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December 7, 2021 City Council City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza P.O. Bo 1988, M31 Santa Ana, CA 92701 www.kennedycommission.org 17701 Cowan Ave., Suite 200 Irvine, CA 92614 949 250 0909 Re: Item 9: Strengthen Housing Opportunity Ordinance and Affordable Housing Funds Policies and Procedures Dear Mayor and City Council Members, 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 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 Santa Ana. As incomes are decreasing and jobs are being lost, many low-income families are struggling to remain housed. This is especially true for the majority of Santa Ana's low-income households that are suffering with the impacts of housing cost and economic uncertainty. According to the City's local data, 70 % of Santa Ana renters are low and very low-income renters. 80% of renters in Santa Ana fall into the moderate, low- and very low-income categories and 84 % of residents hold low-income occupations that pay less than $53,500 per