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EIR No. 2018-01, DA No. 2018-01, GPA No. 2018-06, AA No. 2018-10 2525 North Main Street February 5, 2019 Page 10 residential overcrowding to promote public health and safety. The proposed project will provide additional market rate housing in the City, thereby assisting in addressing the shortage of available housing within the region. The project will also provide additional housing options for those seeking housing within the jobs rich northern area of the City. The upscale multi -family development will also support Urban Design Element Goal 1 to improve the physical appearance of the City through development of a district that projects a sense of place, positive community image, and quality environment. The City has recently initiated the process to update its General Plan, which is the blueprint for future development. A key component of the update is to focus new growth and development along major corridors reducing the pressure for growth in low density neighborhoods and to identify areas for future development, including but not limited to higher density residential development. The northern section of the City, including the project site, has been identified as a potential area for more intense development. This North Main Street area is in the process of being studied in greater depth as the update process continues, with direction on the potential land use designation of the area expected within the next year. Amendment Application Currently, the zoning designation for this site is Professional (P) which permits a variety of business uses that aim to create a professional business environment and prohibits residential uses. To allow the construction of a multi -family residential development on this parcel, an amendment application (zone change) is required. Staff is recommending that a zone change to a Specific Development No. 93 (SD -93) designation be approved subject to staff recommended changes to the project and incorporated into the Development Agreement. The SD designation will allow a residential development and will ensure consistency between zoning and the General Plan, assuming the associated general plan amendment is approved (Exhibit 5). When considering a zone change it is important to look at the surrounding land uses and economic factors. The jobs to housing balance is evaluated by comparing project -generated jobs and housing units to forecasts of employment and housing, in addition an imbalance in the ratio can indicate air quality and traffic problems associated with commuting. Based on SCAG profiles and projections, Santa Ana is a jobs rich area with 2.06 jobs per housing unit. SCAG considers an area as balanced when the jobs -housing ratio is 1.36, therefore providing more housing would reduce the ratio to 2.05. Furthermore, in the second quarter of 2018, the City's office occupancy rate was 13.4 percent, which is higher than the neighboring central cities of Anaheim (10.4%), Orange (11.5%) and Tustin (10.9%) and the County as a whole (12.6%). Therefore, the change from Professional to Specific Development would not be a significant impact to professional office districts. In addition, use of the site for residential is supported as the location has elements to make the site a viable residential development. The elements include having regional access to freeway and transportation systems, the site is within close proximity to educational, cultural activities, employment centers, and retail and commercial shopping opportunities. Furthermore, several nearby properties and properties along Main Street are designated as Specific Developments. The 75E-10