Item 37 - General Plan Amendment No. 2021-01 - 6th Cycle Housing Element Update

Home Browse Search

General Plan Amendment No. 2021-01 July 19, 2022 Page 5 2 8 1 4 income housing units will be credited toward the remaining 91 units in the moderate- income classification. Table 3: Achieving the City of Santa Ana RHNA Target (2021-2029) Income Group Total RHNA Housing Development Credits* Remaining RHNA Units Very Low (0-50% AMI)606 624 -18 Low (51-80% AMI)362 1,012 -650 Moderate (81-120% AMI)545 454 91 Above-Moderate (120%+ AMI)1,624 5,547 -3,923 TOTAL 3,137 7,637 -4,500 *Housing development credits include Pipeline and ADU projections, and the reclassification of 231 Above- Moderate to Moderate units based on the survey results. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Pursuant to Assembly Bill 686 (2018), the Housing Element must include an analysis and determination of consistency with Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) requirements. AFFH is defined as “taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics.” To assess current disparities, the Housing Element includes a detailed Assessment of Fair Housing. A key part of the Housing Element Update is to expand housing opportunities in higher resource (referred to as “Higher Opportunity”) areas of the city or in close proximity to these areas, which offer the best critical life outcomes with a high concentration of good schools, jobs, health and life expectancy. These assessment areas are mapped in Appendix E of the draft element. Actions to affect meaningful and positive changes in this regard are included in the proposed Housing Plan and are expected to achieve a positive change that affirmatively further fair housing. Community Engagement The California Government Code Section 65583(c)(6) requires that a diligent effort be made to achieve public participation from all groups in the development of the housing element. In addition, SB 1000 requires that local governments provide environmental justice (EJ) communities with a meaningful opportunity to engage in government decisions that affect them. As part of the Housing Element Update, the City developed a public outreach program that was designed with several overarching goals in mind, including facilitating equal opportunity and access, and allowing a broad range of discussion. To that end, the City held four virtual Housing Element Roundtable meetings with a variety of stakeholder groups, three citywide workshops (two in-person and one virtual), and 11 environmental justice focused workshops (10 virtual and one in-person). During the environmental justice focused workshops, community members provided feedback and spoke of their lived experiences, including issues such as housing burden, poverty, linguistic isolation, and lead risk from housing; which directly correlate to the goals and policies in the