Laserfiche WebLink
<br /> <br /> <br />Dear Mayor Miguel Pulido and the City Council Members of Santa Ana, <br /> <br /> <br />The drastic transmission of COVID-19 has most noticeably impacted low income communities of <br />color, small businesses, undocumented people, and workers in the service and hospitality <br />sector. <br /> <br />Metropolitan areas with significant residential density and poor safety measures are prone to <br />outbreak. In Orange County, Santa Ana ranks high on the list of overcrowded living conditions. <br />The average population density per square mile in Santa Ana (12,188) is three times higher than <br />91.2 1. The overcrowded living conditions in Santa Ana are <br />not voluntary but imposed on residents through rising rents and displacement. This directly <br />prevents people from practicing social distancing or quarantining during health crises. We know <br />Santa Ana has the highest count of COVID-19 cases in Orange County 2, therefore the shelter-in- <br />place orders have been both difficult and yet a crucial part of lowering the risk in our city. <br /> <br />ic necessity for a <br />-being and thus our efforts are dedicated towards the stabilization of rent. We <br />understand the importance of addressing rent stabilization in our city, recognizing that the <br />majority of residents are renters (56%) and are rent burdened (64%). Beginning on February <br />1st, 2020, we kicked off the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) campaign. The spread of COVID- <br />19 spiraled into a global pandemic soon after we began our campaign. While we have all <br />transitioned to online interfaces to accommodate our lives, the RSO campaign relies upon <br />physical interactions for collecting signatures, none of which could be collected via internet or <br />phone call. For the safety of our families and communities, TUSA halted outdoor canvassing on <br />March 16th, due to the nationwide call limiting social gatherings. <br /> <br />In the period of 44 days before the shelter-in-place orders took effect, we trained 153 <br />volunteers, and started circulating 153 petitions containing 50 signature spaces each. We have <br />confirmed that - <br /> <br />1 U.S. Census Bureau. Population Density. Prepared by Social Explorer. <br />2 https://occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/coronavirus-in-oc <br /> <br />