2002-077 - Certifying the Environmental Impact Report for the Armstrong Ranch Development Project

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· To develop a 2650 seat cathedral and parish for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County 2. The project would be consistent with the General Plan. The General Plan designates the site for low density residential uses. The property was rezoned from R1-PRD (Planned Residential Development) to Specific Development (which permlt~ residential uses) in March 1977. As such, the project site has been planned for residential development for over 2.5 years. The project would also meet the goals and policies set forth in the City's General Plan. Section 3.7 of the EIR provides a comprehensive analysis of project consistency with the General Plan, and this section of the EIR demonstrates that the project would be consistent with the General Plan. In addition, the project site is located within a City district that exhibits a strong residential component. Approval of the project would allow implementation residential uses at the site, which would not only be consistent with the General Plan and Zoning designations, but also would strengthen the residential character of this district and increase compatibility with adjacent residential uses. 3. The City's new housing construction objectives as identified in the City of Santa Ana Housing Element (refer to Table 5 of that document) include development of 353 single-family dwelling units during the 2000 to 2005 period. Over the 1998-2005 time frame, projected housing needs in Santa Aha, according to the Southern California Association of Government, include 377 very low, 226 low, 313 moderate, and 423 above moderate-income housing units (a total of 1,379 housing units). The project would contribute 156 housing units to identified housing needs within the City. 4. The project would include development of a 2,650-seat church, planned to serve approximately 40,000 households within the Diocese of Orange. The church will be designated as the Cathedral for the Diocese of Orange and designed as a prominent facility that would enhance the City's image. The church would also serve the community needs of the surrounding residential district. 4. Furthermore, there are no feasible alternative sites within the City, as described in the Final EIR. There is no vacant, unentitled land in the City that is available to the applicant and is large enough to accommodate the proposed project. The City is nearly built out, and the project site represents one of the last remaining tracts of extensive undeveloped land in the City. Therefore, there are no feasible mitigation measures or alternatives that would reduce or eliminate the significant and unmitigated air quality impacts associated with operational emissions and land 33