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January 21, 2019 <br />www.kennedycommission.org <br />17701 Cowan Ave., Suite 200 <br />Irvine, CA 92614 <br />949 250 0909 <br />Mayor Pulido and City Council Members <br />City of Santa Ana <br />22 Civic Center Plaza <br />Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br />RE: Agenda Item #55A: Adopt a Resolution Supporting Extensions of the OC Streetcar (Non - <br />general Fund) <br />Dear Mayor Pulido and City Council Members <br />The Kennedy Commission (the Commission) is a broad based coalition of residents and community <br />organizations that advocates for the production of homes affordable for families earning less than <br />$20,000 annually in Orange County. Formed in 2001, the Commission has been successful in <br />partnering and working with Orange County jurisdictions to create effective housing and land -use <br />policies that has led to the new construction of homes affordable to lower income working families. <br />As the City Council considers adopting a resolution to expand the OC Streetcar route to the north <br />into Anaheim and to the south to John Wayne Airport, the Commission strongly urges the <br />Council to conduct a thorough analysis of the displacement this expansion may cause in the <br />low-income communities the Streetcar will traverse. The Staff Report provided by the City that <br />accompanies this resolution indicates that the cities of Santa Ana, Garden Grove, and Anaheim have <br />nearly 30 percent of Orange County's population.] These cities also have very large percentages of <br />low income families. Given the amount of people, especially low-income families, who will be <br />potentially negatively impacted by the expansion of the OC Streetcar, the Commission believes <br />that in addition to an analysis, it is important that the participating cities have a <br />Comprehensive Regional Plan that contains strong anti -displacement policies, social equity <br />components, and that ensures sufficient affordable housing is available to very low-income <br />families. <br />The Commission looks forward to partnering with the City to create a strong Comprehensive <br />Regional Plan and to increase and preserve affordable homes for lower income households in the <br />City. If you have any questions, please free to contact me at (949) 250-0909 or <br />cesarc@kennedycommission.org. <br />Sincerely, <br />Cesar Covarrubias <br />Executive Director <br />t City Council Agenda Report, Item 55A, p. 1, January 21, 2020. <br />Working for systemic Change resulting in the production of homes affordable to Orange County's extremely low-income households <br />