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F. The Orange County Board of Supervisors and Department of Public Health declared a local emergency and local public health emergency to aid the regional healthcare and governmental community in responding to COVID-19. G. On March 17, 2020, the Santa Ana City Council proclaimed the existence of a local emergency to ensure the availability of mutual aid and support an expedient response to the COVID-19 pandemic. H. As a result of the public health emergency and the precautions recommended by health authorities, City Hall and the public counters for development processing and permit applications in Santa Ana were closed to the public from March 18 through June 1, 2020, thereby limiting the processing of development applications, delaying development projects that were already approved, and thereby impacting development activities in the city for over 10 weeks. I. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana is concerned about the unplanned detrimental effects caused by COVID 19 on the local economy and the development and construction of housing in the City. These unforeseen issues are of grave concern as it is imperative for the City to maintain a steady stream of housing units in the pipeline at all times. J. As a result of current world events, construction of single-family homes plummeted to its slowest pace in several years. Single-family housing starts dropped 17.5 percent while multifamily housing starts (5 or more units in a structure) fell 32.1 percent in April and were down 3.9 percent from a year earlier. K. Lack of housing units in the City of Santa Ana is a threat to public health and safety and requires urgent intervening action by the City Council. L. In an effort to combat the anticipated severe negative effects that a reduction in the availability of housing units in the City of Santa Ana will cause to the City and its residents, the City Council has determined that a reduction in the HOO fee will serve as an incentive and a catalyst for builders to initiate construction of housing in the City and for the City to continue providing quality housing opportunities in the City. M. The Santa Ana City Council finds that the construction of new housing units will also stimulate the economy by providing jobs and the City is committed to encouraging that end result. N. The Santa Ana City Council finds that requiring projects with over twenty units to pay the full $15.00 per square foot in -lieu housing fee would pose a serious Ordinance No. NS-2994 Page 2 of 17