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LATINO7 HEALTHr , ACCESS f rl1r December 7, 2021 Mayor Sarmiento and City Council Members City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 Latino Health Access 450 W. Fourth Street, Suite 130 Santa Ana, CA 92701 714-542-7792 www. latinohealthaccess.org RE: Support to adopt Agenda Item 49, Housing Opportunity Ordinance Latino Health Access has been proudly working alongside community residents for over 27 years to improve the social determinants of health in our city. We provide services that address immediate health needs while providing information and facilitating opportunities to increase civic participation and impact policies that will improve those social determinants in the long term. Therefore, we are writing in support of the adoption of the Housing Opportunity Ordinance. The COVID-19 pandemic has altered everyday life across the globe. Beyond the disastrous health consequences, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the global economy with soaring income loss, underemployment, and unemployment rates. An impact that has worsened and aggravated the living conditions for many residents across the City of Santa Ana. The lack of affordable housing and the rising cost of housing for our low-income residents has forced people into overcrowded living conditions and rent -burden. Therefore, the City must strengthen the Housing Opportunity Ordinance (HOO) to ensure that housing opportunities are available for all residents in Santa Ana. Increasing affordable housing development opportunities along with market -rate housing will be crucial in creating new housing that residents in Santa Ana can truly afford. 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. While the city has seen increased production of affordable housing it has not been enough to address the past deficits and growing needs for affordable housing based on the population's housing needs and incomes of residents in Santa Ana. As an example, according to the City's local data, 80% of Santa Ana renters are moderate, low, and very low-income renters. Yet the most significant increase of housing has been in the above moderate housing category with a total of 3,274 above moderate units produced between 2013-2021, the City exceeded its RHNA allocation by 3,638% per the City's RHNA progress reports submitted to the state. Hence, the majority of these new rental housing units, with an above moderate average rent of $2000- $4000, are not available to address the housing needs of most working families in Santa Ana. Housing costs in Santa Ana have been out of reach and will continue to be out of reach in this current PREVENTION EDUCATION ACTION