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ORDINANCE NO. NS-3013 AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AMENDING ARTICLE XX OF CHAPTER 41 (ZONING) OF THE SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO URBAN LOT SPLITS AND TWO -UNIT PROJECTS IN COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSING LAW ENACTED UNDER SENATE BILL 9 WHEREAS, the State Legislature found and declared that ensuring access to affordable housing is a matter of statewide concern and not a municipal affair and in 2021, proposed legislation that is applicable to all cities, including charter cities, imposing new limits on local authority to regulate urban lot splits and two -unit projects ("SB 9 Law"); and WHEREAS, in 2021, the California Legislature approved, and the Governor signed into law a number of bills that, among other things, added Government Code sections 65852.21 and 66411.7; and WHEREAS, Senate Bill 9 was signed into law on September 16, 2021 and takes effect January 1, 2022, and supersedes any conflicting city ordinance, rendering it null and void; and WHEREAS, the City of Santa Ana desires to amend its local development and subdivision standards to regulate urban lot splits and two -unit projects to comply with the provisions of Government Code sections 65852.21 and 66411.7 and to meet the intent and objective of the State Legislature to ensure access to affordable housing; and WHEREAS, there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, or welfare based on the passage of the new SB 9 Law because the City currently lacks adequate local objective standards to regulate projects governed by SB 9, meaning that if the City does not immediately adopt appropriate objective standards for urban lot splits and two -unit projects that are consistent with SB9, then as of January 1, 2022, the City's review of such projects would be limited to application of the objective standards that currently exist in the City of Santa Ana Municipal Code, which did not anticipate ministerial urban lot splits and two -unit projects, and thus the Code lacks the objective standards necessary to protect and preserve the local community; and WHEREAS, the approval of urban lot splits and two -unit projects based solely on the default statutory standards, without local regulations governing lot size, unit size, height, setback, landscape, architectural review, among other things, would threaten the character of existing neighborhoods, and negatively impact property values, personal privacy, and fire safety. These threats to public safety, health, and welfare justify adoption of this ordinance as an urgency ordinance to be effective immediately upon adoption by a two-thirds vote of the City Council; and Ordinance No. NS-3013 Page 1 of 32