Laserfiche WebLink
HOUSING CONSTRAINTS <br />AND OPPORTUNITIES <br /> <br />This section of the Housing Element is intended to set forth analyses of <br />potential and actual governmental and non-governmental constraints on the <br />development, improvement or maintenance of housing for all income levels; to <br />assess the availability of land suitable to residential development; and <br />examine opportunities for energy conservation in residential development. <br /> <br />Tables on the following pages present illustrations of typical housing <br />development costs and resulting pricing levels in the City in 1981. They <br />will serve as a basis for examination of constraints involved in the <br />development of affordable housing. <br /> <br />Implications of the costs illustrations include the following: <br /> <br />l. High land costs in Santa Ana contribute measurably to the high cost <br /> of housing, particularly in the lower-density classifications. <br /> <br />2. Current high costs of financing also measurably impact upon housing <br /> price. <br /> <br />3. Current minimum lot size requirements of 6,000 square feet <br /> contribute to housing costs. <br /> <br />From an investment point of view, construction of new rental <br />housing is an unattractive investment alternative, given poor <br />return and usually negative cash flow. <br /> <br />These constraints upon the prouduction of housing are disaggregated by <br />governmental and non-governmental categories, as required by law, in the <br />following material, which also includes additional constraints not <br />illustrated in the Tables. <br /> <br />Governmental Constraints <br /> <br />Actual and potential governmental constraints on the development, <br />improvement and maintenance of housing can be summarized as follows: <br /> <br />Minimum lot size requirements in existing neighborhoods at 6,000 <br />square feet rather than lower sizes contribute to increased costs <br />of new housing. <br /> <br />2. Current Federal tax laws provide little encouragement for increased <br /> investment in new rental housing. <br /> <br />Santa Ana has Article 34 authority with respect only to the <br />development of public low-rent housing for the elderly. This is a <br />constraint upon the provision of similar housing for low-income <br />families and also does not provide an opportunity for tax-exempt <br /> <br />13 <br /> <br /> <br />