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• I PUBLIC LAW CENTER PROVIDING ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR ORANGE COUNTY'S LOW INCOME RESIDENTS September 6, 2016 VIA EMAIL TO mpulidoga,santa-ana.org and VIA HAND DELIVERY Mayor Miguel Pulido and Members of the City Council City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza P.O. Box 1988, M31 Santa Ana, CA 92701 RE: Opposition- Resolution Declaring a Public Health and Safety Crisis Related to Homelessness in the Santa Ana Civic Center Dear Mayor Pulido and Members of the City Council: The Public Law Center is a non-profit pro bono law firm in Orange County that provides access to justice for low-income and vulnerable residents. Our practice includes providing representation to low-income families in housing-related matters, preventing homelessness, and advocating for affordable and inclusionary housing. We write to express our strong opposition to the proposed Resolution declaring a public health and safety crisis related to homelessness in the Santa Ana Civic Center. The Resolution cites public health and safety concerns as the justification for the proposed strategy. It should be rejected for the following reasons: First, we recognize the public health concerns in the Civic Center. However, these issues arise not from the people living in the Civic Center, but rather from city and county governments that have for decades neglected their basic needs for housing, adequate restroom facilities, showers, food, and other necessities. The Resolution fails to mention or identify in any way how the City plans to address these needs. Second, we reject the presumption that people living in the Civic Center create a public safety threat for workers or pedestrians. Good public policy should be based on reality, not misperceptions. There is no question that society views homeless people through a lens that presumes dangerousness and deviance. In reality, people living in the Civic Center are our neighbors who happen to be too poor to afford a market-rate apartment in one of the most expensive rental markets in the country. Many of our clients are working families in Santa Ana that face a housing affordability crisis and they are in desperate need of decent, affordable housing. In Santa Ana, there is a significiant need to address and provide housing opportunties for all economic segments of the community. As residents struggle to find available and affordable housing in Santa Ana, rents have contnually increased. In the City of Santa Ana, the average rent for a large rental complex in 2016 was $1,786.00, which represented a 3.7% 601 Civic Center Drive West•Santa Ana,CA 92701-4002• (714)541-1010• Fax(714) 541-5157