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Chapter 4 Statement of Overriding Considerations 30 dwelling units per acre in order to meet the density criteria that HCD has established as being supportive of affordable housing production. The City's Housing Element identified the Renaissance Specific Plan area, which shares the same geographic boundary as the Transit Zoning Code area, as one that has the potential to provide a new source of residential in-fill development and, as such, was used to partially satisfy the City's RHNA requirement. During the planr~ing period covered by the Housing Element (2006-2014) it is estimated that the City could anticipate up to 238 units of new residential development. Throughout the life of the Transit Zoning Code (a planniizg 1-iorizon of 20 to 30 years) it is estimated that there could be as many as 4,075 new residential units, a portion of which could be expected to meet affordability requirements. The Proposed Project implements the Housing Element and provides the zoning necessary to stimulate new affordable housing production. j. The Developer Project component of the Proposed Project and the Mercy House project will provide up to 220 new residential units. As currently designed these projects will provide 121 rental units affordable to those meeting the Orange County criteria fox Low, Very-Low and Extremely Low Income, three market rate rental units, six for-sale units affordable to those meeting the Orange County criteria for Moderate Income, and 26 market-rate for-sale units. This creates a combined total of 156 new residential units. Of these, 127 will be deed-restricted affordable housing and will be counted towards the City's RHNA requirement. These 127 affordable units represent 53% of all new units estimated to be constructed within the 2006-2014 planr~iiig horizon of the Housing Element for the Transit Zor~iizg Code area and represent 10% of the City's total RHNA requirement fox Very Low and Low Income housing (1,268 units -City of Santa Ana Housing Element 2006-2014 Table 4). This is a significant contribution to meeting both the State mandated requirements for affordable housing production, as well as meeting a real need fox the residents of Santa Ana. In addition, the Mercy House project (12 of the 127 previously described units) meets the City's criteria for Special Needs housing, also identified as a need in the Housing Element. Failure to approve the Developer Project and the Mercy House project will eliminate an important new source of affordable housing and special needs housing. k. The Developer Project furthers the City's policy of "maximiz[ing] affordable housing on Agency- owned properties that is of high quality, sustainable, and available to various income levels." (See Santa Ana Housing Element [2006-2014], Policy HE-2.8.) It meets the City's policy to "encourage the construction of rental housing for Santa Ana's residents and workforce, including a commitment to very low, low and moderate income residents and moderate income Santa Ana workers" (Policy HE-2.3) and its policy to "facilitate and encourage a diversity and range in types, prices, and sizes of housing, including single-family homes, apartments, town homes, mixed/multi- use housing, transit-oriented developments, and live/work housing" (Policy HE-2.4). (See Santa Ana Housing Element [2006-2014].) The 'T'ransit Zoning Code component of the Proposed Project accomplishes this by creating zor~ing and affordable housing incentives that supports the development of new affordable housing by allowing for densities which provide the economies of scale necessary to allow for below-market construction. The Transit Zoning Code also provides for a wide variety of housing types which includes everything from single-family detached houses to high-rise mixed-use development I3y allowing for a mixture of uses both horizontally on single properties, and vertically within single buildings, the Transit Zoning Code provides opportunities fox a diverse mix of housing in furtherance of the City's Housing Element. The Developer Project component of the Proposed Project accomplishes this by providing 124 new rental units and 32 new for-sale units. Of these units, 127 will be deed restricted to ensure their long-term affordability. This new housing is comprised of a variety of product types including courtyard Transit Zoning Code (SD 84) EIR Findings of Fact/Statement of Overriding Considerations 4_'7