Item 30 - Uncodified Ordinance Amending the List of Parcels

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Ordinance to Revise Local AB 2011 Implementing Ordinance December 17, 2024 Page 3 Assembly Bill 2243 AB 2243 was signed by the Governor on September 19, 2024, and will become effective on January 1, 2025. AB 2243 amends AB 2011 and removes existing development standards in state law that prohibit housing developments from being subject to the streamlined, ministerial approval process if proposed housing units are located within 500 feet of a freeway, as well as makes amendments to other applicability criteria. AB 2243 will authorize those housing developments within the 500-foot freeway buffer to be subject to the streamlined, ministerial approval process, provided that habitable areas of the building provide air filtration systems for outside and return air that provide a minimum efficiency reporting value of 13. Impacts of AB 2243 to the General Plan The City of Santa Ana completed a comprehensive update of its General Plan in 2022, including the adoption of a new land use plan, to guide future development and address the city's housing needs. That new land use plan encompasses over 1,500 acres of land designated in five Focus Areas throughout the City and includes over 770 acres allowing residential density at or exceeding 30 dwelling units per acre, which is the threshold established and deemed appropriate by state law to accommodate housing for lower income households for jurisdictions in a metropolitan county. The General Plan Update is the culmination of nearly seven years of work that included over 100 community meetings and workshops, surveys, focus groups, public hearings, and City resources to arrive at a plan that accurately reflects the core values of the Santa Ana community, bridges disparate views into a unifying vision, and accordingly plans for future development in a manner that respects established neighborhoods, business districts, and land uses while meeting the needs of future generations. The General Plan Update, and the community input and engagement process used for the Update, resulted in the City Council's adoption of five Focus Areas in which new mixed -use and residential development at medium and high densities may be constructed, thereby planning for future growth while maintaining and preserving existing neighborhoods, commercial districts, and established land use patterns. Moreover, these areas are the subject of the Comprehensive Zoning Code Update and public realm plans updates currently underway that will account for the infrastructure improvements needed to sustain new quality housing developments and communities in the long term. The removal of the freeway buffer by AB 2243 will result in a number of sites that were previously not eligible for AB 2011 streamlining, ministerial approval and, thus, not contemplated, analyzed, or included in the Ordinances to now qualify for AB 2011 streamlining on January 1, 2025 unless the exempt parcels lists included in the Ordinances are amended as proposed. Moreover, the revision to AB 2011 by AB 2243 will permit affordable housing in high -risk zones in close proximity to freeways and will result potential conflicts with the General Plan land use plan.