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4.50 West Fourth Street Suite 130 Santa Ana, CA 92701 Ph: 714-542-7792 Fax: 714.542.4853 latinoheolthaccess.org 4 PREVENTION February 5, 2019 Mayor Pulido and City Councilmembers City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza P.O. Bo 1988, M31 Santa Ana,CA 92701 RE: Support 75A: SANTA ANA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH PROJECT Latino Health Access (LHA) proudly supports the National Community Renaissance (National CORE) and Santa Ana United Methodist Church's affordable housing project, Legacy Square. L14A is a community-based organization that partners with communities to bring health, equity and sustainable change through education, services, consciousness -raising and civic participation. Our mission has two areas of focus: 1) to deliver culturally appropriate health-related services and programming to address urgent health concerns; and 2) to engage individuals in low-income, low opportunity areas in transforming their environments and creating positive, concrete changes in their homes and communities by providing tools, training, and mechanisms for civic engagement and participation. Ranked among the top ten least affordable metropolitan areas in the country, Orange County is suffering from an affordable housing crisis. LHA supported the City of Santa Ana's Housing Opportunities Ordinance, which applies to residential developments that request discretionary approval and requires 15 percent of new homes to be affordable for low and very low-income households. As such, we support National CORE's Legacy Square project, which will include affordable housing and permanent supportive housing in the Lacy neighborhood. Community engagement has been a cornerstone of this project. Over the years LIRA has been present in the Lacy neighborhood and partnered with Kennedy Commission to engage residents in Vecindario Lacy en Action (VeLA). National Core and Santa Ana United Methodist Church engaged with VeLA, a grass-roots community group of Santa Ana residents who live in the Legacy Square project neighborhood, who has organized to improve the quality and availability of affordable housing in the area. Over the past few months, the Development team has facilitated discussions and provided opportunities to learn about Legacy Square at regularly scheduled VeLA meetings and has used feedback to influence the development of the Project. Specifically, VeLA advocated for additional and deeper affordability for the housing units in the project to better meet the needs of the families that are struggling to stay in Santa Ana. The community engagement events held for the Project have allowed the design to evolve into an entirely affordable project, with additional 2- and 3 -units for low-income families as well as mobility and transit improvements that will help students travel safely to school, Community residents have also agreed to advise the Development team to establish a Marketing Plan that will provide priority placement to local, low-lacome Santa Ana residents at Legacy Square, National CORE and Santa Ana United Methodist Church have engaged with community residents from the initiation of this project to ensure the development will serve as an asset to the community. This development will fold into this community beautifully. The Lacy neighborhood will have a new SAUSD Wellness Center and a new city park by the year 2020. EDUCATION •