Low-Income Residents Protest Housing Policy

Low-income residents of downtown Santa Ana staged two protests at the Civic Center Tuesday, arguing that the city’s redevelopment policies are effectively moving them out in favor of more affluent people.

Officials countered that Santa Ana offers substantially more affordable and low-income housing than any other city in Orange County and will unveil a long-range plan on the issue in September.

Proposal Attacked

About 35 people assembled Tuesday morning in front of the Superior Court building, and 250 more showed up before a nightmeeting of the City Council. Nativo Lopez, head of Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, an immigrants’ rights group, specifically attacked a proposal to build 194 expensive apartments in the redevelopment area.

“We would like to see a real investment by the city in affordable housing,” he said. “This kind of development does nothing for the poor people who are being displaced.”

Lopez said about 3,000 people have been displaced by redevelopment projects and by the city’s recent crackdown on substandard housing. He added that he believes at least 50% of the new tax revenue the city receives from redevelopment projects should be earmarked for low-income housing.

Assistant City Manager Rex Swanson said there are 1,258 Section 8 (federally funded housing for low-income people) housing units in the city, with 958 in the downtown area. About half of all the city’s Section 8 units are reserved for senior citizens.

He said that about 35% of the new tax revenue, which totaled about $6 million in the last two years, is now reserved for low- and moderate-income groups. In addition, he said, a city-sponsored tenant assistance program can provide up to $1,000 for residents displaced by redevelopment.

Aide Denies Charge

Lopez’s charge that low-income housing is being neglected “is not valid,” Swanson said. “We’re trying to make sure that there’s a mix of different people in Santa Ana,” he said.

Despite the protest, and a stream of speakers opposing the 194-unit apartment project, the City Council gave it final approval Tuesday night.

Some of the speakers argued that the project is incompatible with the downtown area and with the Fiesta Marketplace, a $10-million Latino-oriented shopping center planned for the area. Others complained about the traffic that the complex would generate and a lack of parking downtown.

LaDale Dunbar of the Feedback Foundation, a group that helps relocate residents displaced by the city’s crackdown on substandard housing, said the city should find methods for preserving existing housing.

“The major reason these families cannot relocate is because there is no housing in the city they can afford,” she said.

Swanson declined to provide details of a document to be released in September that will spell out city plans for low-income housing. However, he cautioned, “I don’t think we can solve all of the housing problems of Orange County here in Santa Ana.”

Lopez said such a plan should be revealed immediately. “We haven’t seen anything concrete yet,” he said.

Reason for Opposition

Hermandad attorney Richard Spix said protesters were opposing the 194 apartments even though they will not displace residences. “The vast majority of their developments have been moderate- or upper-income and most of the demolition occurs in low-income residential neighborhoods,” he said. “The point is not that no residences will be displaced but that the city is more than willing to commit another site to this kind of development.”

“We sure didn’t expect that kind of a reaction,” said Kevin Wieck, vice president of development for Urban Ventures, the firm proposing the 194 apartments on a site bounded by 3rd, 4th, French and Minter streets. He said 20% of the project would be reserved for affordable housing.