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Apartment Association of Orange County Opposition to Agenda Item #33 (September 21, 2021) Page 2 industry should have been asked by the city to be involved in the process. The city failed to include these long-standing community partners when crafting this proposal. In so doing, the city sent a strong message to those who provide housing for Santa Ana residents that they are not valued when it comes to addressing housing challenges in the city. Rental -housing providers, property owners, real estate professionals, and the professional trade associations that represent those who work on housing issues every day were not offered seats at what should have been a large and inclusive table befitting of a diverse and otherwise inclusive city like Santa Ana. Without the input of the very industries that would be regulated by this proposal, the city has created a one-sided policy that is riddled with flaws. The process undertaken by the city has produced a predictable result — problematic policies that will result in undesired and unintended consequences. Flawed policy is bad policy Housing policy is tricky in the state of California. Anyone who has dealt with the complexities of housing laws knows that any solution presents challenges. These challenges can be solved, but it requires cooperation and communication among the impacted parties. When a challenge only has one side factored into the solution, bad public policy is the result. Santa Ana's residents deserve policies that are not fraught with fundamental flaws. Those who oppose this policy proposal will highlight many of its problems, which will have been identified with less than one week and time for only a cursory review before the city council meeting. These problems could have been avoided had all impacted stakeholders simply been consulted and included in the process. Now, the city is attempting to pass, on an "emergency" basis, a policy that conflicts with state law, compromises residents' public safety and quality of life, and fails to account for existing solutions that can better address the needs of Santa Ana residents. In the interest of cooperation and government transparency — and in furtherance of finding a more appropriate and balanced solution to address the needs of Santa Ana residents — the Apartment Association of Orange County formally registers its opposition to this proposal and requests the opportunity, along with its coalition partners, to work with the city in exploring less draconian options for addressing this public policy matter. Sincerely, F Cor ero Executive Director Apartment Association of Orange County