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

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POLICY FRAMEWORK SPECIAL NEEDS Santa Ana is unique in Orange County, containing a diversity of people of all backgrounds, family types, lifestyles, and income levels. While adding to the richness of Santa Ana, many residents have special housing needs. Some special needs are common to all, while others are more common to people of different ages and incomes. These groups include, but are not limited to, seniors, large families with children, people with disabilities, female- headed households, single - parent families, and homeless people. Fashioning an appropriate, creative and effective response to this challenge requires a better understanding of the nature of special needs. Special needs may arise due to one's income, family characteristics, disability, health condition, or many other circumstances. This complexity requires a broad range of strategies for housing and services. Providing housing for an aging population is one example. The retirement and aging of babyboomers have created the need for new housing options. While many seniors desire to age in place in their home, new forms of housing, such as lifecare facilities, offer a broader continuum of care. These types of facilities reduce the need for seniors to relocate multiple times to new housing. Single - family homes for the elderly are another popular option that give residents the ability to stay within their community, and are typically affordable to moderate incomes. Equally important is the changing nature of families. A growing trend is multigenerational households, defined as those consisting of more than two generations living under the same roof. This trend is due in part to the aging of residents, economic conditions and challenges of finding affordable housing, lifestyle preferences, and the cost of senior housing. Whereas the granny flat or room addition concept is not new, developers are now building housing products for multigenerational living. Housing for people with disabilities or who are homeless is also changing. The traditional way to address homeless people with emergency shelters, transitional housing and permanent supportive housing is being blended with a new housing - first model. This new approach focuses on placing people immediately into permanent housing, without going to a shelter. Increasing movement of persons with disabilities to community-based or in- homecare options require new models of supportive housing. Santa Ana recognizes these changes and has set forth the following goal and policies to guide its approach to housing special needs groups. J�A 48 CITY OF SANTA ANA GENERAL PLAN HOUSING ELEMENT