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II January 14th, 2022 Mayor Sarmiento and City Council Members City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 Re: Item 8: Strengthen Housing Opportunity Ordinance and Affordable Housing Funds Policies and Procedures Dear Mayor and City Council Members, Chispa is a political home for young Latinx in Orange County. Chispa seeks to engage with excluded peoples to uproot systems of oppression and cultivate systems grounded in community accountability, solidarity, and self-determination for our communities to thrive. We are writing to support the amendments to the Housing Opportunity Ordinance and Affordable Housing Funds Policies. The changes will ensure that development in the City addresses housing needs for all residents in a balanced manner. Many working families in Santa Ana continue to be impacted by the rising cost of housing and the scarce housing opportunities available at rents they can afford. In addition, many continue to face economic uncertainty because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The creation of housing at all income levels is vital to our recovery and will provide stability for the majority of Santa Ana residents that are struggling with housing availability and cost that existed long before the pandemic. It is crucial that the City strengthen the Housing Opportunity Ordinance (HOO) to ensure that housing opportunities are available for all residents in Santa Ana along with new housing options being created in the City. The City of Santa Ana is a renter majority city and despite the City's progress towards meeting its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation for very low- and low- income housing, there continues to be a great need for housing that is affordable to its residents. The current pandemic has increased the economic and housing pressures on low-income families in