Item 37 - Appeal No. 2023-07 Denial of CUP No. 2023-18 Anchor Stone Christian Church: 2938 S. Daimler Street

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Anchor Stone Christian Church: 2938 S. Daimler Street November 21, 2023 Page 6 Background on the General Plan The General Plan Update (GPU) was adopted in April 2022 after a seven-year effort of extensive community participation. In the pursuit of updating the General Plan, a comprehensive and inclusive approach involving numerous engagement efforts and interactions with the community was taken. The initiative began with over 60 community meetings and workshops, where residents, business leaders, and community stakeholders provided perspectives for the future vision of the community, including its land use plan in the Land Use Element. Individual community workshops were organized for the Five Focus areas identified, attracting the participation of hundreds of individuals. In addition, an online survey was circulated and received over 650 individual responses collecting input for the General Plan. The outreach effort also involved sending approximately 44,000 direct mailers to property owners and tenants in the Focus Areas, multilingual videos, and a dedicated webpage, providing ongoing updates on the process, related documents, and resources on Environmental Justice. Furthermore, engagement with the Planning Commission and City Council involved multiple study sessions and one-on-one meetings providing in-depth discussions and insights facilitating discussions at the municipal level and allowing for an informed and inclusive decision -making throughout the GPU process. These engagement efforts resulted in the crafting of the land use plan within the Land Use Element that reflects the community's visions for Santa Ana's growth and development citywide. The updated Land Use Element of the General Plan reflects and sets the community's land use and development policies and a vision for future development of the City. When considering projects of a discretionary nature, such as a CUP required for the proposed use, consistency with the General Plan must be established in order to satisfy the finding of fact that proposed uses will not have an adverse effect on the General Plan. General Plan Land Use Designation In reviewing the proposed discretionary approval request, staff evaluates the project against the five findings of fact codified in SAMC Section 41-638(a)(1), including consistency with the General Plan. Requiring consistency of a CUP with a local jurisdiction's general plan is well established by California case law. The California Supreme Court and Court of Appeal have consistently found that the discretionary approval of a CUP must be consistent with a general plan (Neighborhood Action Group v. County of Calaveras, 156 Cal. App. 3d 1176, 1185 (1984)), and that the general plan is atop the hierarchy of local government land use law, acting as a constitution for all future developments. (DeVita v. Cty. of Napa, 9 Cal. 4th 763, 773 (1995); citing Neighborhood Action Group, 156 Cal.App.3d at 1183.). The General Plan Land Use Element land use designation describes the site's Flex-3 and allowable uses are as follows: