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ORDINANCE NO. NS-XXX <br />AN UNCODIFIED URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY <br />COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA EXERCISING ITS <br />RETENTION OF LOCAL LAND USE CONTROL PURSUANT <br />TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION <br />65852.24(e) AND EXEMPTING CERTAIN PARCELS FROM <br />CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65852.24 <br />BASED UPON WRITTEN FINDINGS <br />WHEREAS, in 2022, the state legislature approved two bills requiring local <br />governments, including charter cities, to approve residential development "by right" in <br />commercial zones, under certain circumstances, where residential uses would otherwise <br />be prohibited; and <br />WHEREAS, one of these bills was California Senate Bill 6, known as the Middle <br />Class Housing Act of 2022 ("SB 6"), which was approved by the legislature, signed by the <br />Governor on September 28, 2022, and codified at Government Code section 65852.24; <br />and <br />WHEREAS, SB 6 serves to override local zoning regulation in the above respect <br />and will take effect on July 1, 2023; and <br />WHEREAS, SB 6 and similar housing bills passed by the state legislature and <br />signed by the governor overriding local zoning regulations are intended to address the <br />state's housing crisis by circumventing local land use and zoning regulations that some <br />agencies have adopted to limit housing development; and <br />WHEREAS, to the contrary, the City of Santa Ana completed a seven -years long <br />effort to comprehensively update its General Plan in April 2022, with a land use plan <br />encompassing over 1,500 acres of land designated in five Focus Areas throughout the <br />City and including over 770 acres allowing residential development at densities at or <br />exceeding 30 dwelling units per acre, the threshold established and deemed appropriate <br />by Government Code Section 65583.2(c)(3) to accommodate housing for lower income <br />households for jurisdictions in a metropolitan county; and <br />WHEREAS, the City's General Plan Land Use Element allows for residential <br />developments in the areas identified above with the appropriate infrastructure <br />improvements required to sustain high -quality housing and residential communities; and <br />WHEREAS, the City of Santa Ana's 6th Cycle Housing Element for the 2021-2029 <br />planning period was certified by the California Department of Housing and Community <br />Development (HCD) on September 16, 2022; and <br />WHEREAS, the City of Santa Ana has a proven track record of permitting housing <br />units at all affordability categories as demonstrated by exceeding its 5th Cycle (2014-201) <br />Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) by over 2,400 percent; and <br />Ordinance No. NS-XXX <br />Page 1 of 5 <br />