J P a g e
You may also want to try small "coffee klatches", informal meetings with a small
group of people meeting in a private home or other intimate setting such as a local
coffee shop. These are better for getting genuine involvement rather that a single
large meeting. The point is, do not limit your thinking as to what constitutes a public
meeting. Design a meeting format which fits your particular purpose.
On form of meeting, which has proven particularly effective in resolving issues, is the
workshop. Workshops differ from other public meetings in that they have a stated
purpose of completing a specific assignment.
For example, a workshop might be used to evaluate alternative sites. A workshop
might also be used to eliminate sites which do not meet the siting criteria, or in
getting agreement on the actions which need to be taken to mitigate any negative
effects of a facility.
• You might want to hold individual briefings or a Study Session for City
Councilmember's prior to the workshops, so they feel adequately informed in
case residents ask them questions.
• You might even decide to make presentations to civic and/or technical groups
via the City's Speakers' Bureau, prior to the workshops to stimulate interest.
• You may consider operating a temporary hotline, providing information to
callers, along with an opportunity to leave a message for a return call on
individual questions or concerns.
• Following the workshops you will want to get back to people to tell them what
the outcome of the workshop was, so you may want to send another issue of
the newsletter, or simply a report summarizing public comment. If major
decisions resulted form the workshops, you might also want to hold a press
conference and issue a news release describing the decision.
As this description clearly shows, public participation is not a matter of selecting a
single technique, but of combining numerous techniques into a unified program.
There are a few suggestions to follow in putting together a public participation
program:
• Highly interactive formats, such as workshops, cut down the chances for
posturing and rabble rousing and are usually very satisfactory for the average
participant.
• The two biggest problems with advisory groups are: (1) whenever there is
uncertainty about the group's charter — exactly what its authority is or is not —
there is a potential for conflict and hard feelings; and (2) advisory groups can
spend so much time discussing procedures that they drive away people
concerned with substance. The need for elaborate procedures can be sharply
reduced if an advisory group agrees to work on a consensus basis rather than
by majority vote. Because no advisory group can ever exactly represent the
mix of opinion in the community, a close majority vote only shows that the
November 2020 A-12 I Page
community remains divided. Advisory groups can be very helpful, but be
aware of their limitations as well.
• The public information component of a public participation plan must be
objective. Publications sent out, as part of public participation programs can
not be treated like public relations pieces designed to "sell" a particular point
of view. Their purpose is to provide the information the public needs to
participate in an informed manner, and if the public is to do that wisely, it
must be given objective, balanced, and credible information.
• Play it straight with the media. Provide all the important information, in an
objective, factual manner.
• Be sure to provide "feedback loops" that is, if you ask the public to
participate, always get back to the public in a timely manner to tell people
what you heard, how you are going to respond to the comments, and what
comes next as a result of those comments. The primary motivation for
participation is the sense that you can have an impact. Without feedback,
you're providing no rewards to stimulate further participation.
Never take elected officials by surprise. Even if elected officials don't like the news,
always let them know first, so they are not taken by surprise with residents.
A full blown public participation program is a sizable effort, requiring careful
planning, and a significant commitment of time and staff. But the alternative may be
to go through the entire decision making process and be unable to implement
anything.
VI. Santa Clarita Transit
The City of Santa Clarita's Transit Division is responsible for making certain that the
necessary steps are taken that both the public is informed and that staff get the
public's reactions regarding the proposed actions or policies.
The City of Santa Clarita will conduct and follow the public participation plan for any
proposed fare increase or major service reduction that reduces service hours and/or
service miles by 20 percent of the entire system. The public input process includes,
but is not limited to, public hearings, public meetings, open houses, or written or
electronic comment forms. Santa Clarita Transit staff will develop recommendations
as to the appropriate type and level of public input required. Management staff will
review these recommendations and determine the method or methods to be used to
collect this input.
Prior to increasing the basic fare structure or a major service reduction, Santa Clarita
Transit staff shall:
• Appropriately publicize plans to increase the basic fare structure in a variety
of ways. Options for publicizing plans include the City of Santa Clarita
November 2020 A- 13 ( Page
Transit website, agency e-mails, newsletters, social media messages, and other
means of correspondence.
• Provide opportunities for public input. Options include holding workshops,
mailing comment forms to customers, and soliciting for public comment via e-
mail.
• Present information to the local community centers (ie. Senior Center,
Newhall and Canyon Community Center, etc) for their comment and
feedback.
• Hold a public hearing with written notice and recording services.
• Review and document public comments, and present at the public hearing
held before the City Council.
• Ensure that any transportation investments do not disproportionately burden
any population with adverse impacts.
Santa Clarita Transit includes an outreach plan to engage minority, and Limited
English Proficient (LEP) populations in the following practices:
• Scheduling meetings at times and locations that are convenient and accessible
for minority and LEP communities.
• Provide a bilingual staff member at all community events and public hearings.
• Placement of statements in notices and publications that interpreter services
are available for these meetings, with seven day advance notice.
• Coordinating with community and faith -based organizations, educational
institutions (such as COC ), senior centers and other organizations to
implement public engagement strategies that reach out specifically to
members of affected minority and/or LEP communities.
• Consider using radio, television, social media, or newspaper ads on stations
and in publications that serve LEP populations.
• Providing group travel training to LEP person with the assistance of bilingual
staff.
VI. Summary and Follow-up
This plan is designed to be a "how-to" guide for implementing public participation
plans for transit -related projects within the City. While no fare changes or significant
service reductions have been made in the last three years to necessitate public input,
Santa Clarita Transit has engaged in a number of formal and informal public outreach
efforts. Most notable is the 2019 Transportation Development Plan which included a
significant level of public outreach in an effort to create a guiding document for Santa
November 2020 A-14 I Page
Clarita Transit. Over 3,700 surveys were collected from residents and a series of six
public workshops were held throughout the duration of the project. Less formal
efforts have also been utilized such as passenger surveys when schedule revisions are
being considered.
It is important to recognize the significance of public participation, in that it may
change the course of projects and staff work.
Implementation of this plan legitimizes public input by helping determine the
direction our public is going, and then getting in front of the parade.
Remember public participation does not slow things down, but not doing it will.
This plan calls for a "project manager" to be in charge of writing and implementing
public participation as part of their normal duties with that project. This action is to
assure that the public participation process becomes an integral part of all "major"
projects, affecting groups of residents.
November 2020 A-15 I Page
City of
SANTA CLARITA (,gflk, �� TRANSIT
LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN
November 2020
APPENDIX B
Tntroch i cti on
The Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Plan has been prepared to address Santa Clarita
Transit's responsibilities as a recipient of federal financial assistance as they relate to the
needs of individuals with limited English language skills. The plan has been prepared in
accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and it's implementing
regulations, which state that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the basis of
race, color or national origin. Santa Clarita Transit will take reasonable steps to ensure
that all persons have meaningful access to its programs, service and information, at no
additional cost.
Executive Order 13166, titled Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited
English Proficiency, indicate that differing treatment based upon a person's inability to
speak, read, write or understand English is a type of national origin discrimination. It
directs each federal agency to publish guidance for its' respective recipients clarifying
their obligation to ensure that such discrimination does not take place. This order applies
to all state and local agencies which receive federal funds, including Santa Clarita
Transit.
Santa Clarita Transit's goal is to take responsible steps to ensure meaningful access in
benefits, services and information to LEP persons in the service area. All residents in this
service area, to the fullest extent practicable, should be able to understand and participate
in the transit services provided.
Plan Summary
Santa Clarita Transit has developed this Limited English Proficiency Plan to help identify
reasonable steps for providing language assistance to persons with limited English
proficiency (LEP) who wish to access services provided by Santa Clarita Transit. As
defined in Executive Order 13166, LEP persons are those who do not speak English as
their primary language and have limited ability to read, speak, write or understand
English.
This plan outlines how to identify a person who may need language assistance, the ways
in which assistance may be provided, staff training that may be required and how to
notify LEP persons that assistance is available.
In order to prepare this plan, Santa Clarita Transit undertook the U.S. Department of
Transportation's (U.S. DOT) four -factor LEP analysis which considers the following
factors:
November 2020 B-1 1 Page
City of
SANTA CLARITA (,gflk, �� TRANSIT
LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN
November 2020
1. The number and proportion of LEP persons served or encountered in the eligible
service population.
2. The frequency with which LEP persons come in contact with Santa Clarita Transit
programs, activities or services.
3. The nature and importance of services provided by Santa Clarita Transit to the
LEP population.
4. The resources available to Santa Clarita Transit and overall cost to provide LEP
assistance.
A summary of the results of Santa Clarita Transit's four factor analysis is in the following
section.
Four -Factor Analysis
The number and proportion of LEP persons served or encountered in the
eligible service population.
Santa Clarita Transit's service area covers the Santa Clarita Valley. This Valley consists
of the City of Santa Clarita and various unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. For
planning purposes, Santa Clarita Transit reviewed the most current available data from
the 2015 American Community Survey (ACS) "Languages Spoken" dataset B 16001
within Santa Clarita.
The incorporated areas within Santa Clarita at the time of the 2015 ACS estimates had a
total population of 169,279 over five years of age. In this population, 69.5 percent speak
only English. Of the 30.5 percent that speak a language other than English, approximately
19,465 residents, or 11.5 percent, indicated that they speak English "less than very well."
Of the 19,465 residents that would be considered LEP, (speak English "less than very
well") the majority (72%) are Spanish speakers.
Other languages spoken within the Santa Clarita Transit service area include: Indo-
European (German, Yiddish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, French, Italian, Portuguese,
Russian, Polish, Serbo-Croatian, Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu, Greek, Baltic and
Iranian languages), Asian and Pacific Island (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese,
Hmong, Khmer, Lao, Thai, Tagalong, Pilipino, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam) and All other
languages (everything not mentioned above). The table below illustrates the number of
LEP residents by language.
November renrurmber 2020 U-2 1 Page
City of SANTA CLARITA (,gflk, TRANSIT
LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN
November 2020
Santa Clarita Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English
Label
Estimate
Percent of Total
Total:
169,279
Speak only English
117,682
69.5%
Spanish or Spanish Creole:
35,201
20.8%
Speak English "very well"
21,177
12.5%
Speak English less than "very well"
14,024
8.3%
Tagalog:
4,808
2.8%
Speak English "very well"
3,524
2.1%
Speak English less than "very well"
1,284
0.8%
Korean:
1,519
0.9%
Speak English "very well"
703
0.4%
Speak English less than "very well"
816
0.5%
Chinese:
1,119
0.7%
Speak English "very well"
567
0.3%
Speak English less than "very well"
552
0.3%
Arabic:
1,053
0.6%
Speak English "very well"
696
0.4%
Speak English less than "very well"
357
0.2%
All oTher Languages less 0.5% Or Less
7897
4.7%
Based on the demographics outlined above, the primary focus of the City's efforts is on
the Spanish speaking segment of the LEP population.
2. The frequency with which LEP persons come in contact with Santa Clarita
Transit programs, activities or services.
Santa Clarita Transit serves LEP persons daily via our fixed route buses and paratransit
services daily. The majority of our LEP persons are Spanish speakers. To date, the most
frequent contact between LEP persons and our transit staff is with bus drivers. In October
of 2020, an informal Coach Operator Survey was conducted by Santa Clarita Transit staff
to determine the frequency with which coach operators come in contact with LEP persons
and in which geographic segment of our service area. Findings indicate that Spanish is
the most frequently encountered language by far, with operators reporting helping
multiple Spanish-speaking patrons each day.
The Santa Clarita Transit customer call center is staffed with Spanish speaking personnel
at all times. Call center staff is also trained to utilize translation services via a remote call
center when necessary. Based on data from March 1, 2020 through October 31, 2020, the
City's transit call center received 37,578 transit phone calls, of which 10.1% are from
Spanish speaking customers. During this same time period Santa Clarita Transit's
November rember 2020 I.-3 1 Page
City of
SANTA CLARITA (,gAk, �� TRANSIT
LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN
November 2020
interpreter service line provided translation eight (8) additional calls, three (3) Armenian,
three (3) Mandarin, and one (1) each Russian and Farsi.
According to the B16001 form from the 2016 Census AC data, the majority of the LEP
population resides in the Canyon Country (91351) and Newhall (91321) areas Santa
Clarita Transit routes cover all areas of the Santa Clarita Valley. With 30-minute
frequencies on all routes, areas with high and low LEP population are equally served.
Based on our total ridership numbers for all local routes, the highest ridership by far
comes from the routes that serve our LEP population of Canyon Country and Newhall.
ROUTE
FY2019
Service Area
Ridership Totals
Route 1
131,622
Castaic & Valencia
Route 2
73,846
Val Verde & Valencia
Route 3
56,700
Saugus and Valencia
Route 4
124,605
Newhall, Valencia and
Saugus
Stevenson Ranch, Newhall,
Route 5
288,181
Valencia and Canyon
Country
Stevenson Ranch, Newhall,
Route 6
488,420
Valencia and Canyon
Country
Route 7
33,462
Saugus and Valencia
Route 12
520,738
Valencia, Newhall and
Canyon Country
Route 14
120,695
Newhall, Valencia and
Saugus
The nature and importance of services provided by Santa Clarita Transit to the
LEP population.
Santa Clarita Transit provides important transit services to the public through its fixed
route and complimentary paratransit services. Santa Clarita Transit is the only major
public transportation provider in the Santa Clarita Valley and provides Commuter bus
service between the Santa Clarita Valley and the Los Angeles basin. Santa Clarita Transit
provides Santa Clarita Valley residents, including LEP persons, transportation services
for the purpose of commuting to work, shopping, recreational needs, personal errands,
school and other services the public accesses frequently.
4. The resources available to Santa Clarita Transit and overall cost to provide
LEP assistance.
November 2020 1�1.-4 1 Page
City of
SANTA CLARITA (,gflk, �� TRANSIT
LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN
November 2020
Providing translation services to allow LEP populations to participate in the development
of Santa Clarita Transit's core planning and investment policies is a routine practice for
Santa Clarita Transit. Santa Clarita Transit's Customer Call Center, which manages
customer comments by phone, mail, email and in -person, currently benefits from having
four staff members who speak, read and write Spanish. The customer call center team
also utilizes translation services provided by "Language Line" for customers who speak
other languages. Spanish translated documents have included rider alerts posted on our
buses and at bus stops, fare service change information, how to ride guides and current
fare and pass information in the City service brochures. We currently provide a Spanish
translator at each one of our community events and have developed Spanish language
marketing campaigns promoting the benefits of public transportation.
Santa Clarita Transit provides Spanish language materials to our LEP population
whenever possible. However, the cost to implement multiple -language (i.e., beyond
English and Spanish) materials and translators are significantly high and not currently
funded. Santa Clarita Transit staff is exploring lower cost options to expand access to
these programs and materials for LEP residents within the service area. In 2013 the Santa
Clarita Transit website was updated with Spanish pages and in 2019 staff inserted a
clickable Google Translate tab which allows a reader to select their preferred language.
Based on the four -factor analysis, Santa Clarita Transit developed its LEP Plan as
outlined in the following section.
November renrurmber 2020 U-5 1 Page
City of
SANTA CLARITA (,gflk, �� TRANSIT
LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN
November 2020
Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Plan Outline
How Santa Clarita Transit and staff may identify an LEP person who needs language
assistance:
1. Examine records to see if requests for language assistance have been
received in the past, either at meetings or over the phone, to determine
whether language assistance might be needed at future events or meetings.
2. Have a staff person greet participants as they arrive to Santa Clarita
sponsored events. By informally engaging participants in conversation it is
possible to gauge each attendee's ability to speak and understand English.
3. Consistently monitor the number of people that access the transit website
in Spanish. And continue to update the site wherever needed.
4. If a vehicle operator encounters a customer in need of assistance in a
language other than English, vehicle operators are instructed to try to
obtain their contact information and give this information to their manager
for follow-up. Dispatchers and call center staff are also instructed to obtain
contact information from LEP persons they encounter either in person or
over the phone and recording passenger's requests for language assistance
in the customer service database.
Automated phone tree is available in English and in Spanish. Callers are
given the opportunity to speak directly to a Spanish speaking staff person.
Lan =ze Assistance Measures
There are numerous language assistance measures available to LEP persons, including
both oral and written language services. There are also various ways in which Santa
Clarita Transit staff responds to LEP persons, whether in person, by telephone or in
writing.
• Network with local human service organizations that provide services to
LEP individuals and seek opportunities to provide information on Santa
Clarita Transit programs and services.
• Provide a bilingual staff member at all community events and public
hearings.
• Placement of statements in notices and publications that interpreter
services are available for these meetings, with seven day advance notice;
• Survey bus drivers and other front-line staff, like dispatchers and call
center staff, on their experience concerning any contacts with LEP persons
during the previous year;
• Post the Santa Clarita Transit Title VI Policy and LEP Plan on the agency
website, www.santaclaritatransit.com ;
November 2020 R-6 1 Page
City of
SANTA CLARITA (,gflk, �� TRANSIT
LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN
November 2020
Upon request, provide group travel training to LEP persons with the
assistance of bilingual staff,
Include language "Spanish a plus" on bus driver recruitment flyers and
onboard recruitment posters;
When an interpreter is needed, for a language other than Spanish, in
person or on the telephone, staff will attempt to access language assistance
services from a professional translation service.
Vital Documents
All vital documents are translated into Spanish and posted online and where appropriate.
Staff has identified the following documents to be vital as it relates to our passenger's
access to service and information:
• General service information and notices
• Title VI protection notifications and reporting procedures
• Public hearing notices
• Information regarding the availability of translation services
• Onboard and customer surveys
Note, although Spanish has been identified as the primary LEP language, translation
services for all other identified LEP languages are available upon request.
Staff Training
The following training is provided to Santa Clarita City and contractor staff:
1. Information on the Santa Clarita Transit Title VI procedures and LEP
responsibilities
2. Description of language assistance services offered to the public
3. Use of the Language Identification Flashcards
4. Documentation of language assistance requests
5. How to handle a potential Title VI/LEP complaint
Outreach Techniques
When staff prepares a document or schedules a meeting, for which the target audience is
expected to include LEP individuals, then documents, meeting notices, flyers and
agendas will be printed in an alternative language based on the known LEP population.
Interpreters will also be available as needed.
November 2020 B- 7 1 Page
City of
SANTA CLARITA (,gflk, �� TRANSIT
LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN
November 2020
Monitoringand nd Updating the LEP Plan
Santa Clarita Transit will update the LEP as required by the U.S. DOT. At minimum, the
plan will be reviewed and updated every three years or when it is clear that higher
concentrations of LEP individuals are present in the Santa Clarita Transit service area.
Updates will include the following:
• The number of documented LEP person contacts encountered annually
• How the needs of LEP persons have been addressed
• Determination of the current LEP population in the service area
• Determination as to whether the need for translation services has changed
• Determine whether local language assistance programs have been effective and
sufficient to meet the need
• Determine whether Santa Clarita Transit's financial resources are sufficient to
fund language assistance resources needed
• Determine whether Santa Clarita Transit has fully complied with the goals of this
LEP plan
• Determine whether complaints have been received concerning Santa Clarita
Transit's failure to meet the needs of LEP individuals
Dissemination of the Santa Clarita Transit LEP Plan
A link to the Santa Clarita Transit LEP Plan and the Title VI Procedures is included on
the Santa Clarita Transit website at www.santaclaritatransit.com. Any person or agency
with internet access will be able to access and download the plan from the Santa Clarita
Transit website. Alternatively, any person or agency may request a copy of the plan via
telephone, fax, mail or in person and shall be provided with a copy of the plan at no cost.
LEP individuals may request copies of the plan in translation which Santa Clarita Transit
will provide, if feasible.
Questions or comments regarding the LEP Plan may be submitted to:
Transit Manager
Santa Clarita Transit
28250 Constellation Road
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
Phone: (661) 295-6300
Fax: (661) 295-6393
Email: aaug ilar(ea�,santa-clarita.com
November 2020 B-8 1 Page
APPENDIX C
Noveinnibeir, 2020 C-3. I Page
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Santa Clarita Low -Income Tracts
Ij
�J E22 Santa Clarita Low -Income Tracts
Santa Clarita Census Tracts
Transit System Routes
City of Santa Clarita Bounds
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 mi '\, *Low -Income communities as defined by CA A61550.
I e eunnibeir 2020 D-:I. I
F.11 u U ALI 111 k"I 0
NOV ��E 10 NEII 2020 E-3. I P a g e
Appendix F
Service Area Low -Income Designated Census Tracts
6037102103
Los Angeles
91352
2.21
$62,550
$73,819
1,870
No
6037102104
Los Angeles
91352
2.41
$62,550
$72,039
3,578
No
6037102105
Los Angeles
91505
1,949
1.93
$62,550
$48,571
Yes
6037104403
Los Angeles
91331
2,932
2.98
$75,050
$49,048
Yes
Los Angeles
91342
3.04
$62,550
$92,857
6037106510
5,178
No
Los Angeles
91344
3.63
$69,450
$102,632
6037106603
3,253
No
6037106604
Los Angeles
91342
4,870
2.55
$69,450
$50,150
Yes
6037106649
Los Angeles
91342
2,705
2.97
$69,450
$80,492
No
6037109100
Los Angeles
91345
2,757
2.95
$69,450
$68,865
Yes
6037109200
Los Angeles
91344
2,804
2.23
$62,550
$86,964
No
6037109300
Los Angeles
91344
3,475
2.79
$69,450
$77,750
No
6037109400
Los Angeles
91345
3,434
2.7
$62,550
$51,475
Yes
6037109500
San Fernando
91340
4,792
2.36
$75,050
$51,380
Yes
6037109601
Los Angeles
91345
5,388
2.74
$62,550
$76,484
No
6037119001
Los Angeles
91331
4,185
3.08
$62,550
$64,038
No
6037119002
Los Angeles
91331
6,794
3
$69,450
$66,400
Yes
6037119202
Los Angeles
91331
4,366
3.53
$69,450
$60,508
Yes
6037121010
Los Angeles
91352
4,421
3.35
$69,450
$55,490
Yes
6037121101
Los Angeles
91352
3,084
3.32
$62,550
$47,525
Yes
Los Angeles
91352
1.97
$55,600
$56,534
6037121102
2,621
No
6037121210
Los Angeles
91331
2,999
2.47
$69,450
$46,889
Yes
6037121221
Los Angeles
91352
2,292
3.06
$75,050
$52,115
Yes
6037121222
Los Angeles
91352
5,507
3.6
$69,450
$47,422
Yes
Los Angeles
91605
1.99
$55,600
$86,974
6037121600
2,758
No
6037121802
Los Angeles
91605
3,523
2.15
$69,450
$59,792
Yes
6037121900
Los Angeles
91352
4,004
2.34
$69,450
$51,754
Yes
6037122000
Los Angeles
91605
6,146
3.38
$69,450
$62,610
Yes
6037122122
Los Angeles
91352
2,383
4.57
$69,450
$32,625
Yes
6037122200
Los Angeles
91352
4,015
2.96
$75,050
$53,750
Yes
NOV ��E 10 &Ell 2020 F-3. I P a g e
6037123304
Los Angeles
91605
4,493
2.04
$62,550
$35,033
Yes
6037123800
Los Angeles
91606
5,851
2.62
$55,600
$50,370
Yes
6037123901
Los Angeles
91606
4,431
1.63
$62,550
$49,866
Yes
6037123902
Los Angeles
91607
2,701
3.15
$62,550
$68,989
No
6037124102
Los Angeles
91601
3,721
4.34
$62,550
$43,306
Yes
6037125100
Los Angeles
91607
6,260
4.4
$55,600
$52,083
Yes
6037125200
Los Angeles
91601
3,965
4.6
$55,600
$50,990
Yes
6037125310
Los Angeles
91601
4,908
4.05
$55,600
$45,357
Yes
6037125320
Los Angeles
91601
5,572
1.62
$55,600
$38,703
Yes
6037310400
Burbank
91504
3,238
2.25
$55,600
$71,953
No
6037910807
Santa Clarita
91387
6,527
2.76
$55,600
$104,589
No
6037910808
Unincorporated
91387
3,305
3.2
$62,550
$86,293
No
6037910809
Santa Clarita
91387
2,241
2.95
$62,550
$119,875
No
6037910810
Unincorporated
91390
2,847
4.25
$62,550
$126,625
No
6037920013
Santa Clarita
91350
5,079
2.73
$62,550
$95,972
No
6037920015
Santa Clarita
91390
6,007
2.75
$62,550
$127,813
No
6037920016
Unincorporated
91390
5,106
2.86
$62,550
$122,750
No
6037920017
Santa Clarita
91350
5,022
2.22
$62,550
$95,744
No
6037920018
Santa Clarita
91350
2,363
2.96
$62,550
$92,750
No
6037920020
Unincorporated
91390
7,377
2.36
$62,550
$86,435
No
6037920023
Santa Clarita
91351
2,880
3.18
$69,450
$56,688
Yes
6037920026
Unincorporated
91390
429
2.52
$62,550
$69,250
No
Santa Clarita
91351
2.75
$62,550
$110,680
6037920028
6,589
No
Santa Clarita
91351
1.81
$55,600
$61,277
6037920029
3,353
No
Santa Clarita
91351
2.75
$62,550
$76,893
6037920030
5,969
No
6037920031
Santa Clarita
91321
5,798
2.66
$62,550
$60,170
Yes
Unincorporated
91390
4.9
$75,050
$137,143
6037920032
3,440
No
Unincorporated
91351
2.27
$55,600
$63,403
6037920033
732
No
Unincorporated
91351
2.32
$55,600
$79,000
6037920034
3,882
No
6037920035
Santa Clarita
91351
7,931
2.63
$62,550
$76,633
No
Santa Clarita
91351
2.79
$62,550
$78,750
6037920036
3,328
No
6037920037
Santa Clarita
91387
7,542
1.34
$62,550
$50,355
Yes
6037920038
Santa Clarita
91387
4,802
2.53
$62,550
$53,827
Yes
Santa Clarita
91387
2.63
$62,550
$111,429
6037920039
1
2,075
No
Unincorporated
91387
2.84
$62,550
$88,404
6037920040
3,563
No
Unincorporated
91387
1.4
$48,650
$75,069
6037920041
2,909
No
Santa Clarita
91321
3.13
$62,550
$79,451
6037920042
7,313
No
Santa Clarita
91387
4.41
$69,450
$131,481
6037920043
6,529
No
6037920044
Santa Clarita
91350
2,870
2.52
$62,550
$105,734
No
Santa Clarita
91350
5.08
$75,050
$117,318
6037920045
4,916
No
Unincorporated
91384
3.11
$62,550
$69,762
6037920102
5,772
No
Unincorporated
91384
5.04
$75,050
$116,875
6037920104
2,972
No
Val Verde
91384
3.16
$62,550
$73,182
6037920106
3,291
No
Santa Clarita
91355
3.08
$62,550
$137,125
6037920107
4,802
No
Unincorporated
91354
2.5
$62,550
$111,625
6037920108
4,844
No
Santa Clarita
91354
2.8
$62,550
$107,635
6037920109
5,694
No
Santa Clarita
91354
2.59
$62,550
$136,797
6037920110
3,367
No
Santa Clarita
91354
2.72
$62,550
$98,170
6037920111
3,059
No
Santa Clarita
91354
3.26
$62,550
$90,294
6037920112
3,984
No
Santa Clarita
91355
2.86
$62,550
$95,496
6037920114
6,742
No
Santa Clarita
91355
3.1
$62,550
$105,556
6037920115
4,044
No
Castaic
91384
2.93
$62,550
$110,491
6037920116
5,213
No
Castaic
91384
3.03
$62,550
$114,625
6037920118
6,226
No
Castaic
91384
3.69
$69,450
$128,542
6037920119
2,051
No
Santa Clarita
91321
3.2
$62,550
$75,216
6037920312
5,654
No
Santa Clarita
91321
3
$62,550
$97,469
6037920313
5,724
No
Santa Clarita
91350
3.55
$69,450
$108,456
6037920314
2,983
No
Santa Clarita
91355
2.66
$62,550
$86,000
6037920322
2,905
No
Unincorporated
91381
2.91
$62,550
$100,461
6037920326
6,972
No
Santa Clarita
91355
4.71
$75,050
$100,417
6037920328
2,045
No
Santa Clarita
91355
1.76
$55,600
$91,086
6037920329
5,561
No
Santa Clarita
91355
2.85
$62,550
$94,059
6037920330
5,823
No
Santa Clarita
91355
3.1
$62,550
$97,375
6037920331
4,203
No
Santa Clarita
91321
2.93
$62,550
$90,962
6037920332
2,474
No
Santa Clarita
91355
3.84
$69,450
$71,482
6037920334
6,177
No
6037920336
Santa Clarita
91321
6,477
2.49
$69,450
$47,804
Yes
6037920337
Santa Clarita
91321
7,947
3.29
$69,450
$47,794
Yes
Stevenson Ranch
91381
2.86
$62,550
$148,929
6037920338
6,167
No
Unincorporated
91355
3.49
$62,550
$125,192
6037920339
7,514
No
Unincorporated
91342
3.14
$62,550
$81,389
6037930200
485
No
Los Angeles
91344
2.52
$62,550
6037980022
No
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APPENDIX G
Title VI Investigations, Lawsuits, and Complaints
Date
Summary
Status
Action(s) Taken
(MM/DDIYYYY)
Investigations
1)
2)
Lawsuits
1)
2)
Complaints
1) Michael
9/20/2018
Patron stated that when he boarded
CLOSED
The concern has been investigated. The
Cantlo
Route #12, at stop # 15031,
video reviewed confirms Michael's
heading South on Sierra Hwy
statement. Operations Management took
towards Via Princessa, the Operator
disciplinary steps with the operator to
asked, "what is that in the
address the concern. A call was placed to
container?" Patron always carries
Michael on 09/28/2018 with an apology and
his clear container where he keeps
have left our contact information for a call
his USPS mail. Patron responded
back. No other complaints have been filed.
back, "what do you think this is?"
Responding back out loud the
Operator said 3 times, "looks like a
bomb!" Patron feels the Operator
threaten his safety and the safety of
the other passengers with his loud
assumption. Will be filing a claim
with the S.C. Sherriff's & CA
Attorney General office.
2) Ruben
10/31/2018
Caller is calling to complain about
CLOSED
The concern has been investigated. The
Navarette
the driver in bus #109, Route 6.
video shows the operator opened the door
This happened on 12/10/18 at
and asked 2 patrons to wait to board, Mr.
approximately 3:23 pm. The driver
Navarette was standing in the aisle not
was very rude when caller asked
moving, the operator told him to go, that
the driver to lower the ramp to
when the customer said no and requested
accommodate his walker. This has
the ramp. The operator deployed the ramp
happened with other drivers as well.
and was professional. Management has
Caller has complained about this
notified patron of findings.
before and nothing has changed.
I oveurhnibeir 2020 G.-3. I Page
3) Anonymous
12/2/2018
Caller wanted to file a complaint
CLOSED
Concern has been investigated. None of the
against a bus operator for what she
operators servicing route 14 on 12/28 at 10
claims is racial discrimination. Caller
AM match the description provided. Mr.
says the operator asked to see her
Broswell, a white male operator with a
Bus pass and that is not right, and
ponytail was not in operation at 10 AM on
says that he was most likely racially
12/28. It is standard procedure that bus
motivated to do so. She also says
operators verify the validity of a bus pass or
he is rude to elderly passengers
proper ID when customers board. Concern
and has a lot of attitude against the
has been closed.
riders. She cannot remember the
bus, but knows it was a route 14
bus on Friday 12/28 around 10AM.
Operator was a white male with a
ponytail.
4) Ruben
12/10/2018
Caller is calling to complain about
CLOSED
Block 1108, trip 225 serviced Soledad &
Navarette
the driver in bus #109, Route 6.
Rainbow Glen a 3:23pm. The video shows
This happened on 12/10/18 at
the operator opened the door and asked 2
approximately 3:23 pm. The driver
patrons to wait to board, Mr. Navarette was
was very rude when caller asked
standing in the aisle not moving, the operator
the driver to lower the ramp to
told him to go, that when the customer said
accommodate his walker. This has
no and requested the ramp. The operator
happened with other drivers as well.
deployed the ramp and was professional.
Caller has complained about this
This customer has been talked to several
before and nothing has changed.
time, he has been told that the ramp is upon
request, management notified patron of
findings.
5) Tony
4/10/2019
On the evening of 4/10/2019 around
CLOSED
The concern has been carefully reviewed.
7:25 PM, Tony was riding Route
According to the video reviewed, the
757 commuter bus on Sierra
operator did provide Tony his first name and
Highway and Newhall Avenue. Tony
remained professional at all times. We
mentioned that the operator was
contacted patron on 4/12/2019 and notified
being racial towards him because
patron of findings.
he is "white." When Tony asked the
operator for his name he
responded, "I'm not going to give
you my name and no I do not legally
have to." Tony was upset about the
response that was given to him and
also felt that the operator was not
being professional towards him. He
is expecting a phone call regarding
this concern.
I o eurhnibeir 2020 G-2 I
6) Ruben
Navarette
7/28/2019
The Patron boarded the #6 route
bus on Magic Mountain & Auto
Center to Rainbow Glen & Soledad.
He said that the operator lowered
the ramp for him for his walker, he
went to sit in the handicapped front
area of the bus, the seats were all
taken, so he kindly asked someone
if he can sit there. He stated that the
operator was not happy that he
asked someone to let him sit in the
handicapped area and was rude to
him.
CLOSED
Concern was investigated. Video was
reviewed and shows the customer
demanded for the patrons to move, the
operator explained that the SCT is first come,
first serve and he cannot demand patrons to
yield their seats. The operator was
professional.
Operator share the incident during
safety/customer service meeting.
Management notified patron of findings.
7) Ruben
12/9/2019
Patron is calling to express his
CLOSED
Concern was investigated. Video shows bus
Navarette
dissatisfaction with the operators of
stopped in front of the bus shelter. Patron
the Route 6. He was waiting at
was standing next to the bus shelter, 2
Rainbow Glen & Soledad at around
patrons boarded then the operator lowered
9:00 AM with his walker heading
the ramp. The patron asked him to move
toward Stevenson Ranch. The bus
forward which the operator did. The operator
operator pulled up without allowing
lowered the ramp again, one more patron
enough room to lower the ramp.
boarded, the operator asked Mr. Navarette if
The operator appeared irritated at
he was coming in. The customer said no.
the patron who requested that the
The operator was professional, there is no
ramp be lowered. The patron did
evidence that he was irritated. Management
not know what else to do so he told
notified patron of findings.
the operator to go ahead and he is
now waiting for another bus. He is a
regular rider and said all the
operators have a bad attitude about
lowering the ramp for him. He
believes they are discriminating
against him and he is tired of being
treated this way. He has called
before and has filed concerns in the
past and is now worried that the
operators know that he has been
complaining about them and
perhaps they are retaliating against
him. He was reluctant to leave his
name, but did leave his phone
number because he wants to know
what will be done about this.
I o eurhnibeir 2020 G-3 I
8) Ruben
Navarette
3/12/2020
Orchard Village Rd & Wiley Canyon
Rd. Route: 6. Location: The Old Rd
& Constitution Ave. The operator
did not lower the ramp for the
disabled patron when he bus
arrived. The patron is Spanish
speaking only.
CLOSED
Concern was investigated. Video shows Mr.
Navarette was standing under the shelter
when the operator arrived and opened the
door. He signaled the patron to board, while
they were boarding, Mr. Navarette turned his
walker around and sat down. The operator
was going to lower the ramp when Mr.
Navarette told him he was going to wait for
the next one. Operator closed the door and
left. Management notified patron of findings.
9) Ruben
7/17/2020
Ruben in his walker, wanted to
CLOSED
Block 1154, trip 972 serviced Newhall Ave &
Navarette
board the #12 route bus from
Carl Ct at 12:50pm. One patron boarded.
Newhall Ave & Carl St. to MRTC.
Concern was investigated and management
When the bus came, the patron
notified patron of findings.
asked the operator to lower the
ramp for him. The patron said that
the operator questioned him with a
smirk and said "You are not in a
wheelchair, you are in a walker, you
don't need the ramp", again
smirking. When Ruben decided to
walk away, bothered by the remark
of the operator, feeling humiliated,
then the operator lowered the ramp.
Ruben refused to board the bus
after that.
He complained about the courtesy
and lack of professionalism of the
operator and would like to know
why the operator would treat a
handicapped citizen this way.
I o eurhnibeir 2020 ..4 I