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4/5/2022 City Council City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza P.O. Bo 1988, M31 Santa Ana, CA 92701 Re: Item 40: SUPPORT Zoning Ordinance Amendment No. 2021-03 - Housing Opportunity Ordinance Dear Mayor and City Council Members, Chispa is a brave organizing political home for young Latinx identifying peoples. 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 in support of a strengthened Housing Opportunity Ordinance (HOO). The changes to the HOO will ensure that new development in the City of Santa Ana(City) addresses the housing needs of residents of all income levels in a balanced manner. The City 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 COVID-19 pandemic increased economic and housing pressures on Santa Ana's low-income families. New affordable housing is vital to our COVID-19 pandemic recovery; and can provide stability for residents that continue to struggle with decreasing housing availability and increasing housing costs, issues that existed long before the pandemic. It is crucial that the City strengthen the HOO to ensure that housing opportunities are available for all residents in Santa Ana. According to the City's local data, 70% of renters have low and very low-incomes with 84% of residents holding low-income occupations paying less than $53,500 per year. While the City has seen increased production of affordable housing, new housing development has been overwhelmingly for units with market-rate rents. There has been a disproportionate City of Santa Ana General Plan Housing Element 2014-2021,p. 14,January 2014. 1