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

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HOUSING RESOURCES Westminster /17th Street) expected to open in the coming years. A combination of vacant and underutilized land, current and future transit improvements, and nearby freeway access makes Harbor Boulevard an ideal candidate for new residential development opportunities. The City has identified a potential of up to 4,600 units that could be built on 305 acres of land along Harbor Boulevard. While this plan guides and emphasizes mixed -use development, the plan contains a policy that requires at least 10.1 acres of land be zoned exclusively for residential to accommodate all income levels of housing. The plan's focus on transit supports higher- density uses at transit nodes, with lower densities serving as transitions to adjacent existing residential neighborhoods. Exhibit C -2 depicts the draft Harbor Corridor Plan land use districts, along with candidate sites that could be set aside exclusively for residential development. Table CA provides property characteristics for each candidate site. The Harbor Corridor Plan will identify the final sites to be set aside exclusively for residential development. Adequate Sites Analysis The City has identified residential/mixed use potential on all 305 acres of vacant and underutilized lands within the specific plan boundaries. Program 19 identifies the area as a key corridor for transit - oriented residential and employment opportunities. The Harbor Corridor Plan allows for a variety of housing types, including live -work, care homes, single dwelling, and multifamily units. The majority of land along the corridor contains underutilized auto and commercial sites with approximately 740 existing residential units. The area is also home to a mobile -home community. Multiple developers have expressed interest in building residential projects within the project area and there is already one residential development in the pipeline expected to be constructed in 2014 (see Table C -2). This project will add 70 new units to the specific plan area, with 69 units restricted to lower income households. Environmental and Infrastructure Analysis The Harbor Corridor Plan will be supported by a programmatic environmental impact report. The draft technical studies prepared in 2013 made the following conclusions about new development under the Plan. Overall, the draft studies found minimal environmental or infrastructure constraints on new development in the project area. Any improvements identified are relatively small and localized and would not create a significant constraint to the development of new housing. ■ Existing sewer infrastructure within the Harbor Corridor Plan is deficient based _J CITY OF SANTA ANA GENERAL PLAN HOUSING ELEMENT C -11