CORRESPONDENCE - #37 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

City of Santa Ana Planning Commission November 9, 2020 Page 2 supports the prioritization of parkland dedication over parkland impact fee collection. However, the Open Space Element does not fully explain how prioritization would occur for projects of fewer than 100 residential units. Implementation Action OS-1.16 indicates that the City should "[d]evelop an incentives program that encourages private development and public agencies to provide park and recreation facilities beyond the minimum requirements." Rise Up Willowick supports the creation of such incentives. However, the Open Space Element does not explain how the incentives program might operate or provide criteria to guide its implementation. The Open Space Element should be revised to further clarify these measures. Implementation Action OS-1.6 calls for the City to "[e]stablish land use provisions in the Municipal Code that prevent a net loss of parkland in the city" and "[r]equire at least a 1:1 replacement if there is any loss of public parkland due to development." We support the City's adoption of a "no net loss of parkland" requirement in the Municipal Code. However, we urge the City to clearly define what constitutes "parkland" for purposes of this requirement. The "no net loss of parkland" requirement should not impede the redevelopment of golf courses to include a mix of public parkland and affordable housing. As outlined in our October 6 letter to the City, The Trust for Public Land, the California Coastal Conservancy, and Clifford Beers Housing have submitted a proposal to the City of Garden Grove to develop most of the Willowick Golf Course site into a public park and to construct affordable housing on the remainder. The "no net loss of parkland" policy should not create barriers to projects such as the Willowick proposal that would create affordable housing and other community benefits in addition to public parkland. Implementation Action OS-1.151 calls for the City to "[a]mend the Residential Development Fee in the Municipal Code (Chapter 35, Article IV) to reflect requirements for Larger Residential Projects (100+ units, residential only or mixed-use) to provide two acres of new public parkland concurrent with the completion of and within a 10-minute walking radius of the new residential project." It also calls for the City to work with "new development projects within the Focus Areas" to encourage developers to provide more parkland than the Code requires. Similarly, Implementation Action OS- 1.8 calls for the City to update the Acquisition and Development Ordinance to increase dedication and fee requirements and ensure that parkland is acquired near projects creating demand. Rise Up Willowick supports these changes, and urges the City to ensure 1 The City's responses to comments in the Final EIR label this action as OS-1.14, but the Open Space Element of the revised Update identifies this action as OS-1.15. 1I � M1 11AN