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EIR No. 2014 -01, GPA No. 2014 -02 ZOA No. 2014 -01 & AA No. 2014 -01 August 25, 2010 Page 2 Proiect Backaround The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) mandated that the State adopt a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). As an implementation component of AB 32 the State adopted the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008 (SB 375) which targeted reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles — the largest source of GHGs. This legislation required that each metropolitan planning organization adopt a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) that integrates transportation, land -use, and housing policies to plan for the achievement of emissions targets for each region. The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) was the metropolitan planning organization charged with preparing the SCS for the region that includes Santa Ana. One of the goals of this effort is to ensure that regional transportation improvements are integrated with land use planning to ensure that new housing development, in particular, is located near transit in order to provide alternatives to private automobile transportation and, thereby, reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To that end SCAG adopted the 2012 -2035 Regional Transportation Plan /Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP /SCS). This document identified areas throughout the region that are High Quality Transit Areas (HQTA). An HQTA is generally a walkable transit village or corridor that is within a half mile of a well - serviced transit stop or a transit corridor with 15- minute or less service frequency during peak commute hours, with the Harbor Corridor meeting this criteria. The Harbor Corridor currently offers OCTA's bus rapid transit Bravo system and the intersection of Harbor and Westminster will link to the Santa Ana /Garden Grove fixed guideway. In acknowledgement of this, the City of Santa Ana was awarded a SCAG Demonstration Project grant in order to fund innovative planning work that will result in reductions in vehicle miles traveled and resulting greenhouse gas emissions while providing the "co- benefits" of community livability, mobility, prosperity and sustainability. Finally, the State requires that cities, through their Housing Elements, identify land that can be zoned for housing development in order to meet projected population growth. These figures are provided to each city through the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). The City's 2014- 2021 Housing Element identified the Harbor Corridor as a location suitable for future housing development and committed, through the Housing Element Implementation Plan, to re -zone this area no later than October 2014 in order to be in compliance with the State Department of Housing and Community Development. Although not yet adopted, the Harbor Corridor Plan also will further the goals of "Complete Streets" and active transportation that will be contained in the City's updated Circulation Element. 75A -22