CORRESPONDENCE - 85B - Laserfiche WebLink

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Flores, Dora From:Nathaniel Greensides <mynci90@gmail.com> Sent:Tuesday, August 18, 2020 11:46 AM To:eComment; Sarmiento, Vicente Subject:Public Comment Agenda Item 85B Dear City Council and particularly, Mr. Sarmiento, Thank you for considering this item. It is not solely about rent control, but the voter initiative process which is a coveted process of governance worldwide. The pandemic continues to affect everything. Utilizing city resources to ensure that the people have a fair chance to collect signatures which is a right under law, is an excellent item for the council to consider. As of 11:28 am on August 18th, there is a person named Mark Allen who submitted an ecomment against utilizing city resources for ensuring a democratic process can take place in spite of the pandemic. This person calls themself a "Small Rental Property Owner in Santa Ana". This person is attacking the initiative of rent control which lost 133 days out of the mandated 180 days of signature gathering for the initiative. The person offers that Tenants United Santa Ana consulted with "unknown higher ups" in an attempt to discredit the coalition of residents and organizations in Santa Ana easily amounting to over one thousand people who also have support of other organizations both statewide and nationwide. Tenants United Santa Ana, since the pandemic began, has been offering tenants and landlords assistance in navigating non-payment of rent and anti- eviction ordinances. This has resulted in stabilized communities as well as reduced spread of COVID-19 in Santa Ana. Meanwhile, this "Small Rental Property Owner", who may not even live in Santa Ana currently, has not proven that they have contributed to Santa Ana's continued success as a City where the majority of residents are renters, low-income, and of color. I invite the Council to give more weight to the residents who actually live, work, and contribute on a daily basis to Santa Ana's beauty and success as a City. Any effective rent control initiative and ordinance works to the benefit of both renters and small mom-and-pop landlords such as the individual mentioned above. Without rent control, big outside developers and money flood into the city causing property taxes to increase at unaffordable rates for all non-corporate entities. The cost of living increases for all who have lived in the City for decades while wages remain stagnant. More and more families have to cramp into units which increases density while newly constructed residences sit vacant. But that is not what this agenda item is about. This agenda item is about ensuring that the democratic process of signature gathering is able to receive relief just like many other aspects of our world - individuals, businesses, etc. - have been able to receive as a result of the pandemic. I urge the Council to uphold this democratic right and utilize any and all City resources to allow for extensions on initiative efforts which were halted as a result of the pandemic. Besides the Sangiacomo case, there have been many other court rulings around the nation which have granted extensions to signature gathering efforts which were halted because of the pandemic. Best regards, Nathaniel 1