2014-006 - Santa Ana General Plan Housing Element and Public Safety Element Updates

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HOUSING NEEDS While Class B and C apartments provide a valuable source of affordable housing, they do not provide opportunities for Orange County's growing executive class. Without additional Class A apartments the City cannot attract above moderate income renters. The nearby cities of Costa Mesa and Irvine offer several executive rental opportunities for professionals who would potentially choose to live in Santa Ana should the proper location, amenities, and price be offered in Class A housing. New housing development will provide additional Class A rental housing in Santa Ana. The City's District Centers including MacArthur Place to the south and CityPlace to the north will offer amenities attractive to above moderate income renters to professionals. Housing Problems The federal government considers housing overcrowding or housing overpayment to be evidence of a housing problem. These conditions also lead to a number of hardships for households, including insufficient income to afford other necessities, undue burden on families, and accelerated wear on a home. In some cases, the inability to afford housing can lead to foreclosures or otherwise loss of housing. The following defines and describes the prevalence of overcrowding and overpayment in Santa Ana. Overcrowding Overcrowding is a critical issue for many communities. In recent years, considerable public concern has been voiced regarding the level of overcrowding in Santa Ana and its impact on available parks and recreation services, facilities for students, parking and traffic management, and overall condition of infrastructure and its ability to support residents. In order to understand the issue, two working definitions for overcrowding are cited. State Standard. The State of California has occupancy standards governing the number of people who may legally reside in a habitable space, based on regulations in the Uniform Housing Code. Under California's Maximum Occupancy Standard, 10 persons would be allowed to reside in a one - bedroom apartment of no more than 454 square feet. In contrast, the federal standard indicates that if more than 2 persons occupied the same sized unit, the household would be considered as living in overcrowded conditions. Federal Standard. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (24 CFR 791.402 [b] ), housing overcrowding refers to a household that has more members than habitable rooms in a home. Moderate overcrowding refers to 1.0 to 1.5 persons per room and severe overcrowding refers to more than 1.5 persons per room. In keeping with the ACS 2011 data (Chart A -19), this standard is used as a reference guide in this housing element. According to the 2011 ACS, approximately 24,281 households in Santa Ana (33 percent) are overcrowded. Approximately 18 percent of the City's occupied housing units are moderately overcrowded, and 15 percent are severely overcrowded. The ACS acknowledges error rates of 25 to 50 percent (based on CITY OF SANTA ANA GENERAL PLAN HOUSING ELEMENT A -19 50% 40% � 30% 20% X41' 10% 0% Homeowner Renter 'L Moderate overcrowding ■ Severe overcrowding Chart A -19: Housing Overcrowding in Santa Ana Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 -2011 American Community Survey.