Decision to be made on low-cost housing

A higher crime rate, more traffic problems and lower property values are some reasons Yorba Linda residents offer when opposing zoning for higher-density housing projects designed for lower-income families.

In past years, these arguments easily swayed City Council members, since most were elected on low-density platforms promising to preserve the town’s semi-rural identity.

But now, California communities are required to submit plans to the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development showing how the cities will meet the housing needs of a variety of income levels.

So, current council members, who claimed low-density credentials during their election campaigns, are wrestling with the latest version of a draft housing element to forward to the state agency, with action anticipated at an April 21 meeting.

Discussion at a March 17 meeting centered on an exhibit developed by city staff and paid consultants identifying 13 sites for potential rezoning to multi-family residential at 10, 20 and 30 units per acre.

Among six 30-units-per-acre sites: a currently for sale 4.11-acre greenhouse lot on Prospect Avenue, a 1.68-acre RV storage lot at Wabash Avenue and Rose Drive and the 4.08-acre St. Joseph’s medical building at Prospect Avenue and Yorba Linda Boulevard.

Others: 8.5 acres of the 17-acre nursery at Bastanchury Road and Lakeview Avenue, 3.2 acres of vacant land on the Old Canal Road annex at Savi Ranch and the 3.2-acre former Mitsubishi Motors site at Savi Ranch.

Four 20-units-per-acre sites: the 4.7-acre vacant “strawberry field” on Lakeview Avenue, 2.39 acres at Lakeview Avenue and Altrudy Lane, 2.99 acres on Richfield Road and 4.11 acres of the 17-acre equestrian center at Bastanchury Road and Lakeview Avenue.

Three 10-units-per-acre sites: 7.01 acres on Yorba Linda Boulevard across from the Nixon library, 4.34 acres of the nursery at Bastanchury Road and Lakeview Avenue and the half-acre small strip mall-car wash facility south of the post office on Eureka Avenue.

If developed, the total 50.8 acres could yield 1,142 units of lower- and moderate-income housing. The Richfield Road parcel might be eliminated and more Savi Ranch property added when council re-examines the issue.

Yorba Linda faces “several potential consequences” if the housing element is not state-certified, according to Pam Stoker, the city’s housing and redevelopment specialist.

“Housing element lawsuits are typically brought…by affordable housing advocates, property owners…or the development community,” Stoker noted. “Courts can impose a range of sanctions if they rule the housing element invalid, including a moratorium on all development and local land use authority until the…element is brought into compliance.”