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September 18, 2018 Mayor Pulido and City Councilmembers City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza P.O. Bo 1988, M31 Santa Ana,CA 92701 RE: Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report Support Development of a Tenant Based Rental Assistance Program Vecindario Lacy en Acci6n (VeLA) is a group of residents from the Lacy neighborhood that have united to advocate for their community. The group includes: mothers, fathers, students, individuals with special abilities and comtmrnity leaders that share the vision of improving the quality of life in their neighborhood and the city of Santa Ana. All with the purpose of creating more opportunities for families to succeed. The need for housing affordable to low-wage earners in Orange County, California, is enormous. Ranked among the top ten least affordable metropolitan areas in the countryltl, Orange County is suffering from an affordable housing crisis. A resident must earn at least $36.08 per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment at a fair market rent of $1,876 a monthPl As rents and the number of residents needing affordable homes have continually increased, the number of affordable homes being built for lower income households has not kept up with the demand. The average asking rents is the City is $1,687, which is a nine percent increase from the year before and rents are expected to continue to increaseYl With lower wages that are not keeping up with rising rents, many renting families continue to struggle financially to live and work in this City. Approximately 60 percent of renter households are lower incomel4l and 84 percent of residents held moderate and low-income occupations that paid less than $53,500 per year.lsl In order for rent to be affordable, only 30 percent of an individual's income should be used towards housing costs. Unfortunately, 57 percent of renters overpaid or spent more than 30 percent of their income towards housing costs.lel Out of Reach 2018- The High Cost of Housing, National Low Income Housing Coalition, p. 14, 2018. z Out of Reach 2018- The High Cost of Housing, National Low Income Housing Coalition, p. 38, 2018. O.C. Rents forecast to rise 9.4% by 2018. City of Santa Ana General Plan Housing Element 2014-2021, p. 14, January 2014. City of Santa Ana General Plan Housing Element 2014-2021, p. 12, January 2014. 6] City of Santa Ana General Plan Housing Element 2014-2021, p. 20, January 2014.