Planning and Building Agency
www.santa-ana.org/pb
Item # 30
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
December 17, 2024
TOPIC: An Uncodified Ordinance amending the list of replacement parcels and exempt parcels pursuant to California Government Code Sections 65912.114 and 65912.124
AGENDA TITLE
Uncodified Ordinance of the City Council of the City Of Santa Ana Amending the List of Replacement Parcels and Parcels Exempt From California Government Code Sections 65912.114 And 65912.124 Based On Written Findings Pursuant to California Government Code Sections 65912.114(i) and 65912.124(i)
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
1. Adopt an uncodified ordinance amending the list of replacement parcels and parcels exempt from California Government Code Sections 65912.114 and 65912.124 based on written findings pursuant to California Government Code Sections 65912.114(i) and 65912.124(i).
UNCODIFIED ORDINANCE NO. NS-XXXX entitled AN UNCODIFIED ORDINANCE
OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AMENDING THE LIST OF
REPLACEMENT PARCELS AND PARCELS EXEMPT FROM CALIFORNIA
GOVERNMENT CODE SECTIONS 65912.114 AND 65912.124 BASED UPON
WRITTEN FINDINGS PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTIONS 65912.114(i) AND 65912.124(i)
2. Determine that adoption of this ordinance not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Pursuant to California Government Code sections 65912.114(o) and 65912.124(o), adoption of an ordinance by a city implementing the provisions of AB 2011 is statutorily exempt.
GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES: No
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City Council of the City of Santa Ana adopted Ordinance No. NS-3045 and Ordinance No. NS-3047 (“Ordinances”) on June 20, 2023, and conducted a second reading of the standard ordinance on July 18, 2023, exempting certain parcels within the City from Assembly Bill 2011 (AB 2011) streamlining approval processes and designating certain parcels within the City as alternative sites for development.
Ordinance to Revise Local AB 2011 Implementing Ordinance December 17, 2024
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Assembly Bill 2243 (AB 2243), signed into law by the Governor on September 19, 2024, will take effect on January 1, 2025. AB 2243 makes certain changes to AB 2011 site eligibility criteria and development standards. The changes will result in a number of sites that were previously not eligible for AB 2011 streamlined, ministerial approval and, thus, not contemplated, analyzed or included in the Ordinances, to now qualify for AB 2011 streamlining.
The proposed ordinance amendments will revise the previously adopted AB 2011 exempt parcels lists by removing sites that are less integral to the General Plan’s vision and adopted land use plan and adding sites to the previously adopted exempt parcels lists that are key to implementing that vision. The proposed ordinance amendments will also revise the previously adopted AB 2011 alternative and up-zoned parcels list. The lost potential capacity from the amended exempt parcels lists will be covered by the surplus capacity from the amended alternative and up-zoned parcels.
DISCUSSION
Over the last five years, numerous housing bills have been signed into law to address the state's housing crisis. In general, changes to state law have attempted to solve the housing crisis through limiting local land use controls to allow development proposals to circumvent community review and comment, compliance with local land use plans, and streamlining or exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Cities like Santa Ana that routinely exceed their Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for housing unit development are often not exempt from these laws.
Assembly Bill 2011
AB 2011, known as the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022, was approved by the state legislature, signed into law by the Governor on September 28, 2022, and took effect July 1, 2023. The bill created a streamlined, ministerial approval process for housing developments that meet specified objective standards, affordability, site criteria, and wage and labor standards. Specifically, the bill will allowed residential development on sites currently zoned and designated for commercial or retail uses. The bill also created a CEQA-exempt, ministerial approval process for qualifying development projects. The law provides different qualifying criteria for two categories of housing and they include 100-percent affordable projects and mixed-income projects. The provisions will sunset on January 1, 2033, unless extended through subsequent legislation.
AB 2011 includes a provision that permits local governments to exempt parcels from the streamlining provisions permitted under the bill before a development proponent submits a development application on a parcel provided certain findings are made. A local government must identify one or more alternative sites for residential development that would result in no net loss of the total potential residential density in the jurisdiction, no net loss of the potential residential density of housing affordable to lower income households in the jurisdiction, and will affirmatively further fair housing.
Ordinance to Revise Local AB 2011 Implementing Ordinance December 17, 2024
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Assembly Bill 2243
AB 2243 was signed by the Governor on September 19, 2024, and will become effective on January 1, 2025. AB 2243 amends AB 2011 and removes existing development standards in state law that prohibit housing developments from being subject to the streamlined, ministerial approval process if proposed housing units are located within 500 feet of a freeway, as well as makes amendments to other applicability criteria. AB 2243 will authorize those housing developments within the 500-foot freeway buffer to be subject to the streamlined, ministerial approval process, provided that habitable areas of the building provide air filtration systems for outside and return air that provide a minimum efficiency reporting value of 13.
Impacts of AB 2243 to the General Plan
The City of Santa Ana completed a comprehensive update of its General Plan in 2022, including the adoption of a new land use plan, to guide future development and address the city's housing needs. That new land use plan encompasses over 1,500 acres of land designated in five Focus Areas throughout the City and includes over 770 acres allowing residential density at or exceeding 30 dwelling units per acre, which is the threshold established and deemed appropriate by state law to accommodate housing for lower income households for jurisdictions in a metropolitan county.
The General Plan Update is the culmination of nearly seven years of work that included over 100 community meetings and workshops, surveys, focus groups, public hearings, and City resources to arrive at a plan that accurately reflects the core values of the Santa Ana community, bridges disparate views into a unifying vision, and accordingly plans for future development in a manner that respects established neighborhoods, business districts, and land uses while meeting the needs of future generations. The General Plan Update, and the community input and engagement process used for the Update, resulted in the City Council’s adoption of five Focus Areas in which new mixed-use and residential development at medium and high densities may be constructed, thereby planning for future growth while maintaining and preserving existing neighborhoods, commercial districts, and established land use patterns. Moreover, these areas are the subject of the Comprehensive Zoning Code Update and public realm plans updates currently underway that will account for the infrastructure improvements needed to sustain new quality housing developments and communities in the long term.
The removal of the freeway buffer by AB 2243 will result in a number of sites that were previously not eligible for AB 2011 streamlining, ministerial approval and, thus, not contemplated, analyzed, or included in the Ordinances to now qualify for AB 2011 streamlining on January 1, 2025 unless the exempt parcels lists included in the Ordinances are amended as proposed. Moreover, the revision to AB 2011 by AB 2243 will permit affordable housing in high-risk zones in close proximity to freeways and will result potential conflicts with the General Plan land use plan.
Ordinance to Revise Local AB 2011 Implementing Ordinance December 17, 2024
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Exemption – AB 2011 (100-Percent Affordable)
AB 2011 grants a local government authority to exempt a parcel from streamlined approval permissible under the bill before a developer submits a 100-percent affordable (Affordable Projects) development application on the parcel if: (1) the local government identifies one or more alternative sites for residential development that meet certain environmental criteria; (2) the local government has permitted the alternative parcels not otherwise eligible for development pursuant to AB 2011 to be developed pursuant to AB 2011 streamlining, and that the alternative parcels are suitable for residential development as defined in State housing element law; (3) the local government has permitted the alternative parcels that are subject to AB 2011 streamlining to be developed at densities above the residential density required in subdivision (b) of Section 65912.113 (100-percent affordable) of the Government Code; (4) the alternative development would result in no net loss of the total potential residential density in the jurisdiction; (5) the alternative development would result in no net loss of the potential residential density of housing affordable to lower income households in the jurisdiction; and (6) the alternative development would affirmatively further fair housing.
Staff has reviewed the adopted 100-percent affordable exempt parcels list in the Ordinances and has identified sites to remove from the exempt parcels list and sites to include on the exempt parcels list, which would be eligible for streamlining pursuant to AB 2011 as amended by AB 2243 if not added to the exempt parcels list as proposed. In total, the revised exempt parcels listed in Attachment 1 to the ordinance equals to approximately 380 acres of land and can yield up to 10,932 affordable units based on the AB 2011 prescribed density. In order to exempt these parcels, their lost development capacity must be accommodated elsewhere in the City and result in no net loss of the total residential capacities in the jurisdiction as prescribed by AB 2011.
The alternative parcels, which are comprised of alternative and previously up-zoned sites, identified in Attachment 3 to the ordinance can yield a total surplus capacity of 21,290 units above the AB 2011 base density. Accordingly, the surplus capacity of 21,290 units allowed in the alternative parcels can accommodate the lost residential density of 10,932 units from the exempted parcels listed in Attachment 1, with a net surplus capacity buffer of 10,358 to spare. The analysis demonstrating that the alternative parcels comply with all environmental criteria, suitability for residential development as defined in State housing element law, no net loss calculations, no net loss of potential residential density of housing affordable to lower income households in the jurisdiction, and that the alternative parcels affirmatively further fair housing can be found in Attachment 3 of the ordinance.
Exemption – AB 2011 (Mixed-Income)
Separately, AB 2011 permits a local government to exempt a parcel from these types of streamlined approval before a developer submits a mixed-income development application on the parcel if: (1) the local government identifies one or more alternative Ordinance to Revise Local AB 2011 Implementing Ordinance December 17, 2024
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sites for residential development that meet certain environmental criteria; (2) the local government has permitted the alternative parcels not otherwise eligible for development pursuant to AB 2011 to be developed pursuant to AB 2011 streamlining, and that the alternative parcels are suitable for residential development as defined in State housing element law; (3) the local government has permitted the alternative parcels that are subject to AB 2011 streamlining to be developed at densities above the residential density required in subdivision (b) of Section 65912.123 (Mixed-Income) of the Government Code; (4) the alternative development would result in no net loss of the total potential residential density in the jurisdiction; (5) the alternative development would result in no net loss of the potential residential density of housing affordable to lower income households in the jurisdiction; and (6) the alternative development would affirmatively further fair housing.
Staff has reviewed the adopted Mixed-Income exempt parcels list in the Ordinances and has identified sites to remove from the exempt parcels list and sites to include on the exempt parcels list, which would be eligible for streamlining pursuant to AB 2011 as amended by AB 2243 if not added to the exempt parcels list as proposed. In total, the revised exempt parcels listed in Attachment 2 to the ordinance equals to approximately 244 acres of land and can yield up to 15,481 units based on the AB 2011 prescribed density. In order to exempt these parcels, their lost development capacity must be accommodated elsewhere in the City and result in no net loss of the total residential capacities in the jurisdiction as prescribed by AB 2011.
The alternative parcels, which are comprised of alternative and previously up-zoned sites, identified in Attachment 3 to the ordinance can yield a total surplus capacity of 16,712 units above the AB 2011 base density. Accordingly, the surplus capacity of 16,712 units allowed in the alternative parcels can accommodate the lost residential density of 15,481 units from the exempted parcels listed in Attachment 2, with a net surplus capacity buffer of 1,231 to spare. The analysis demonstrating that the alternative parcels comply with all environmental criteria, suitability for residential development as defined in State housing element law, no net loss calculations, no net loss of potential residential density of housing affordable to lower income households in the jurisdiction, and that the alternative parcels affirmatively further fair housing can be found in Attachment 3 of the ordinance.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The City Council finds and determines that adoption of this ordinance not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Pursuant to California Government Code sections 65912.114(o) and 65912.124(o), adoption of an ordinance by a city implementing the provisions of AB 2011 is statutorily exempt.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.
Ordinance to Revise Local AB 2011 Implementing Ordinance December 17, 2024
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EXHIBIT
1. City Council Ordinance Amendment No. 2024-07, Including Attachments Submitted By: Minh Thai, Executive Director, Planning and Building Agency Approved By: Alvaro Nuñez, City Manager