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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCORRESPONDENCE - 60A (IN SUPPORT)Orozco, Norma From: Ugochi Nicholson < Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2019 2:42 PM To: eComment Subject: Item 60A: Approve a Density Bonus Agreement to Allow a 552 Unit Affordable Rental Project At 2110, 2114, and 2020 East First Street (Strategic Plan Nos. 3, 2, 5, 3) Attachments: Letter of Support 8.20.19.pdf Good afternoon, With reference to the enclosed letter regarding item 60A. Sincerely, Ugochi Anaebere-Nicholson Ugochi L. Anaebere-Nicholson I Directing Attorney (pronouns: She/her/hers) Housing and Homelessness Prevention Unit Public Law Center Confidentiality Notice: E-mails from this firm normally contain confidential and privileged material, and are for the sole use of the intended recipient. Use or distribution by an unintended recipient is prohibited, and may be a violation of law. If you believe that you received this e-mail in error, please do not read this e-mail or any attached items. Please delete the e-mail and all attachments, including any copies thereof, and inform the sender immediately at 714-541-1010, ext. 280, that you have deleted the e-mail, all attachments, and any copies thereof. Thank you. • • PUBLIC LAWCENTER PROVIDING ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR ORANGE COUNTY'S LOW INCOME RESIDENTS August 20, 2019 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: Item 60A: Approve a Density Bonus Agreement to Allow a 552 Unit Affordable Rental Project At 2110, 2114, and 2020 East First Street (Strategic Plan Nos. 3, 2, 5, 3)—LETTER OF SUPPORT Dear Mayor Pulido and Members of the City Council: We again submit this letter of support for a much -needed affordable housing project —the 552 Unit ("Unit") being proposed for 2110, 2114, and 2020 East First Street. As a preliminary matter, we join in the comments provided by the California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund in their letters to the City Council advising the Council of its duty to follow state affordable housing laws when considering the proposal of the proponents of the Unit. As will be set forth below, the Unit, as a one -hundred percent affordable housing proposal, qualifies for the Density Bonus it seeks by right, and a decision to deny this project for arbitrary reasons not only violates the spirit of the Density Bonus Law, it constitutes illegal housing discrimination against low-income people under federal and state law. The Planning Commission and City Council Staff have made an intentional decision to assist in the affordable housing crisis that has crippled State of California. The Council should affirm the Planning Commission's decision and accept the numerous recommendations from City Council staff to approve this project. 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 PLC is a non-profit pro bono law firm that provides access to justice for low-income and vulnerable residents in Orange County, California. We also collaborate with community organizations, statewide advocates, and law firms to push Orange County jurisdictions to create and maintain effective housing policies for lower -income working families. This proposed project comes at an especially critical time in California, which as you know, is experiencing a severe affordable housing crisis. Recently, the National Low Income Housing 601 Civic Center Drive West • Santa Ana, CA 92701-4002 - (714) 541-1010 -Fax (714) 541-5157 Letter of Support re Item 60A Request for Approval of a Density Bonus Agreement to Allow a 552 Unit Affordable Rental Project at 2110, 2114, and 2020 East First Street August 20, 2019 p. 2 Coalition released its Out of Reach Report.' The report highlights Orange County's rising housing crisis and exorbitant housing costs continue to challenge and affect Orange County's lower income working families. According to the report, workers need to earn $39.17 an hour to afford the rent for a typical two -bedroom apartment in Orange County. The typical fair market rent (FMR) for a two -bedroom unit here is $2,037 per month, ranking Orange County among the nation's top 10 most expensive metropolitan areas in the nation. The annual income needed to afford a two -bedroom FMR is $81,480 and a minimum wage worker needs to work at least 131 hours per week-33 jobs to afford a 2-bedroom FMR apartment. The report underscores the crisis facing Orange County Residents, and the housing crisis facing Santa Ana residents is especially acute. Many of the families that we assist are in desperate need of decent, affordable housing, such as the project that the developers propose with this Unit. In the City —a majority renter city, significant need exists to address and provide housing opportunities for all economic segments of the community. Families in the City use the majority of their incomes (over 50%) to pay for housing costs. This is unsustainable and it has led to actual and economic homelessness. As residents struggle to find available and affordable housing in the City, rents have continually increased. We have heard stories of landlords demanding that tenants pay rents that are in excess of 50-80% of their income, or face eviction and almost certain homelessness or relocation out of the City, while this Council has remained silent to requests for a moratorium on rent increases or just cause eviction ordinance protections. As of April 2019, the average rent for a one -bedroom apartment in the City is $1,938 per month, while the average rent for a two -bedroom apartment is $2,582 per month .2 This Unit proposes to help ameliorate the crisis by adding 552 units to the housing stock in the City. Accordingly, the City Council should embrace this Unit and not try to find ways to crush it, as it will bring much needed affordable multi -family housing to the residents of the City. Pacific Companies and Jamboree Housing Corporation Are Eligible for a Density Bonus Exce tp ion The Density Bonus is a state mandate. An applicant who meets the requirements of the state law is entitled to receive the density bonus and other benefits as a matter of right. (See Gov. Code §65195, et seq.) A jurisdiction is required to grant the concession or incentive requested by the applicant unless the jurisdiction makes a written finding based on substantial evidence of a specific, adverse impact upon public health and safety, or on historic resources. (Gov. Code §65195(d)(1)(B).) The Staff Report for the June 4, 2018 Planning Commission hearing declared that there are no historic resources in the immediate vicinity that this project would affect and the project's designs and operations, will not be detrimental to the public health or safety. Moreover, none of the councilmembers during the City Council meetings of May 7, 2019, May 21, 2019, or June 4, 2019, expressed concern with the project's impact on public health, public safety, or nearby historic resources. Because the Unit is a 100% affordable development and the City Council has failed to produce the required written findings based on substantial evidence of a specific, 'See 30th Anniversary Out of Reach Report, National Low Income Housing Coalition, https:Hroports.nlihc.org/sites/default/files/oor/OOR_2019.pdf (last visited on August 19, 2019) 2 See www.rentjungle.com/average-rent-in-santa-ana-rent-trends/ (Last visited on August 19, 2019). 601 Civic Center Drive West • Santa Ana, CA 92701-4002 • (714) 541-1010 • Fax (714) 541-5157 Letter of Support re Item 60,4 Request for Approval of a Density Bonus Agreement to Allow a 552 Unit Affordable Rental Project at 2110, 2114, and 2020 East First Street August 20, 2019 p. 3 adverse impact of the Unit on public health, public safety, or historic resources, the City Council should grant the parking concession requested by the developers as a matter of right. Denying This Proiect Would Constitute Intentional Housing Discrimination A. Denial of the 552 Unit Affordable Rental Project Constitutes Intentional Land Use Discrimination against low-income people under Government Code section 65008 If the City denies the Unit, it would constitute intentional land use discrimination against low- income persons under Government Code section 65008. Section 65008 renders null and void any action that denies employment of residence, landownership, tenancy or other interest in land to individuals based on protected classes, including intended occupancy of any residential development by persons of very low, low, moderate, or middle income. This prohibition applies to any power exercised under the authority of Title 7. §§ 65008(a)(1) and (2). Additionally, Section 65008 prohibits local government agencies, including cities and counties from taking actions, including in the administration of ordinances, or approval of developments, which prohibit or discriminate against any residential development or shelter because the development is intended for occupancy by "person[s] or families of very low, low, moderate, or middle income." (Gov. Code §65008(b)(1) (Q.) B. Denial of the 552 Unit Affordable Rental Project Would Violate Santa Ana's Duty to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing Additionally, should the City Council deny the developers' request for a permit to construct the Unit, it would constitute fair housing discrimination, as it violates the City of Santa Ana's duty to affirmatively further fair housing under federal and state law.' Affirmatively furthering fair housing requires the City to take meaningful action that, taken together, addresses significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits practices that "actually or predictably result[] in a disparate impact on a group of persons or creates, increases, reinforces, or perpetuates segregated housing patterns.i' Further, California Fair Employment and Housing Act makes it "unlawful ... to discriminate through public or private land use practices, decisions, and authorizations `that have the effect, regardless of intent, of unlawfully discriminating on the basis of [a] protected class."' 5 Accordingly, denying the developers the opportunity to build this needed Unit will continue to reduce the amount of housing that would otherwise be available for lower -income households in the City, and therefore could be construed as having disparate negative impact on certain racial and ethnic groups. s 42 U.S.C. 3608 and Executive Order 12892 'Dept. of Housing and Urban Development Regs, Implementation of the Fair Housing Aet's Discriminatory Effects Standard, 24 C.F.R. § 100.500(a), 78 Fed. Reg. 11482 (Feb. 15, 2013). s Gov. Code §12955.8, subd. (b). 601 Civic Center Drive West • Santa Ana, CA 92701-4002 • (714) 541-1010 • Fax (714) 541-5157 Letter of Support re Item 60A Request for Approval of a Density Bonus Agreement to Allow a 552 Unit Affordable Rental Project at 2110, 2114, and 2020 East First Street August 20, 2019 p. 4 Further, the denial of the Unit violates recently enacted state legislation that codifies the directive imposed by the Fair Housing Act on jurisdictions to affirmatively further fair housing. (Gov. Code §65583 (c) (5).) The City's current Housing Element underscores the need of the City to ensure its legal compliance with the requirement to further fair housing opportunity. In the housing element, the city notes that 58% of its renters pay more than 30% of their income on rent.6 These conditions ...lead to a number of hardships for the households and their families, including insufficient income to afford other necessities, undue burden on families, and accelerated use and wear on housing.' As such, the city has identified a deft in housing for extremely low, very low, and low-income households that the law requires it to address. C. Santa Ana must ensure that it fully implements the programs identified in its Housing Element Under Housing Element law, the City has a duty to ensure that it is implementing each of its programs during the housing element period. (Gov. Code §§ 65881(b); 65583(c) & (h); 65587, 65888.) The failure to implement the programs identified in its Housing Element subjects the City to liability under Housing Element law. Program 28, the Density Bonus Ordinance Update, incorporates state density bonus law and provides that applicants of multiple -family residential and mixed -use projects of five or more units will be entitled to a density bonus of at least 5% are very low income units or at least 10% are lower income units (Santa Ana Housing Element 2013-2021, p. 60, 61.) The density bonus ranges from 20 to 35% according to how much affordable housing is provided above the minimum percentage in state law (Id.). The program also authorizes those eligible projects, such as the proposal of the Unit, may also receive one to three concessions or other development incentives, depending on the proportion of affordable units and level of income that is targeted (Id.). As described in this letter, the City will also violate its duty under state housing element law to fully implement its programs, if it delays this project. Conclusion There is a scarcity of quality affordable housing units in the City. The City's recent Housing Element noted there is a scarcity of affordable housing units in the City: "[H]ousing affordability is a critical issue for many households. The lack of affordable housing can create undesirable situations, including overpayment and overcrowding."8 Five hundred and fifty-two units of affordable housing could lessen the issues of overpayment and overcrowding by increasing the supply of affordable housing for a community in desperate need of it. Further, as set forth in the many staff reports associated with analysis of the Unit, approval of this item supports the City's efforts to meet General Plan Goal Nos. 3; and 5, and Objective No. 3. The City's residents desperately need help with affordable housing and addition to the aged multifamily housing stock in the City, and they need it now. The Council should approve this Unit now. 6 Santa Ana Housing Element (2014-2021), p. 20. Ibid. B Id. at p. 19. 601 Civic Center Drive West • Santa Ana, CA 92701-4002 • (714) 541-1010 • Pax (714) 541-5157 Letter of Support re Item 60A Request for Approval of a Density Bonus Agreement to Allow a 552 Unit Affordable Rental Project at 2110, 2114, and 2020 East First Street August 20, 2019 P. 5 Sincerely, /s/ Ugochi Anaebere-Nicholson Directing Attorney, Housing and Homelessness Prevention Unit cc: Paul McDougall, Housing and Community Development 601 Civic Center Drive West • Santa Ana, CA 92701-4002 - (714) 541-1010 • Fax (714) 5415157 J. LUIS CORREA 46TH DISTRICT, CALIFORNIA WASHINGTON OFFICE 1039 LONGwORTH HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON, D.C. 20515 (202) 225-2965 4 2323SANTAN. ROADWARICT OFFICE Congress of "tP pnit b Mates 2323 N. BRonownv, SUITE 319 Congress 4 i- iA IJ.L' Vl'J SANTA ANA, CA 92706 a �I1 -y_ (714) 559-6190 C7CI0nor of 7 rpre%ELIA2lfitles pas4ingfun, PT U515 August 20, 2019 Dear Mayor Pulido and City Council: HOUSE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY SUBCOMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP SUBCOMMTTEE ON COURTS, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND THE INTERNEE YILE C.,. HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY SUBCOMMITTEE ON BORDER SECURITY, FACILITATION, AND OPERATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND MARITIME SECURITY CHAIP The housing crisis continues to worsen in Orange County, and in Santa Ana specifically. This has created unstable housing situations for our children and their families, as well as an increase in homelessness. The City of Santa Ana has continuously acknowledged the need for more affordable housing. According to our city's housing element 58% of Santa Ana renters pay more than 30% of their income on rent. These conditions lead to a number of hardships for families, including not being able to afford other necessities like food and health care. And while the city has taken great strides in addressing the homelessness crisis, the need for more affordable housing remains. The First Point project before the council tonight represents a real opportunity to improve the quality of life for low income Santa Ana residents by providing more than 550 high -quality homes for families. Jamboree has a reputation of quality, affordable housing with services that helps transform lives and communities. They are a trusted member of our community. From Cornerstone, an affordable family apartment community in Santa Ana, to the much anticipated Santa Ana Veterans Village that will serve over 75 homeless veterans in our community, Jamboree has a proven track record of excellence. First Point will be no different. As a representative of this community, and as a constituent of this council, I urge you to approve this affordable housing project that our residents so desperately need. Meeting Date: AUG 2 0 2018 Name: CI0%1i10 G4e_4c, Agenda Item: SincerelvA uis Correa Member of Congress, 46Th District 01 CORREA.HOUSE.GOV ®d.