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0 <br />COMMUNITY <br />ACTION <br />11870 Monarch Street PARTNERSHIP <br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />Garden Grove,CA 92841 <br />The City of Santa Ana is a renter majority city and despite the City's progress <br />towards meeting its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation <br />for very low- and low- income housing, there continues to be a great need for <br />housing that is affordable to its residents. The current pandemic has increased <br />the economic and housing pressures on low-income families in Santa Ana. As <br />incomes are decreasing and jobs are being lost, many low-income families are <br />struggling to remain housed. This is especially true for the majority of Santa <br />Ana's low-income households that are suffering with the impacts of housing <br />cost and economic uncertainty. According to the City's local data, 70% of <br />Santa Ana renters are low and very low-income renters. 80% of renters in <br />Santa Ana fall into the moderate, low-and very low-income categories and 84 <br />of residents hold low-income occupations that pay less than $53,500 per <br />year'. Santa Ana's households are predominantly families comprising 81%of <br />households.2 These households are also rent burdened and live-in <br />overcrowded conditions3. <br />While the City has seen increased production of affordable housing there has <br />been a disproportionate production of above moderate housing with a total <br />of 3,274 above moderate units produced between 2013-2021, the City <br />exceeded its RHNA allocation by 3,638% per the City's RHNA progress reports <br />submitted to the state. With average rents of$2000 -$4000, none of these <br />above market rental units are affordable to most of Santa Ana's working <br />families. Housing costs in Santa Ana have been out of reach and will continue <br />to be out of reach in this current economic climate. Households in Santa Ana <br />must earn $44.83 an hour to afford two-bedroom housing.4 The proposed <br />amendments further incentivize housing units with market rate rents and are <br />not affordable to the majority of the City's residents. <br />The Commission supports the amendments to update the in-lieu fee to $15 <br />per sq ft to be in line with a fee that is fair and allows the City to fund much <br />needed affordable housing for Santa Ana residents. We also support the wider <br />application of the Housing Opportunities Ordinance in the City of Santa Ana. <br />This will continue to facilitate the development of affordable housing in <br />various areas of the city.The Commission also recommends that the HOO <br />apply to all residential developments in the City. At a minimum the HOO <br />affordable housing requirements should apply to all residential and mixed-use <br />developments that are asking for zone changes, upzonings, following city <br />initiated specific plans, general plan updates or those asking for other <br />development incentives. <br />City of Santa Ana General Plan Housing Element 2014-2021,p. 14,January 2014. <br />City of Santa Ana General Plan Housing Element 2014—2021 page 11 <br />3 <br />City of Santa Ana General Plan Housing Element 2014—2021 page 20 <br />O <br />4 <br />National Low Income Housing Coalition.Out of Reach The High Cost of Housing 202 Lpg.18.Out of Reach 2021(nlihc.or