75A - PH - PACIFIC TOWNHOME PROJ

Home Browse Search

GPA No. 2016 -02, AA No. 2016 -02 & TTM No. 2016 -02 April 11, 2016 Page 5 Project Backaround The project site was developed with several buildings that were built between 1923 and 1979. Since then, the buildings have undergone minimal tenant improvements, with the sites largely unchanged and vacant since 2010. The City's Housing Element, adopted in 2014, identifies portions of Santa Ana for future residential and mixed -use developments. The Housing Element states that these areas were selected "to create distinct and vibrant activity centers linked together with a variety of transportation options." First Street was identified as a corridor to allow housing to be constructed; however, this site was not specifically identified as an opportunity site. This project Is consistent with the direction of the Housing Element, which states "the City will need to create new residential General Plan land use designations, zoning districts, and design guidelines" for developments ranging from 23 to 35 units per acre. Further, the City has recently initiated the process to update its General Plan, which is the blueprint for future development. A key component of the update process is the identification of sites for future development, including but not limited to areas for new residential and /or mixed - use development. Staff has identified the First Street corridor, including the project site, as a potential area for mixed -use development up to six stories in height and at a maximum density of 100 units per acre. This area will be studied in greater depth as the update process continues, with a final determination on the eventual land use designation expected in the next one to two years. Project Analvsis The Olson Company is requesting approval of a general plan amendment, amendment application (zone change), a tentative tract map and a Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring Reporting Program in order to allow the 62 -unit, for -sale townhome development. The following sections of this report provide analyses for each of the proposed action items. General Plan Amendment The applicant is requesting approval of a General Plan Amendment to change the General Plan land use designation from General Commercial (GC) to Urban Neighborhood (UN) with a floor area ratio of 1.0 (Exhibit 8). The floor area ratio was derived by dividing the square footage of the proposed development by the total site area in square feet. Further, staff is recommending that the separate 0.16 -acre parcel surrounded by the development proposal also be included in the general plan amendment action for the project. 75A -9