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P, -,) Community Development Agency <br />www.santa-ana.or /communit development <br />g Y- p <br />Item # 39 <br />City of Santa Ana <br />20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br />Staff Report <br />June 4, 2024 <br />TOPIC: Local Resident Preference in Affordable Housing Ordinance <br />AGENDA TITLE <br />Local Resident Preference in Affordable Housing Ordinance <br />RECOMMENDED ACTION <br />Approve first reading of the Local Resident Preference in Affordable Housing Ordinance <br />to comply with the State of California Local Tenant Preferences to Prevent <br />Displacement Act and codify the City's existing local resident preference policy. <br />ORDINANCE NO. NS-XXXX entitled AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF <br />THE CITY OF SANTA ANA CREATING A NEW ARTICLE XXI IN CHAPTER 8 OF THE <br />MUNICIPAL CODE TO CODIFY THE CITY'S LOCAL RESIDENT PREFERENCE IN <br />AFFORDABLE HOUSING (includes determination that the ordinance is not subject to <br />the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) <br />because the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical <br />change in the environment and 15060(c)(3) because the activity is not a project as <br />defined in Section 15378 of the CEQA Guidelines) <br />GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES: No <br />DISCUSSION <br />On March 20, 2018, the City Council adopted the Affordable Housing Funds Policies <br />and Procedures, which included a new local resident preference policy. The local <br />resident preference policy prioritizes Santa Ana residents who live or work in the city for <br />affordable housing projects by giving them a preference when they apply for a project. <br />Since the adoption of this policy, staff has implemented the City's local resident <br />preference in all affordable housing projects funded or entitled in the city. The City's <br />local preference policy has been effective to provide priority access to limited affordable <br />housing opportunities for Santa Ana residents. <br />For example, the Legacy Square project opened their waiting list in February 2023 and <br />received a total of 4,668 applications for only 93 affordable housing units. However, the <br />City's local resident preference allowed 1,451 applicants who live or work in Santa Ana <br />to be prioritized at the top of the waiting list by giving them a preference. This means <br />