2014-006 - Santa Ana General Plan Housing Element and Public Safety Element Updates

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PUBLIC OUTREACH Big Ideas. Solutions to workforce and affordable housing require big ideas. Employers and the City will need to contribute. Ultimately, the City Council will evaluate housing policy alternatives and set housing policy direction. These policies need to be shaped into a well - articulated vision for Santa Ana's housing future. Incentives are also needed to promote more affordable housing. ■ Funding Projects. The City should leverage monies with other funding sources like state bonds and tax credits. Advocating for the federal government programs that benefit affordable housing efforts and advancing more use of tax credits for entities would help to provide affordable housing. SURVEY RESULTS A bilingual survey (English and Spanish) was developed to solicit input about health and wellness in Santa Ana's communities. Electronic and paper copies of the survey were available at the Health and Fitness Fair, through the Community Linkage Forum, and on the City's Housing Element Update website. Responses were collected between June 1 and July 31, 2013. There were 314 surveys submitted during the outreach period: 209 in English and 105 in Spanish. Survey results indicated that 85% of respondents are City of Santa Ana residents, with only 8% reporting that they work in Santa Ana. The majority of the respondents were long -term residents; only 3% of respondents reported that they have lived in the City for less than 1 year, and 87% indicated that they have lived in Santa Ana for 5 years or longer. Respondents were asked to identify their three most important health and housing related issues, which ranked in the following order: 1) Access to open space, parks, and community centers (72 %) 2) Access to healthy food (58 %) 3) Affordable rental housing payments (50 %) Increased rental housing opportunities was identified as the least important issue, with only 19% of respondents identifying it as one of their three most important issues. When asked to identify how far they need to travel to buy groceries, including fresh fruits and vegetables, 49% of respondents noted that the distance requires a car or bus; while 28% of respondents indicated that they were within a 10- minute walk from a grocery store. Only 7% of respondents use their bicycle to travel to purchase groceries. Many residents indicated that the community lacks "true grocery stores," like Food 4 Less or Ralphs, and noted that the smaller neighborhood markets don't have the space to accommodate a larger food selection, particularly quality /healthy food options. Several people also suggested that Santa Ana needs more farmer's markets that provide healthy, affordable, quality food. CITY OF SANTA ANA GENERAL PLAN HOUSING ELEMENT Participants at the Health and Fitness Fair completed the Health and Housing Survey and played interactivegames to learn about increasing healthy opportunities in their neighborhoods. 7% Distance requires a car or bus ■ 5 min walk ■ 10 min walk ■ Short bike ride 49% Chart E -1: Proximity to Groceries Including Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Source: 2013 Housing, Health and Wellness Survey, City of Santa Ana and TPC I DC &E.