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MADISON April, 30`h, 2018 Santa Ana City Council and Mayor City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 RE: ENA with THRIVE Santa Ana CIVIL SOCIETY & COMMUNITY STUDIES School of Human Ecology 4199 Nancy Nicholas Hall 1300 Linden Drive Madison WI 53706 608/262-2660 FAX: 608/265-1171 It is with great excitement that I write this letter to share my support of THRIVE Santa Ana and the City of Santa Ana's approval of an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement for the parcel of vacant land at 1901 W Walnut St. This is a powerful, unique and politically important moment in Santa Ana and I commend the City of Santa Ana for being at the forefront of economic development with community development models that support sustainability such as community land trusts. I also commend the community organizations, and residents working to develop these economic development models that are led by local residents. Together with the City's efforts, these community groups and stakeholders have helped make Santa Ana an example in Orange County and beyond. I have over twenty years of community-based planning experience, and am currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. My primary research and teaching is on questions of urban justice in low-income communities of color including the City of Santa Ana. As you well know, Santa Ana has been named over and over again as one of the city's facing both harsh housing conditions, rising housing costs, pricing out working families, while facing gentrification pressures. Families who cannot afford housing are forced to share housing costs with other families. We also know that over half of the city's households (56%) are renters—probably an undercount due to the large number of families living in informal housing arrangements. Finally, research finds serious traumatic impacts on families living in vulnerable situations, as well as those displaced or evicted from their homes. We have sufficient data that demonstrates a need for attention to these issues, but we also have research that demonstrates how commrmity land trusts are urban planning solutions, also increasing community access to parks, affordable housing and other community benefits that are needed in Santa Ana. Research also shows that community land trust is a powerful strategy to engage local residents in the development process. Supporting these models will significantly improve the quality of life for many low-income and working families in the city. 11