Item 32 - Resolutions to Exempt Parcels from AB 2011 and SB 6

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Resolutions to Exempt Parcels from AB 2011 and SB 6 June 20, 2023 Page 4 SB 6 stand to undermine the recently adopted Land Use Element and the efforts of the community and City Council involved in creating the Element's land use plan. 61h Cycle Housing Element Update The State of California Government Code Section 65302(c) mandates that each city include a housing element in their general plan. The Santa Ana Housing Element is required to identify and analyze existing and projected housing needs, and include statements of the City's goals, policies, quantified objectives, and programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing for all income levels over an eight (8) year planning period. The Santa Ana City Council adopt the updated 6t" 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. 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 6t" Cycle is 3,137 units. The City has already fulfilled 52 percent (1,635 units) of its 6t" Cycle RHNA less than two years into the eight -year planning period. Moreover, the City exceeded its 5t" 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. Cumulatively, the General Plan Focus Areas and the existing mixed -used code areas establish a foundation and framework in the City to support high density housing within a mixed -multiuse and transit -oriented environment. These areas are supported by public services, infrastructure, public amenities, as well as public transit and are areas that the City intends to focus substantial public and private investments over the next 25 years and beyond. The data from the various General Plan Focus Areas and the existing mixed - use code areas show that these areas have excess densities to accommodate the lost densities from parcels eligible under the Bills because the City already has designated these areas for high -density housing and mixed -multiuse developments at densities meeting or exceeding the densities prescribed in AB 2011 and SB 6. This balanced approach would enable the City to preserve certain parcels for development as