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Grand Avenue Widening Project Environmental Impact Report Section 6.0 Avenue widening will not contribute to a cumulative adverse impact in the City of Santa Ana related to land use and planning. 6.2.4 CUMULATIVE IMPACTS RELATED TO POPULATION AND HOUSING The Land Use Element EIR indicated that the proposed changes to the Land Use Element would not result in adverse impacts in the City related to housing and population. The Land Use Element includes policies expected to be effective in mitigating adverse impacts of projects in the City on residential uses and neighborhoods, as shown in Table 6-1. The Housing Element (City of Santa Ana Planning Department, December 18, 2000) also identifies a number of policies specifically related to housing as summarized in Table 6-2. The Housing Element also identifies those segments of the population who may have more difficulty in finding affordable housing. These populations include low and limited income persons, and special needs groups such as the elderly, large families, female -headed households, the disabled and the homeless. Between 1980 and 1990, the housing stock in the City of Santa Ana increased by nearly 7,800 units, according to the United States Census. Between 1990 and 2000, the housing stock experienced a net decrease of 18 units. Further, although new housing was constructed in the City between 1990 and 2000, there was no net increase in total housing units. This is because the removal of housing units throughout the City occurred at nearly the same rate as the construction of new units. Specifically, the Housing Element indicates that contributing factors to the loss of housing in the City have included the implementation of state and local transportation improvements such as the widening of Interstate 5 (I-5) through the City in the 1990s, redevelopment, code enforcement and private development. According to the City's Housing Element, from 1990 to 2000, the City grew by over 23,943 persons while at the same time experiencing a net loss of 18 housing units. The City faces additional challenges in providing residential units for varied income levels because of the level of urban development already present in the City. Available undeveloped land within the City suitable for residential development is very limited. This point is noted in the Community Factors section of the Housing Element as follows: "Adequate land to meet the housing needs of all income groups is essential to meet the current and future housing needs. Santa Ana is predominantly "built out" with limited potential for new residential construction. It is estimated that 153.9 acres of vacant land remains with the potential for residential development. In addition, 74.6 acres of land has been identified as underutilized with the potential of being redeveloped as additional housing. Maximizing opportunities for new affordable housing will require creative forms of housing development and quality site design." (pp. 10) This being the case, the replacement of the older affordable housing along Grand Avenue may not be replaced with comparable units in the City's general housing stock. No parcels along Grand Avenue are identified as either vacant or underutilized parcels in Exhibit C-2 of the Housing Element. Therefore, there is no identified policy or plan to replace the existing housing on the remainder parcels that would be created by the either Alternative 1 or 2. This does not necessarily indicate that the redevelopment of these parcels would not be residential. It only F: IPROJ-ENMGrand eirlNew Text - GrandlSection 6.0 -new. doe Page 6-5