CORRESPONDENCE - 75A - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

November 17. 2020 www.kennedycommission. org 17701 Cowan Ave., Suite 200 Irvine, CA 92614 949 250 0909 Mayor Pulido and City Council Members City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 Re: OPPOSITION to Agenda Item 75A PUBLIC HEARING — ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW NO.2019-85 FOR DENSITY BONUS AGREEMENT APPLICATION NO.2020- 01, SITE PLAN REVIEW NO.2020-01, SITE PLAN REVIEW NO.2020-02, AND DISPOSITION AND DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT WITH CARIBOU INDUSTRIES FOR THE 3rd AND BROADWAY DEVELOPMENT AT 201 WEST 3rd STREET (PROPERTY OWNER: CITY OF SANTA ANA AND APPLICANT: CARIBOU INDUSTRIES, INC.) Dear Mayor Pulido and City 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 families earning less than $27,000 annually in Orange County. Formed in 2001, the Commission has been successful in partnering and working with Orange County jurisdictions to create effective housing and land -use policies that has led to the new construction of homes affordable to lower income working families. We stand with our community partners in opposition of the sale and proposed development the property on 3rd and Broadway in Downtown Santa Ana. The proposed development on 3rd Street and Broadway will replace an existing 3 level parking garage with a 2-building mixed development. One will be used for 171 residential units, of which 19 will be very -low-income units, mixed with 13,419 square feet of commercial space. The second building proposed will be a 10 story, 75-room hotel. The proposed plan for a hotel and majority luxury residential building does not address the needs of Santa Ana's residents with extremely low and very low incomes that are in search of affordable housing. The proposed plans dedicate a mere 19 units, 11% of the residential units to low income residents, in exchange for a density bonus. This leaves the majority of the units at market rate cost- something that Santa Ana residents will not be able to afford. New developments must prioritize the inclusion of units that will be affordable to Santa Ana's lowest income residents. The City of Santa Ana is a renter majority city and there continues to be a great need for housing that is affordable to residents. Even with the city meeting its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation for low and very low-income housing, many residents are struggling to remain housed. This has been exacerbated by the pandemic causing job loss and uncertainty for Santa Ana's low-income households. While the city has seen increased production of affordable housing there has been a larger increase of above moderate housing with the city's 2,409 RHNA above moderate allocation being exceeded by 2,677% per the City's RHNA progress reports submitted to the state. With average rents of