Planning and Building Agency
www.santa-ana.org/planning-and-building
Item # 13
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
March 19, 2024
TOPIC: 2023 General Plan Annual Progress Report
AGENDA TITLE
City of Santa Ana 2023 General Plan Annual Progress Report
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
1. Receive and file the City of Santa Ana 2023 General Plan Annual Progress Report; and
2. Authorize staff to submit the City of Santa Ana 2023 General Plan Annual Progress Report to the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Office of Planning and Research (OPR).
GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES: No
DISCUSSION
Government Code Section 65400 requires local planning agencies to submit an annual progress report on the status of the General Plan and progress in its implementation to the local legislative body. The progress report is submitted to State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and Office of Planning and Research (OPR) annually.
The General Plan is a state-mandated document, which plans the framework for the City of Santa Ana’s physical, social, and economic development into the future. The current General Plan Annual Progress Report for calendar year 2023 documents and discusses the progress towards the overall implementation of the various adopted elements of the General Plan during the calendar year. This is the second General Plan Annual Progress Report prepared under the new General Plan. The report includes highlights of major accomplishments and a table detailing the work completed by various City agencies toward completing the implementation actions across all General Plan elements in 2023 (Exhibit 1).
2023 General Plan Annual Progress Report
March 19, 2024
4 0
7 7
General Plan
Significant progress is underway in implementing the General Plan following its comprehensive update in 2022. As detailed in the City of Santa Ana 2023 General Plan Annual Progress Report (Exhibit 1), highlights include:
•The construction of housing projects such as FX Residences, WISEPlace, and Crossroads at Washington, which will cumulatively add 148 affordable housing units to address the various housing challenges and needs facing the community.
•The initiation of the Comprehensive Zoning Code Update that will modernize all aspects of the City’s Zoning Code, including updating development standards and processes.
•The formation of the Environmental Justice Action Committee that is comprised of five residents that will each represent one Environmental Justice (EJ) cluster in the City.
•The opening of the new Ed Caruthers Park in Central City and the official naming and groundbreaking of Gerardo Mouet Park in Cornerstone Village, addressing the longstanding underdevelopment of parks/open space.
Exhibit 1 details additional accomplishments and highlights on 230 actions completed or currently in progress.
Housing Element
As required by HCD, the Housing Element portion of the progress report includes detailed accounting of all housing projects submitted, reviewed, entitled, and constructed in the City of Santa Ana in 2023, in addition to the status of the implementation actions and programs to achieve the City’s housing vision in the state mandated form.
The Housing Element portion of the report also measures the City’s progress to meet state-mandated housing goals as set forth in our Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for the 6th cycle planning period (2021-2029). Through a process referred to as “RHNA,” each jurisdiction is given a target for how many permits to issue in four housing income categories ranging from very–low income (affordable to those who earn 50% or less of the Area Median Income [AMI]), to above moderate income (more than 120% of AMI). Based on the income limits published by State HCD in June of 2023, the Area Median Income for Orange County is $127,800.
The Housing Element portion of the report includes a summary of Santa Ana’s progress in meeting its share of the RHNA allocation for the 6th cycle. There were a total of 2,542 building permits issued for new housing units in 2023, of which 64 housing units are affordable to very low-income and 113 to low-income households, respectively. With the 2023 General Plan Annual Progress Report
March 19, 2024
4 0
7 7
issuance of these permits, the City has issued 4,177 building permits during the 6th cycle planning period, exceeding its total allocation of 3,137 by 1,040 (133%).
Progress Towards 2021-2029 RHNA Goal
(New Housing Units by Category and Year)
Income RHNA 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 Total Units
Total Units
Remaining
% of RHNA
Completed
Very
Low 606 41 191 64 296 310 49%
Low 362 43 102 113 258 104 71%
Mod. 545 11 41 84 136 409 25%
Above
Mod. 1,624 639 567 2,281 3,487 (1,863) 215%
Total: 3,137 734 901 2,542 4,177 (1,040) 133%
Based on building permits issued. Parenthesis used to show number of units issued permits in excess of RHNA goal.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.
EXHIBIT
1. 2023 General Plan Annual Progress Report and Attachments Submitted By: Minh Thai, Executive Director of Planning and Building Agency Approved By: Tom Hatch, Interim City Manager