Planning and Building Agency
www.santa-ana.gov/pba
Item # 22
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
September 15, 2026
TOPIC: Comprehensive Zoning Code Update and General Plan Land Use Map Cleanup – ALUC Overrule Initiation (Citywide)
AGENDA TITLE
Authorize the Planning Division to Prepare and Provide the Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) for Orange County and the State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Department of Aeronautics a Notice of the Potential of the City Council to Overrule the ALUC’s Determination of Inconsistency by a Two-Thirds Vote of the Governing Body for the Comprehensive Zoning Code Update and General Plan Land Use Map Cleanup in Accordance with Public Utilities Code Section 21676(b)
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Adopt a resolution authorizing the Planning Division to provide the ALUC for Orange County and the Caltrans Department of Aeronautics a notice of intent of the potential for the City Council to overrule the ALUC’s Determination of Inconsistency associated with the proposed citywide Comprehensive Zoning Code Update and General Plan Land Use Map Cleanup, by a two-thirds vote of the governing body, in accordance with Public Utilities Code Section 21676(b).
RESOLUTION NO. 2026-XXX entitled A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AUTHORIZING THE PLANNING AND BUILDING AGENCY
TO PROVIDE THE AIRPORT LAND USE COMMISSION OF ORANGE COUNTY AND
THE CALTRANS DIVISION OF AERONAUTICS WITH THE PROPOSED DECISION
AND FINDINGS TO OVERRULE THE ORANGE COUNTY AIRPORT LAND USE COMMISSION’S DETERMINATION THAT THE CITY’S COMPREHENSIVE ZONING CODE UPDATE (ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT NO. 2026-03, ZONE CHANGE NO. 2026-0004, AND ORDINANCE AMENDMENT NO. 2026-04) AND RELATED GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT NO. 2026-02 ARE INCONSISTENT WITH THE AIRPORT ENVIRONS LAND USE PLAN FOR JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT AT LEAST 45
DAYS PRIOR TO THE FUTURE PUBLIC HEARING DATE FOR THE PROPOSED
OVERRULE BY THE CITY COUNCIL PURSUANT TO PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE SECTION 21676(b)
GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES: No
Comprehensive Zoning Code Update and General Plan Land Use Map Cleanup – ALUC Overrule Initiation (Citywide)
September 15, 2026
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DISCUSSION
The Planning Division is preparing the comprehensive Zoning Code Update, including a new Zoning Map, to implement the community vision as expressed in the General Plan.
Through the project, the City seeks to:
•Encourage economic, environmentally-friendly, inclusive, and sustainable development;
•Modernize and update the existing zoning districts;
•Simplify, streamline, and incorporate flexibility into land use entitlement processes; •Draw upon successes of newer Specific Plans and Specific Developments to develop standards for the General Plan Focus Areas;
•Absorb as many built-out Specific Developments as possible and assign zoning districts consistent with the General Plan Land Use designations; •Create objective design standards presented in clear, simple language to ensure clarity and avoid, whenever possible, disputed interpretations; •Present information in a user-friendly format with tables and graphics to improve readability;
•Reflect recent changes resulting from legal decisions and changes to state laws, especially in the areas of signage, permit streamlining, and density bonus; •Create a transparent, predictable, and consistent process for City staff and stakeholders;
•Establish a format that can accommodate future updates within an organized and systematic structure that can be translatable into digital formats, such as a web- based zoning code or tools to help individuals “visualize” the regulations and hypothetical developments.
The project also includes a General Plan Land Use Map cleanup to apply consistent land use designations across entire lots or sites where properties currently have split land use designations and to assign the Open Space designation to a proposed public park at Flower and Tenth streets.
Pursuant to Public Utilities Code (PUC) Section 21676(b), prior to the amendment of a general plan or specific plan, or the adoption or approval of a zoning ordinance or building regulation within the planning boundary established by the ALUC for Orange County, the City shall first refer the proposed action to ALUC. If ALUC determines that the proposed action is inconsistent with the Airport Environs Land Use Plan (AELUP) for John Wayne Airport, the City Council may, after a public hearing, overrule the Commission’s determination by a two-thirds vote of the City Council if it makes specific consistency findings in accordance with PUC Section 21670.
Adhering to this procedure, it is standard practice for the City to refer projects governed by PUC Section 21676(b) under the AELUP to the ALUC for their review and determination during the project review phase. The City referred the Comprehensive Comprehensive Zoning Code Update and General Plan Land Use Map Cleanup – ALUC Overrule Initiation (Citywide)
September 15, 2026
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Zoning Code Update and General Plan Land Use Map Cleanup to ALUC for their review and determination because portions of the project are located within the AELUP. On August 20, 2026, the ALUC held a public hearing on the project and found the Comprehensive Zoning Code Update and General Plan Land Use Map Cleanup to be inconsistent with the AELUP for John Wayne Airport pursuant to AELUP Sections 2.1.1 (Aircraft Noise), 2.1.2 (Safety Compatibility Zones), 2.1.3 (Building Height Restrictions),
3.2.1 (General Policy), and 3.2.6 (Height Restriction Zone).
These sections empower the ALUC “to assist local agencies in ensuring compatible land uses in the vicinity of existing airports to the extent that the land in the vicinity of those airports is not already devoted to incompatible uses” and “to coordinate planning at the state, regional and local levels so as to provide for the orderly development of air transportation, while at the same time protecting the public health, safety and welfare.” As a final review authority on legislative acts for land use matters within the City, the City Council may choose to overrule the ALUC’s decision by following the procedures established in PUC sections 21676 and 21676.5. Before the decision to overrule the ALUC’s Determination of Inconsistency may take place, the City Council must adopt a resolution that authorizes initiation of the two-step overrule process.
The first step in the overrule process is to provide notice to the ALUC and the Caltrans Division of Aeronautics of the City’s intention to overrule the ALUC’s determination by providing the two agencies with a Notice of Intent at least 45 days in advance of the overruling action by the City Council. In turn, ALUC and/or the Caltrans Division of Aeronautics may provide comments to the City Council within 30 days of receiving the Notice of Intent. If their comments are not available within this time limit, the City Council may act without them. The comments by ALUC and the Caltrans Division of Aeronautics are advisory. However, should comments be received, the City Council must include the comments in the public record of any final decision to overrule ALUC.
The second step in the overrule process is to conduct a public hearing through which the City Council makes specific findings that the proposed overruling is consistent with the purposes stated in PUC Section 21670.
The City Council’s adoption of this resolution is procedural and does not constitute the approval of the comprehensive Zoning Code Update and associated cleanups, nor does it predispose the City’s future action on the project or the decision to overrule or not.
Following the date of adoption of the resolution, there is no maximum time limit by which the City Council must hold the public hearing on the proposed project and overrule the ALUC’s determination. As a result, the recommendation to approve the resolution authorizing the Planning Division to initiate the preparation and drafting of findings and determination overruling the ALUC’s Determination of Inconsistency does not set forth any required timeframes for future hearing dates and actions.
Comprehensive Zoning Code Update and General Plan Land Use Map Cleanup – ALUC Overrule Initiation (Citywide)
September 15, 2026
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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The requested action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, as the proposed action will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment and is not a project as defined in Section 15378 of the CEQA Guidelines
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.
EXHIBIT(S)
1. Resolution Authorizing Staff to Provide Notice of Intent to Overrule Submitted By: Ali Pezeshkpour, AICP, Executive Director of Planning and Building Agency
Approved By: Alvaro Nuñez, City Manager