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SANTA ANA ACTIVE STREETS 09/20/2021 Kristopher Fortin, Project Director, Ward 5 resident Santa Ana Active Streets 450 W Fourth St. Santa Ana, CA 92701 Re: Item 33: Adoption of Rent Stabilization Ordinance and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance Dear Members of the Santa Ana City Council and Mayor Vicente Sarmiento, On behalf of the Santa Ana Active Streets coalition and its members, we urge you to vote in favor of item 33, the enactment of rent stabilization and just cause protections, as well as take the necessary steps to create the rent board. On September 30th 2021 COVID-19 emergency housing protections will expire, leaving many residents at risk of eviction and displacement, and threatening the culture of our city. Likewise, beginning in October, 2021 all renters who have been financially impacted by the pandemic will be required to pay a significant percentage of the rent debt they've accrued in addition to covering present and future rent payments in full. This is especially preposterous when residents making minimum wage of $14 an hour are expected to work 104 hours per week to afford a 1-bedroom apartment in the City. Now more than ever, it is imperative that we enact REAL permanent renter protections in our city. The "Rent Stabilization Ordinance and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance" would provide a cap on rent increases so that rent cannot be increased more than 3% per year and extend just -cause eviction protections for the majority of renters in the city. At SAAS, the population we serve are the pedestrians and cyclists of the community, many of whom are low-income and rely on these forms of mobility out of need, not choice. The City for years has regularly been in the top 5 Cities with the highest collision rate involving a pedestrian/cyclist in the state. Before the City started receiving the more than $78 million dollars from 2014 to present for active transportation infrastructure improvements, City residents still walked and biked to jobs, schools and the market because it was regularly the most affordable way to move around. Roughly half the population do not have ownership to a personal vehicle, and so the City has rightfully and aggressively tried to make streets safer for current residents who walk, skate or bike their City. Yet, the lapsing of state housing protections threatens the local residents' ability to remain in the city and benefit from all the City's active transportation investments. The Santa Ana pedestrian and bicyclists are barely reaping the reward of active transportation investments, Santa Ana Active Streets 1450 West Fourth Street I Santa Ana, CA 92701 Tel. (657) 205-7306 1 www.saascoalition.org I general(alsaascoalition.org