6 - GPA19-01; AA19-01_651 W SUNFLOWER AVENUE

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Legacy Sunflower Apartments Page 88 Mitigated Negative Declaration – March 14, 2019 Ana.33 Assuming the persons per unit for the proposed apartments is one-third of the city average due to the number of studio and one-bedroom apartments, the project is estimated to house approximately 328 residents34 and represents a 0.098% increase of the city’s current population of 334,13635 (2017). This population increase assumes that all of the project residents live outside the city and would relocate to Santa Ana. This percentage is much less when taking into account any existing city residents that would move to the site. An increase in 328 residents, assuming all of the project residents currently live outside the city, would not substantially increase the city’s current population. California State Housing Element Law enacted in 1980 requires the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) and other regional councils of government in California to determine the existing and projected regional housing needs for persons at all income levels. SCAG is also required by law to determine each jurisdiction’s share of the regional housing need in the six-county (Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura) Southern California region. State legislation and the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) process are intended to address housing needs for projected state population and household growth, to create a better balance of jobs and housing in communities, and to ensure the availability of decent affordable housing for all income groups. As the regional Council of Governments (COG) for Southern California, State law requires SCAG to “determine the existing and projected housing need for its region”. SCAG takes the lead in overseeing the assessment by identifying measures to gauge housing demand and comparing those numbers against socioeconomic factors throughout the region. The RHNA consists of two measurements: 1) existing need for housing, and 2) future need for housing. The existing need assessment examines key variables from census data, to measure ways in which the housing market is not meeting the needs of current residents. The future need assessment is determined by SCAG’s growth forecast and public participation process. The State’s Housing Element law requires local governments to make plans to adequately address their share of existing and projected population growth, taking into consideration affordability of available and future housing. Recognizing that the most critical decisions regarding housing development, occur at the local level, through a city’s General Plan, the Housing law seeks to adequately address housing needs and demands. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) enforce State Housing Element Law by requiring certified Housing Elements as part of every city’s General Plan. As of March 2019, the City has exceeded its 2014-2021 Regional Housing Needs Allocation Goals for all income categories. A recent Housing Element Annual Progress Report was prepared by the City for submittal to the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the State Office of Planning and Research (OPR) in April. The report is required by the State for the City to provide a summary that Santa Ana is making progress to meeting its share of the RHNA and to be in compliance with State Housing Law and be eligible for certain State funding programs such as the Housing Related Parks Program (HRP). There were 1,372 building permits issued for new housing units in Santa Ana in 2018 and 42 percent of those permits, or 577 units, were for affordable units. The 577 building permits for affordable residential units allowed the City to exceed Santa Ana’s RHNA allocation for 204 affordable units. Table 25 shows the progress the city has made towards exceeding its’ RHNA allocations. The project would further assist the City towards exceeds its RHNA residential unit allocation. 33 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/santaanacitycalifornia/PST045217 . 34 1.45 persons per unit. 35 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/santaanacitycalifornia/PST045217 6-110