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Home My WebLink AboutCORRESPONDENCE - 85ACity Council Meeting Correspondence 10/16/2018 COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM - DISCUSS POLICIES, POSSIBLE PARTNERSHIPS AND NEXT STEPS TO ADDRESS ATTAINABLE HOUSING STRATEGIES, AND DIRECT STAFF ACCORDINGLY (MAYOR PRO TEM MARTINEZ) Date of Name Representative of In Favor In Opposition Comment Correspondence of RA*. of RA.* 1 10/16/2018 Adam S. Wood Building Industry Association Yes Orange County Chapter 2 10116/2018 Proponents for Rental Yes Initiative 2 TOTAL: 2 'IRA - Recommended Action Wednesday, October 17, 2018 Page 1 of 1 Orozco, Norma From: Adam Wood < Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2018 12:53 PM To: eComment Subject: BIA/OC Comment Letter - Item 85A Attachments: BIAOC Comment Letter on Item 85A Rent Control and IZ.PDF Please see attached for tonight's Council meeting. Thank you. -Adam Adam S. Wood Director of Government Affairs Building Industry Association I Orange County Chapter (BIA/OC) I Building Industry Association of Southern California, Inc ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER October 16, 2018 Mayor Miguel Pulido Honorable City Council Members City of Santa Ana 22 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92702 Re: Rent Control / Stabilization and Inclusionary Zoning Discussion Dear Mayor and Council: On behalf of our membership, I write to express our opposition to Rent Control/Stabilization as well as any expansion of your Housing Opportunity Ordinance. Santa Ana needs real solutions and that requires increasing supply. The Building Industry Association of Southern California, Orange County Chapter (BIA/OC) is a non-profit trade association of over 1,100 member companies employing over 100,000 people affiliated with the home building industry. Counterintuitive to its intent, economists and public policy experts have consistently agreed that a "ceiling on rents reduces the quality and quantity of housing."' In short, rent control had a counterproductive effect that limits the supply of rental housing and when supply is limited, costs increase. Regarding Inclusionary Zoning, a study by Benjamin Powell, Ph.D. and Edward Stringham, Ph.D., titled, Housing Supply and Affordability: Do Affordable Housing Mandates Work?, showed that in the 45 cities where data was available, new housing production drastically decreased by an average of 31% within one year of adopting inclusionary housing policies. Additionally, the study suggests that inclusionary housing polices can increase new housing costs by $22,000 to $44,000, with higher priced markets increasing by $100,000.2 This is further supported in a February 9, 2018 Memo from the City of Portland that found after enacting IZ, "the rate of filing new (building) applications is significantly slower compared to other years," and that this "slow down coincides with new (IZ) requirements..." Further support comes from the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office in a report titled Perspectives on Helping Low -Income Californians Afford Housing. In this study, it states that "attempting to address the state's affordability t Paul Krugman. "Reckonings: A Rent Affair," New York Times, June 7, 2000, accessed August 6, 2014. htt ://www.n lmes.com/2000/06/07/o inion/reckonin s a rent affaichtml 2 Powell, Benjamin, Ph.D. and Stringham, Edward, Ph.D. Housing supply and Affordability: Do Affordable Housing Mandates Work? Reason Public Policy Institute. April 2004. BIR PRESIDENT MIKE GARTLAN KB HOME VICE PRESIDENT RICK WOOD TRI POINTE HOMES TREASURER/SECRETARY SUNTI KUMJIM MBKHOMES IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT PHILBODEM MERITAGE HOMES TRADE CONTRACTOR V,P, ALAN BOUDREAU BOUDREAU PIPELINE CORPORATION ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT MARK HIMMELSTEIN NEWMEYER & DILLION, LLP MEMBER -AT -LARGE PETER VANEK FOREMOST COMPANIES MEMBER -AT -LARGE SEAN MATSLER MANATT, PHELPS & PHILLIPS, LLP EXECUTIVE OFFICER STEVE LA MOTTE challenges primarily through expansion of government programs likely would be impractical." As such it finds that "many housing programs — vouchers, rent control, and inclusionary housing — attempt to make housing more affordable without increasing the overall supply of housing. This approach does very little to address the underlying cause of California's high housing costs: a housing shortage." As our mission is to champion housing as the foundation of vibrant and sustainable communities, we cannot support any policy that would limit housing opportunity in the city of Santa Ana. We share these comments for your consideration during your agendized discussion of Item 85A. Before actionable policy is drafted, please consider real solutions like an expansion of your Small Lot Ordinance and other such approaches that directly enhance housing opportunity. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration and dedication to finding real solutions that will enhance housing opportunity. Respectfully, Steven C. LaMotte Chapter Executive Officer Remain and Thrive Platform "Santa Ana is Not For Sale" In 2017, there was more than 500 evictions in the City of Santa Ana and the numbers are still increasing. We live with housing insecurity and our living conditions have worsened, affecting our health and squeezing our pockets to the point of suffocation. We are tired of living in homes that depend on the discretion of property owners that do not invest in the well being of our children and increase the rent to their benefit. We are tired of not being heard and now more than ever, we will not give up the fight to defend our human right to just and dignified housing. Therefore, we the residents of Santa Ana, demand that the Council of Santa Ana approve the reforms in this platform in order to increase the protections of tenants, especially those of the migrant community. Just as the City took a stance on not collaborating with ICE in resident deportations, we want them to do the same to prevent evictions, displacement, and the sale of community lands. The City should approve the following proposals immediately to ensure a Santa Ana where we can remain and thrive: Just Cause Ordinance • For the City to approve a just cause ordinance that will prevent inhumane evictions. Such ordinance will prohibit landlords from abusing their power when evicting tenants and create a more equitable relationship between them. Rent Stabilization • Pass rent control citywide. This would stabilize rents to allow for incremental rent increases that are more just and fair to residents, while still ensuring landlords a fair rate of return on their investments. Current rent increases are sporadic and don't take into account the issues and struggles faced by tenants in Santa Ana. Rental Assistance Program • Establish a "rental assistance" program funded by the City to help alleviate the high costs of rents on Santa Ana's low-income residents. Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act • Approve a measure that would allow tenants to buy the property where they live and rent. Community Lands in Community Hands IS • The City owns more than 90 parcels of public land that must be used for public benefit, especially for the benefit of low-income, working class residents. Instead of selling these lands, the City should involve its residents in a transparent and democratic development process. Further, we demand that portions of these lands are allocated to a community land trust, to be developed from a community -led perspective. Lead Soil Contamination • That the City take action to resolve the contamination of lead in the earth. This means ensuring that no area in Santa Ana has a level of contamination in excess of 80 ppm (mg /kg) of lead in the soil according to the levels identified as acceptable by the California Office of Environmental Health Risk Assessment. Businesses Free of Contamination • City to create policies that prohibits businesses from dumping harmful life-threatening chemicals in the soil and the air. Increase Affordable Housing • To reform the Housing Opportunity Ordinance and require developers to guarantee 75% of any housing project be affordable and be made specifically for families who are extremely low-income (30% of AMI). These demands represent the immediate relief we as people of color and residents of Santa Ana, need right now. Although The City has told us in the past that they support us, this time we want results and adopting the demands in this platform will serve to increase the welfare of the community and of the residents that are the heart of the City. That's why we give the City, a month and a half, what is the time left to this council before the new one entered in December, so that they can approve our demands before they leave. This time we are not asking, we are demanding!