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w � <br />fTrew�. f.:.raiy <br />Fighting for a future of abundant housing in Orange County. <br />peopleforhousing.org <br />Honorable Councilmembers and Commissioners <br />City of Santa Ana <br />20 Civic Center Plaza <br />Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br />January 20, 2023 <br />Dear Commissioners or Councilmembers, <br />My name is Elizabeth Hansburg, Co -Founder and Director of People for Housing Orange County. <br />Our organization was founded in 2017 with a mission to advocate for more home building in Orange <br />County to end the chronic and growing housing shortage, reduce housing costs and make room for <br />current and future residents. We envision integrated Orange County communities, where every <br />person has access to stable, affordable housing near jobs, community services, and high -quality <br />educational opportunities. <br />Related Bristol is the type of mixed -use redevelopment we need to create more housing <br />opportunities across Orange County. The redevelopment of this aging, 50-year old, auto -oriented <br />shopping center is a rare and unique opportunity to provide new housing in a high quality, infill <br />environment, which is essential given the scarcity of empty, developable land in Orange County. The <br />walkability and live / work possibilities of this urban, mixed use environment helps address issues <br />such as the high cost of traditional residential construction and the very real environmental concerns <br />from a continued heavy reliance on carbon -emitting single -occupancy -vehicles. Projects like Related <br />Bristol are the future of sustainability — both economic and environmental— in today's urban Orange <br />County. <br />Related Bristol's mix of new, high -quality rental apartments, particularly for 27- to 50-year-old <br />professionals who want a more walkable lifestyle close to major employers like Edwards <br />Lifesciences, Anduril Defense Systems, Behr Paint and South Coast Plaza in central Orange County <br />is critical. In addition, Related Bristol's proposed senior continuum of care facility will address a <br />seriously underserved need for more elder services and care as this population continues to remain <br />and age in our local communities. This senior housing in particular provides opportunity for housing <br />filtering, freeing up existing housing stock in adjacent communities for younger families or <br />multigenerational families raising children. <br />