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•r 7101 Wyoming Street,Westminster,CA 92683 Telephone(714)893-3581 Fax(714)893-4819 April 2, 2022 City Council City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza P.O. Bo 1988, M31 Santa Ana, CA 92701 Re: Item 40: Strengthen Housing Opportunity Ordinance and Affordable Housing Funds Policies and Procedures Dear Mayor and City Council Members, Abrazar(means to Embrace in Spanish) is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization. Abrazar is dedicated to embracing the diversity of families in our community, educating them on the resources we provide through our community collaborations, and empowering them to improve the quality of their life. Abrazar's goals are to Embrace, Educate and Empower children,families, and individuals with the necessary tools to attain financial stability; physical, dental, and mental health; educational success; engage citizens in civic participation; provide or facilitate access to affordable and decent housing and prevent hunger and malnutrition. Diversity and delivery of collaborative services are critical to the success of our programs. 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 and new housing options are 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 struggle to remain housed. This is especially true for most of Santa Ana's low-income households suffering from the impacts of housing costs 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-