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

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HOUSING PLAN 45. Housing Accessible to People with Disabilities The aging of our nation, changing demographics, and desire to house people of all abilities into residential neighborhoods has led to innovative concepts such as aging -in- place. This refers to the ability to live in one's home and community safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age, income, or ability level. To further this goal, city planners and housing professionals are exploring new models of housing, such as visitability, universal design, or barrier free housing. As this concept supports Santa Ana's inclusive, multigenerational housing vision, the City will explore offering incentives to developers who incorporate accessibility components in the construction or rehabilitation of housing. For existing homes, the City will implement its reasonable accommodation ordinance. HOUSING FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMELESS ,-� 46. Emergency Shelters and Transitional Housing . d ti'` Santa Ana has historically supported a continuum of care program of shelters, transitional housing, and supportive services to help homeless individuals and _ families move into stable and permanent housing. An effective network of service 71 agencies has emerged to address these needs through the guiding efforts of the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness. The City continues to fund this network to support and offset the cost for providing emergency shelter, transitional housing, and support services. Tthe City also adopted its emergency San Miguel Residence shelter ordinance in 2013. Emergency shelters with up to 30 beds are permitted by right in the M1, M2, and SD zones. This ordinance also permits one Multiservice Center with 150 to 200 beds in the City. The City will establish an Emergency Shelter Overlay zone in the industrial zoned areas identified as best suited for emergency shelters. To comply with state law, the City will revise the separation criteria standards of the Emergency Shelter Ordinance. 47. Rapid Rehousing/Transition to Permanent Housing Access to decent, safe, and affordable permanent housing is the ultimate goal of Santa Ana's comprehensive system of care for homeless people. As a complement to its current services model, the City is striving to place homeless people immediately into permanent housing with supportive services, bypassing the need for stays in shelter or transitional housing. This approach is called a Rapid - Rehousing Approach. Santa Ana's Housing Authority continues to provide funds, where available, to assist in the acquisition/rehabilitation of homes for permanent supportive housing or provide rental vouchers for persons leaving homeless programs. The City will continue to support this model and encourage service providers to make every effort to rapidly rehouse homeless people. 48. Supportive Services Santa Ana's homeless strategy calls for the provision of outreach and support services to assist individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. In addition, a key part of this strategy is to prevent, to the extent feasible, individuals and families from slipping into homelessness. To that end, 66 CITY OF SANTA ANA GENERAL PLAN HOUSING ELEMENT