CORRESPONDENCE - #9 - Laserfiche WebLink

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September 30, 2021 Mayor and City Council City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 RE: Santa Ana Chamber Opposition to Rent Stabilization Ordinance Honorable Mayor Sarmiento and Members of the City Council: On behalf of the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce, your business partner in promoting Santa Ana as a business -friendly destination, we respectfully request reconsideration on moving forward with the adoption of rent control and just cause eviction ordinances. Transparency and Partnership As others mentioned during the meeting, the process lacks transparency, stakeholder input and a comprehensive understanding of the financial impacts of such a program. Per the staff report, "The Housing Ad Hoc Committee convened its first meeting on March 22, 2021, and has since conducted four additional meetings to discuss various housing issues." Yet, nowhere in the staff report is reference made to the Housing Ad Hoc Committee meeting minutes or how such meetings were publicized to the community in order to gain stakeholder input, especially from businesses in the City. As business partners focused on improving the business climate and promoting the City of Santa Ana through programs like Travel Santa Ana and the Retention Program, we would anticipate that the City would make it a priority to solicit input from businesses, residents and housing stakeholders on such an important issue. City Sitting on Roughly $23 Million or More in Rental Assistance The City is reportedly seeking to establish and fund a "regulatory framework and infrastructure necessary to implement residential rent control, just cause eviction, and other protections for tenants." We are aware, however, that more than $23 million of Emergency Rental Assistance program funding from federal and state agencies has been allocated to the City of Santa Ana's COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). Council and Staff comments reveal that the City has in reserve many millions of dollars that have yet to be distributed. Why not distribute those funds and see if that resolves most of the issues before approving a Rent Control Ordinance? 1631 W. Sunflower Ave #C-35, Santa Ana, CA 92704 (714) 541-5353