The City of Santa Ana became the first in Orange County to pass a rent control ordinance Oct. 19 after weeks of heated council meeting debates. The motion, passing 4-3 shortly before midnight on Tuesday, prevents landlords from raising rent more than 3 percent annually, or 80 percent of the change in the consumer price index, whichever is less. Mayor Vicente Sarmiento and Councilmembers Jessie Lopez, Thai Viet Phan, and Johnathan Ryan Hernandez voted in favor of the motion. “I support rent control because it’s the one tool we have to protect current residents, longtime residents who have nowhere else to go, but to the Inland Empire, and Riverside,” Phan said during a council meeting. Officials in favor of the rent control ordinance hope more tenants will stay in their homes without worrying about annual rent hikes, while those opposed say the move could result in negative long-term impacts. Mayor …