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August 18, 2020 Mayor Miguel Pulido Honorable Councilmembers City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 www.kennedycommission.org 17701 Cowan Ave., Suite 200 Irvine, CA 92614 949 250 0909 RE: Opposition — Item 75B. Zoning Ordinance Amendment No. 2020-03 to Update the Housing Opportunity Ordinance Dear Mayor and Councilmembers, The Kennedy Commission (the Commission) is a broad based coalition of residents and community organizations that advocates for the production of homes affordable for extremely, very low and low -families earning less than $25,000 annually in Orange County. Formed in 2001, the Commission has been successful in partnering and working with Orange County jurisdictions to create effective housing policies that have led to the construction of new homes affordable and investments to improve quality of life for lower income working families. We write to express our strong opposition to amending the Housing Opportunity Ordinance ("HOO") as proposed in Zoning Code Amendment No. 2020-03. As working families in Santa Ana continue to face economic and housing uncertainty as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic it is crucial that the City preserve its Housing Opportunity Ordinance (HOO) as a policy for creating new affordable housing opportunities. The creation of housing at all income levels is vital to our recovery. Creating new affordable housing units needs to continue to be a top housing priority in Santa Ana. Housine Need and Proeress The City of Santa Ana is a renter majority city and despite the City's progress towards meeting its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation for very low and low income housing there continues to be a great need for housing that is affordable to its residents. The current pandemic has increased the economic and housing pressures on low-income families in Santa Ana. As incomes are decreasing and jobs are being lost, many low income families are struggling to remain housed. This is especially true for the majority of Santa Ana's low-income households that are suffering with the impacts of housing cost and economic uncertainty. While the city has seen increased production of affordable housing it has not been enough to address the past deficits and growing needs for affordable housing based on the population's housing needs and incomes of residents in Santa Ana. As an example, according to the City's local data, 80 percent of Santa Ana renters are moderate, low and very low-income renters.' Yet ' City of Santa Ana General Plan Housing Element 2014-2021, p. 14, January 2014.