2019-048 - Approving General Plan Amendment No. 2019-01

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H. General Plan Amendment No. 2019-01 has been filed to amend the General Plan to change the land use designation of the property at 651 West Sunflower Avenue from Low -Density Residential (LR) to Urban Neighborhood (UN). Section 2. The City Council has independently reviewed and analyzed the information contained in the Initial Study and the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND), Environmental Review No. 2018-75 and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, prepared with respect to this project. The City Council has, as a result of its consideration of the record as a whole and the evidence presented at the hearings on this matter, determined that, as required pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the State CEQA Guidelines, Environmental Review No. 2018- 75 meets all the requirements of CEQA. Section 3. The City Council hereby finds that the proposed General Plan Amendment is compatible with the objectives, policies, and land use programs specified in the General Plan for the City of Santa Ana in that: A. The City of Santa Ana has adopted a General Plan. B. The land uses authorized by the General Plan Amendment, and the General Plan Amendment itself, are compatible with the objectives, policies, general land uses, and programs specified in the General Plan, for the following reasons. 1. The existing General Plan land use designations for the project site at 651 West Sunflower Avenue is Low -Density Residential (LR), which allows single-family homes at a density up to seven (7) units per acre. In order to facilitate the construction of a 226-unit multiple -family residential community with a floor area ratio of 1.81, the land use designation needs to be changed to Urban Neighborhood (UN), which allows for a mix of residential uses and housing types, such as low- to mid -rise multiple family, townhouses, single family dwellings; with some opportunities for live -work, neighborhood serving retail and service, public space and use, and other amenities with a floor area ratio (FAR) of 0.5 to 3.0. 2. The proposed community at 651 West Sunflower Avenue supports several goals and policies of the General Plan. The project is consistent with: i. Housing Element Goal 2, to create diversity of quality housing, affordability levels, and living experiences that accommodate Santa Ana's residents and workforce of all household types, income levels, and age groups to foster an inclusive community. The project will pay approximately $2,813,475 in in -lieu fees pursuant to Santa Ana Municipal Code Section 41- 1904 to provide additional funds for future affordable housing projects, which supports Housing Element Goal 3: Increased opportunities for low and moderate income individuals and families to find quality housing opportunities and afford a Resolution No. 2019-048 Page 2 of 7