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  <br />  <br />  <br />  <br />  <br />  <br />  <br />  <br />  <br />  <br />project already has 62 units with two and three-bedroom units is very high and very unusual <br />for an affordable project. <br /> <br />14. I lived here for 40 years, and being honest with you, you have got to look at the family culture <br />of Santa Ana. The community wants to see a development that reflects the needs of the <br />existing residents and that helps the neighborhood. Incomes in the City are low and this project <br />will not be affordable to many families. In other projects that have been developed, residents <br />could not qualify. We feel that there will be a lot of restrictions that you aren’t telling us. I think <br />that the community wants to see something built that helps the community. Not pushes them <br />out. <br /> <br />RESPONSE: CORE, Mercy and the Church have held numerous meetings to collect input on <br />the project and have attempted to put together a financing plan that attempts to balance the <br />needs of the residents with the available funding sources to provide 93 new affordable homes <br />within the community. The requirements for eligibility are standard for federal and State <br />funding sources and compliant with Fair Housing laws. The goal of the Church is to transform <br />the site into a new use that still serves the neighborhood, providing a roof for families and <br />individuals that are struggling. <br /> <br />15. The Hispanic Ministry has been operating as a tenant in this facility for 7 years and has grown <br />over the years because of the Church’s location. The Church leadership is changing that. We <br />took responsibility as Hispanics to teach our community. Our people are going away, I see more <br />high-income people that are not our people. We are concerned because we are tenants and as <br />a Church we will be homeless. We have 74 members. We are renters and they are owners. We <br />want to buy this Church and build a school that will benefit the community. This building was <br />built for a purpose. We just saw a poster about this meeting a week ago and did not know that <br />this project was happening. <br /> <br />RESPONSE: The Church will still have a presence here with office space, flexible space along <br />Santa Ana Boulevard and the community center will be available to rent and possibly use for <br />religious activities. We understand the importance of the Church to the community and have <br />been working closely with the Church Leadership to honor its mission by developing a project <br />that is in line with the Church’s mission to serve those that are less fortunate. The Pastor can <br />also add to this. <br /> <br />Pastor DePano: I’ve been listening very intently throughout the evening and my heart bleeds <br />for people that call Santa Ana home that are being driven out because rents are unaffordable. <br />I’m a strong supporter of rent control. You need to keep people where they live and if rents <br />keep going up, that drives families away. The church really connected with the goal to build <br />housing in this community. If we sell it would be a one-time benefit to us. You can spend <br />money so quickly. We then got in touch with the idea of a ground lease to build affordable <br />housing so that we as a church will continue to have a presence here and what is built here <br />has a direct link to who we are as a Church. We want to be of service to community. If we sell <br />we lose this possibility forever. For the life of the ground lease we are a part of a community <br />partnership that is known to help people that really need it. I know this project is small <br />compared to the scale of the need. I hope GOD will use this project to help the people that are <br />1-42