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HOUSING CONSTRAINTS <br />use standards do not constrain the production of family housing, the Housing <br />Element proposes Program 32, Multiple- Bedroom Incentives. Although there is <br />currently a higher demand for smaller units in several areas in the City, recent <br />development in the Transit Zoning Code has included a variety of housing types <br />including units suitable for large families. In response, the City will monitor <br />applications for residential projects to ensure they match existing and future <br />housing demand in Santa Ana and propose ordinance changes if needed to align <br />products with needs. <br />Lot Sizes <br />The second critical issue in facilitating housing along corridors is determining the <br />desired project size and acquiring a site. Developers desire larger parcels because <br />this offers more flexibility and available land to include on -site amenities, arrange <br />buildings and/or units, and generate a greater revenue source for the project. For <br />affordable housing developers, larger projects also score more competitively on <br />state and federal loan and grant applications. However, lot consolidation is often <br />needed to assemble a desired lot size. <br />Lot consolidation is typically achieved through the voluntary purchase of land. <br />Property owners are more likely to sell if the sale generates a high enough profit. <br />However, if a proposed project would result in significant financial gain but the <br />price is not right or a landowner decides to holdout for an exorbitant price, an <br />otherwise desirable project may never materialize. In cases where there is <br />insufficient incentive for voluntary purchase and consolidation of sites, <br />City /Agency action is often required to purchase and assemble lots. <br />One promising planning strategy to encourage property owners to voluntarily <br />consolidate parcels into larger more developable parcels is graduated density. A <br />graduated density provision is one that allows progressively higher residential <br />density based on the size ofthe lot. Graduated density is an especially appropriate <br />tool to encourage the consolidation of small or irregularly shaped parcels into <br />larger parcels that are suitable for development. This tool is often applied to <br />transit - oriented development or the reuse of older commercial strips. <br />Shoup' notes that graduated density zoning relies on market incentives to <br />motivate property owners to voluntarily assemble land. Property owners may see a <br />financial incentive to consolidate lots prior to development or sale of the lot to a <br />third party and therefore agree to enter into agreements with property owners of <br />adjacent sites. Landowners who do not wish to consolidate their lots or decide to <br />hold out from consolidation in the hope of gaining the highest price may miss the <br />chance to reap the financial benefits of lot consolidation. <br />Several local cities, such as Pasadena, Burbank, Glendale, and Simi Valley, have <br />implemented graduated densities. Although most ofthe sites included in the land <br />inventory necessary to address the RHNA are at least one acre or larger, the City <br />1 Donald Shoup, "Graduated Density Zoning," Journal of Planning Education and Research <br />28 (Dec. 2008):161-179. <br />B -20 <br />CITY OF SANTA ANA GENERAL PLAN HOUSING ELEMENT <br />