HomeMy WebLinkAboutCorrespondence - Item #12
Ibarra, Evelyn
From:Nathaniel Greensides <mynci90@gmail.com>
Sent:Wednesday, July 10,
To:eComment
Subject:Agenda item 12 - July 16, 2024 City Council Meeting
Attention: This email originated from outside of City of Santa Ana. Use caution when opening attachments or links.
Dear City Council,
While I generally welcome and applaud the construction of affordable housing units for ownership (instead of only
affordable rental units), I wish to express some points of consideration regarding affordable housing development in our
City as a whole:
Habitat for Humanity OC has shown a good track record. I think there needs to be a requirement that they collaborate
with other Community Based Organizations moving forward so as to share the wealth and increase the number of
qualified local community-based housing developers in our City. There are a few organizations that submitted proposals
in recent housing RFPs that were ultimately not selected due to lack of years of experience in housing development who
could benefit from collaboration and knowlege sharing with organizations that do ultimately get selected in City RFPs.
The location of where affordable units for sale are developed reflects a continuing sense of inequity among
neighborhoods of Santa Ana wherein low-density, high-value-per-square-foot residential neighborhoods, tend to keep
affordable units out of their neighborhoods (2525 north main street) while already dense, lower income neighborhoods
get selected for affordable housing development. There needs to be a better blend of incomes and types of residential
housing throughout all of the City to ensure that all of our City can develop and grow in a healthy manner. If the current
trend continues, we will see and experience - very quickly - a further entrenching and worsening of pre-existing
conditions exacerbated by income inequality.
The for-sale affordable housing being constructed will still not be affordable for many tenants who have lived in our City
for decades. While Habitat for Humanity has assisted many families in becoming first time homebuyers, the additional
barriers that are enacted upon the demographics served by these types of initiatives do not even compare to the
barriers enacted upon first time home buyers who are privileged enough to buy a home with money from family or
having saved a substantial sum from high income employment. The inequity there should not be disregarded.
Again, overall, I think this project and similar projects are needed and welcomed. I think it stands to serve us all to
ensure that we always question how we best achieve housing affordability and who these types of initiatives actually
wind up serving. When a majority of tenants and residents who have lived in a place for decades (if not most of a
lifetime) are never considered and positively impacted by initiatives purporting to increase opportunities for home
ownership, I think there needs to be a change in said initiative(s) to ensure that all people who live in our City actually
have a fair shot at housing independence and housing self-determination.
Sincerely,
Nathaniel Greensides
Ward 5 resident
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