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Continuation of PREP August 20, 2007 Page 2 have been held. The exemptions for rental owners currently participating in the Gold Seal program are scheduled to sunset along with the PREP program in December 2007. An early continuation of the program by the City Council will allow time for a Gold Seal application period to be conducted in 2007 and no break in rental fee exemptions for those that can re-qualify. The present funding for the Gold Seal program is $110,000, which provides for 6,285 units to receive exemptions from the $17.50 per unit annual fee. The primary concentration of the PREP inspections is on the exterior maintenance of rental properties, such as poor landscaping, unsightly paint, damaged fencing, illegal storage or inoperable vehicles. Should a condition be observed that leads to suspicion of a more serious issue being present on the property, or within the structure, a thorough inspection is conducted. The PREP team also responds to all complaints received by Community Preservation pertaining to rental properties As awareness of the PREP program has grown, rental owners understand their properties will be routinely surveyed. This has led to an increasing number of owners regularly monitoring their properties and correcting unsightly conditions as they may occur. Unfortunately, another sizable number of rental owners still does not demonstrate diligence in their management and lets their properties to repeatedly regress into eyesores. These are the properties requiring continued regular proactive inspections by the PREP staff. Each year, PREP inspectors survey one-fourth of the City, using the Police reporting districts as a guide. All rental housing in the quadrant is surveyed and those with deficiencies are issued notices to correct the conditions. The on-going challenge for PREP is to maintain improvements made in the completed areas, while moving on to conduct inspections in the next quadrant. Properties that rapidly deteriorate generate most of the complaints received by the PREP staff. Two notable achievements of the PREP program since inception are a dramatic decrease in the number of complaints being received for rental properties and a substantial financial reinvestment to upgrade Santa Ana's rental housing. The percentage of complaints for rental properties has dropped from 75~ in 1992 to 14~ in 2003. This is due to the proactive nature of the program and inspectors addressing conditions on the rental properties before the neighbors are compelled to file a complaint. In terms of reinvestment, PREP inspections have been responsible for in excess of $4 million dollars being put back into the City's rental housing stock through 2006. The PREP program has proven beneficial to Santa Ana by maintaining the City's rental housing at an acceptable standard. The program receives positive reviews from residents for the improved appearance of their 75A-2