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SPR No. 2025-01, VTTM No. 2025-01, and DBA No. 2025-01 – MLC Holdings, <br />Inc./Meritage Homes (2020 East First Street) <br />March 24, 2025 <br />Page 2 <br />4 <br />8 <br />7 <br />6 <br />Santa Ana Municipal Code (SAMC) Sections 41-1600 through 41-1607. Staff recommends <br />approval of the applicant’s request as the project aligns with the intent of the General Plan <br />and MEMU overlay district to establish residential mixed-use and employment centers that <br />are well-connected to public transportation. Additionally, the project contributes to the <br />community’s affordable and market-rate ownership housing stock, represents a significant <br />reinvestment in a currently-vacant site, does not result in adverse environmental impacts or <br />serious public health concerns, and is consistent with various goals and policies of the <br />General Plan. <br /> <br />DISCUSSION <br />Table 1: Project and Location Information <br />Item Information <br />Project Address and Council Ward 2020 East First Street – Ward 3 <br />Nearest Intersection East First Street and Golden Circle Drive <br />General Plan Designation District Center – Medium High (DC – 3) <br />Zoning Designation General Commercial (C2); Active Urban (AU) within the Metro <br />East Use Overly Zone (MEMU) <br />North Eating Establishment/Commercial <br />East Multifamily Residences <br />South School (in the City of Tustin)Surrounding Land Uses <br />West Medical Office and Recreation Field <br />Gross Area: 3.72 acres (161,956 square feet)Property Size Net Area: 3.68 acres (160,130 square feet) <br />Existing Site Development 118,192-square-foot office building (Currently Vacant) <br />Use Permissions Multi-Family Residential <br />Zoning Code Sections Affected <br />Uses Article XVI.I (Density Bonus); Active Urban within <br />the Metro East Mixed Use Overlay Zone (MEMU); <br />and Chapter 34 (Subdivisions) <br />Background and Context <br />The project site is currently developed with a five-story, 118,192-square-foot office building <br />and a parking lot, both constructed in 1985. The office building is currently vacant and has <br />been vacant since December 2012. The vacant building would be demolished as part of the <br />proposed project. <br />The project site is located within the MEMU Overlay Zone. The MEMU Overlay Zone was <br />adopted in 2007 to facilitate mixed-used development opportunities in a portion of the City <br />between the Santa Ana (I-5) and Costa Mesa (SR-55) freeways centered on First and <br />Fourth streets. In 2018, the City approved an expansion of the MEMU primarily along <br />First Street to Grand Avenue that resulted in an additional 33 acres of potential mixed- <br />use development. As part of the MEMU expansion in 2018, the City Council certified a <br />Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR), which contained an updated Mitigation <br />