CORRESPONDENCE - #9 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Rent Control Leads to Unintended Consequences, and an overall negative impact on the Community In a 2016 report on "Perspectives on Helping Low -Income Californians Afford Housing" by the California Legislative Analyst's Office, researchers found that "many housing programs - vouchers, rent control, and inclusionary housing - attempt to make housing more affordable without increasing the overall supply of housing [and] this approach does very little to address the underlying problem." Another unintended consequence is the perception it gives businesses that the City is raising fees/taxes to pay for another program without looking for alternative solutions. This negative perception will only exacerbate the current perception that Santa Ana is not business friendly. Rent Control Infrastructure Staff currently does not have a full understanding of the cost of administration of rent control for Santa Ana. San Francisco is under rent control and has an annual budget of more than $4 Million for the rent control of 28,000 units. Santa Ana has been using San Francisco as a "Benchmark." For a city that is already in a financial deficit, what will be the source of funding? San Monica has at least 28 staff members for administration of rent control. Estimating salary and benefits, @ 100,000 / person on the low side and $150,000 / person on the high side, salaries could range from $2.8 Million to $4.2 Million, plus facilities burden rate and any other overhead factor. With more than 200,000 units in Santa Ana, it's reasonable to expect the costs are going to be consistent and maybe higher. We strongly urge the City Council to reconsider moving forward with these proposed Policy measures that will only undermine the goal of improving housing conditions. If you do move ahead. however. we strongly sueeest it be on a temoorary basis until the end of 2021 (at that time, to revote and consider it a city referendum). If the Council is interested in good governance and serving those they were elected to represent, highly consequential proposals, such as rent control, must be fully vetted with community input via a transparent and open process. Sincerely, S " � Z�C�- David Elliott President/CEO Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce 1631 W. Sunflower Ave #C-35, Santa Ana, CA 92704 (714) 541-5353