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

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HOUSING NEEDS Housing and Services As noted by the Anne Casey Foundation, the shortage of affordable family housing continues to create its own crisis in family well- being, education, and health. Unsafe and overcrowded housing makes parenting difficult and places enormous stress on parent -child relationships. Living in substandard housing can lead to health problems in children, particularly lead exposure and respiratory diseases. Living in poor quality housing may also result in frequent moves by a family, leading to poorer school performance among children. The following ideas can address the needs of families. Create Affordable Rental Housing Homeownership opportunities are not immediately feasible or affordable for many large families or families earning low and moderate incomes. The City provides more than 1,500 units of family housing affordable to very low and low income residents through Section 8 vouchers. While publicly subsidized housing can meet a portion of the extremely low income need, the resources are too limited to address existing unmet need. The creation of affordable family rental housing, including large units with three or more bedrooms, continues to be a priority to assist the large number of families who are overpaying for housing and live in overcrowded conditions. In addition, the City's Housing Opportunity Ordinance was designed to support the production of affordable housing. Passed in 2011, the Ordinance requires eligible ownership projects to set aside at least 15 percent of the units as affordable to moderate income households for at least 45 years. Eligible rental projects are required to set aside at least 15 percent of the units as affordable to lower income households for at least 55 years. Programs 25 -29 of the Framework provide financial and technical assistance for those in need of lower income rental housing. Improve Housing Conditions The City of Santa Ana has a large number of multiple - family housing projects that were built before the City instituted modern residential design guidelines. Although safeguards are in place to ensure that new apartments are built to modern standards, many older apartment projects need rehabilitation. Poor housing conditions include the physical condition of the unit, the lack of or condition of utilities, the lack of open space and recreational amenities, and insufficiently sized units that are unhealthy for parents and their children. Programs 7 and 8 of the Framework constitute the City's Community Building Initiatives providing guidance for building both healthy communities and supporting collaborative projects to improve neighborhood livability. Santa Ana is actively involved in the acquisition and rehabilitation of multiple - family housing as a means to improve the living conditions of residents and provide a long -term or permanent source of affordable housing. Although state law focuses on increasing the supply of housing as a key driver of long -term affordability, simply increasing the supply will not address the need to maintain AA& CITY OF SANTA ANA GENERAL PLAN HOUSING ELEMENT A -27