Item 28 - Resolutions to Exempt Parcels from AB 2011 and SB 6

Home Browse Search

Resolutions to Exempt Parcels from AB 2011 and SB 6 May 16, 2023 Page 4 3 4 5 0 eight-year planning period. The Santa Ana City Council adopt the updated 6th Cycle Housing Element (2021-2029 planning period) July 2022 and the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), the State agency tasked with reviewing housing elements for compliance with State law, certified the element September 2022. At the time of certification, Santa Ana was one of seven municipalities in the Orange County with an adopted and certified Housing Element. Housing elements must also plan for the city’s share of RHNA, which is the total number of housing units that need to be built in each region of the State, and then each region's share is further allocated to individual cities and counties based on factors such as job growth, transportation access, and environmental factors. Santa Ana’s RHNA for the 6th Cycle is 3,137 units. The City has already fulfilled 52 percent (1,635 units) of its 6th Cycle RHNA less than two years into the eight-year planning period. Moreover, the City exceeded its 5th Cycle (2014-2021 planning period) RHNA by over 2,400 percent. Existing Mixed-Use Code Areas Prior to adoption of the General Plan Update, the City’s Zoning Code contained multiple areas in which medium and high-density residential communities could be permitted, including the Transit Zoning Code (TZC) near Downtown Santa Ana, the Harbor Mixed Use Transit Corridor Specific Plan (SP 2), the Metro East Mixed Use Overlay Zone (MEMU), and the MainPlace Specific Plan (SP 4). These areas allow for typical residential densities at 30 to 50 dwelling units per acre, with specific areas allowing up to 125 dwelling units per acre, well in excess of the typical density of 30 dwelling units per acre assumed by SB 6 and AB 2011 for affordable housing production. Exemption – AB 2011 (100% Affordable) AB 2011 permits a local government to exempt a parcel from streamlined approval of 100-percent affordable projects before a developer submits a development application on the parcel if the local government identifies one or more alternative sites for residential development and makes certain written findings, which findings include that the alternative development would result in (1) no net loss of the total potential residential density in the jurisdiction, (2) no net loss of the potential residential density of housing affordable to lower income households in the jurisdiction, and will (3) affirmatively further fair housing. The City has identified the parcels listed and mapped in Exhibit 4 as meeting the general zoning criteria established by Government Code sections 65912.111. However, of those parcels, those listed in Exhibit 5 are dedicated or adjoining to a site dedicated to industrial uses, as defined in Government Code Section 65912.111(d). As such, these parcels do not meet the criteria to qualify for streamlining provided by AB 2011. Moreover, the parcels listed in Exhibit 6 are mobile home parks or are entirely within 500 feet of a freeway and do not meet site criteria or objective development standards established AB 2011, making them ineligible. Additionally, the parcels listed in Exhibit 7 meet the general zoning criteria but are otherwise eligible for development at densities