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landlords are crowded out of the market, and communities suffer — particularly communities of color. <br />• Wall Street landlords are accountable to investors to increase profits. That pressure is compounded by Bond Rating Agencies <br />when they threaten to downgrade securitization deals if landlords fail to set "competitive rents" and minimize "loss" through <br />speedy evictions and aggressive fee collection. <br />• Tenants are negatively impacted, with large annual rent increases, fee gouging, a high rate of evictions, and rampant <br />habitability issues. <br />• The damaging effects, like those of the predatory lending that led to the financial crisis, appear to disproportionately <br />impact low and moderate income families and communities of color. <br />• Federal government policies have spurred the trends discussed here. For example, most of these large institutionalized companies <br />are receiving a huge tax break, being exempt from federal taxes due to their status as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). <br />• Wall Street landlords have become a growing political lobbying force, with the 2014 launch of a new trade group called the <br />National Rental Home Council <br />When applying the findings of the report to Santa Ana, it becomes apparent that reducing HOO requirements will send a clear message <br />to non -community based investors: Santa Ana welcomes the destabilization of the local economy and does not care about the goal of <br />attainable and affordable housing. While the ad hoc committee's recommendations, consisting of former council member Iglecias along <br />with current council members Solorio and Villegas, may appear to be a good faith attempt to incentivize increasing the amount of <br />housing units in the City, the proposed amendments only serve to allow for big name corporate landlords and developers to turn quick <br />profits on land here in Santa Ana. There are community based entities (such as Community Land Trusts) which exist in Santa Ana and <br />serve as the best means against incentivizing outside entities' ability to destabilize our communities. <br />I ask that the commision not vote in favor of the proposed amendments. <br />Sincerely, <br />Nathaniel Greensides <br />Ward 5 <br />