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City of Santa Ana <br />3. Findings Regarding Project Alternatives <br />Alternative E1b: No Project/Existing General Plan and Zoning <br />Under the No Project/Existing General Plan and Zoning Alternative, development of the Elan Project <br />Would not occur. Instead, it may be reasonably foreseeable that that site could be developed <br />according to the existing General Plan and Zoning. The existing General Plan designation is GC <br />(General Commercial), and the site is zoned C2 (General Commercial). The combined GC land use <br />designation and C2 zoning would allow for a variety of retail and service uses, professional, <br />administrative and business offices, parking lots and structures, automobile sales, and various other <br />commercial uses. The site could be developed with a floor area ratio (FAR) density of 0.5. At 6.4 <br />acres, this would equate to approximately 278,784 square feet of commercial uses. <br />Using the same trip rates for retail/commercial uses (shopping center) as presented in the Traffic <br />Study for the Elan Project (Appendix G2 of the Draft SEIR), this alternative could generate 11,904 <br />daily trips (approximately 270 AM peak hour trips and approximately 1,039 PM peak hour trips). <br />Compared to the 4,648 net project trips for the Elan Project, this represents an increase in vehicle <br />trips by a factor of more than 2.5. <br />Compared to the proposed Elan Project, in addition to increased traffic impacts, this alternative <br />would result in increased air quality emissions, increased GHG emissions, and increased noise. <br />Additionally, this alternative would not reduce or avoid the significant and unavoidable cultural <br />resources impact associated with demolition of the Elks Lodge building. <br />This alternative would also not achieve many of the project objectives, including, but not limited to, <br />facilitating well-designed new mixed-use development projects through innovative and flexible <br />design solutions, achieving harmonious integration of new mixed-use development, creating <br />extensive outdoor amenities, or providing new high-density hours and live/work opportunities <br />within a mixed-use environment. <br />Findings <br />The City hereby finds that the No Project/Existing General Plan and Zoning Alternative is inferior to <br />the proposed project because in addition to increased traffic impacts, this alternative would result in <br />increased air quality emissions, increased GHG emissions, and increased noise. Additionally, this <br />alternative would not reduce or avoid the significant and unavoidable cultural resources impact <br />associated with demolition of the Elks Lodge building. This alternative would also not achieve many <br />of the project objectives, including, but not limited to, facilitating well-designed new mixed-use <br />development projects through innovative and flexible design solutions, achieving harmonious <br />integration of new mixed-use development, creating extensive outdoor amenities, or providing new <br />high-density hours and live/work opportunities within a mixed-use environment. <br />Metro East Mixed -Use Overlay District Expansion and Elan August 2018 <br />Development Projects 3-8 ICF 19.18 <br />Findings of Fact/Statement of Overriding Considerations <br />