Planning and Building Agency
www.santa-ana.org/pb
Item # 7
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
May 6, 2025
TOPIC: 2024 General Plan Annual Progress Report
AGENDA TITLE
City of Santa Ana 2024 General Plan Annual Progress Report.
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
1. Receive and file the City of Santa Ana 2024 General Plan Annual Progress Report; and
2. Authorize staff to submit the City of Santa Ana 2024 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 Housing Element and progress in their implementation to the local legislative body. The progress report is submitted to the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the 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. The current General Plan Annual Progress Report for the calendar year 2024 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 third General Plan Annual Progress Report prepared under the 2022 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 2024 (Exhibit 1).
2024 General Plan Annual Progress Report
May 6, 2025
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General Plan
Significant progress is underway in implementing the General Plan. As detailed in the City of Santa Ana 2024 General Plan Annual Progress Report (Exhibit 1), highlights include:
•The Santa Ana City Council adoption of the largest and most expensive mixed- use, master planned development in the City’s history, the 41-acre, $2.9 billion Related Bristol Specific Plan. The plan includes up to 3,750 residential units and 200 senior living units.
•The completion of Round 1 stakeholder engagement for the Comprehensive Zoning Code Update from Spring to Fall 2024. Round 1 consisted of community stakeholder interviews, six community workshops, and two business community workshops. Through the outreach, the City reached over 30,000 residents, property owners, business owners, and developers. The ongoing effort also includes analysis of existing regulations and identification of opportunities to modernize all aspects of the City’s Zoning Code.
•The formation of the Environmental Justice Action Committee comprised of five residents representing each of the Environmental Justice (EJ) clusters and two representatives of Community-Based Organizations who advocate for Environmental Justice.
•The launch of PBx, short for Planning and Building Express. The same-day permit service is available for certain residential and commercial projects and was awarded a Turning Red Tape into Red Carpet Award by the Orange County Business Council. As part of the PBx same-day express services, the Planning and Building Agency has expanded over-the-counter plan review services to include Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). In addition, the agency offers seven- days-or-less ADU permitting when applicants utilize City-owned standard sets. •The opening of the new Gerardo Mouet Park in Cornerstone Village, addressing the longstanding underdevelopment of parks/open space.
•The initiation of $19.3 million in renovations to and restoration of the Main Library, which will transform the public resources into a modern space design to serve the community’s 21st-Century needs.
Exhibit 1 details additional accomplishments and highlights on 230 actions completed or currently in progress.
Housing Element
As required by HCD, the Housing Element Annual Progress Report includes detailed accounting of all housing projects submitted, reviewed, entitled, and constructed in the 2024 General Plan Annual Progress Report
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City of Santa Ana in 2024, 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 Annual Progress 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 May of 2024, the Area Median Income for Orange County is $129,000.
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 6 th cycle. There were a total of 262 building permits issued for new housing units in 2024, of which 48 housing units are affordable to very low-income and 81 to low-income households, respectively. With the issuance of these permits, the City has issued 4,439 building permits during the 6th cycle planning period, exceeding its total allocation of 3,137 by 1,302 (142%).
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 48 344 262 57%
Low 362 43 102 113 81 339 23 94%
Mod. 545 11 41 84 65 201 344 37%
Above
Mod. 1,624 639 567 2,281 68 3,555 (1,931) 219%
Total: 3,137 734 901 2,542 262 4,439 (1,302) 142%
Based on building permits issued. Parenthesis used to show number of units issued permits in excess of RHNA goal.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
There is no environmental impact associated with this action.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.
EXHIBIT
1. 2024 General Plan Annual Progress Report and Attachments 2024 General Plan Annual Progress Report
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Submitted By: Ali Pezeshkpour, AICP, Acting Executive Director, Planning and Building Agency
Approved By: Alvaro Nuñez, City Manager