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Orozco, Norma From: Yoselinda Mendoza <yoselinda.mendoza@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2021 2:54 PM To: eComment Subject: Public comment on non -agenda item in support of rent stabilization and tenant rights Dear Members of the Santa Ana city council and Mayor Sarmiento, I am e-mailing you all today to urge you to enact the "City of Santa Ana Community Preservation, Rent Stabilization, and Tenants' Rights Act". This ordinance would provide immediate and permanent relief for residents in Santa Ana. It would limit rent increases to a maximum of 3% once a year to residents who lease the land below their mobile homes and residents who rent inside of multi -family buildings built prior to 1995. And it would also extend just cause eviction protections for ALL renters in the city. The statewide COVID-19 protections are temporary and insufficient. They are set to expire on September 30th, 2021, and have failed in protecting the most vulnerable. In my capacity as a tenant rights' counselor for Tenants United Santa Ana Tenant Rights' Counselor, I have learned that many renters have lost their jobs (or have experienced a significant reduction of work hours) which has impacted their ability to pay rent. Although there are emergency housing protections during the pandemic, many renters are still being evicted for reasons not protected under the law. Further, emergency rental assistance has been extremely slow in disseminating monetary support for renters. Moreover, all of these protections put the onus on renters to stay protected, making them do all of the paperwork (e.g., sending the declaration of financial distress forms, etc.). This is an incredibly stressful and heavy time to take time to do. At the same time as residents are trying to catch up on rent and taking on a lot of rent debt, they are also experiencing predatory rent increases. How can we expect folks to catch up on rent, pay their debt, and withstand rent increases? How do we position people in this situation when they have lost their jobs and/or experienced a reduction of hours? Many residents do not have enough money to meet their basic needs nor pay rent. Enacting rent control would provide immediate relief by limiting rent increases and providing necessary tenant protections. I ask the following: • Agendize the first reading of the proposed ordinance no later than the first city council meeting in September. • Enact the "City of Santa Ana Community Preservation, Rent Stabilization, and Tenants' Rights Act" before emergency housing protections expire on September 30th, 2021. Enacting this ordinance will give renters a fighting chance to stay housed and prevent further displacement and destabilization of our community. Best, Yoselinda