Planning commission backs Village Santa Ana specific plan, recommends city council approve EIR, zoning and development agreement

The Santa Ana Planning Commission on Aug. 11 voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council certify a supplemental environmental impact report and approve a suite of entitlements for the Village Santa Ana specific plan, a major mixed‑use redevelopment proposed at 1561 West Sunflower Avenue.

Case planner Jerry Guevara told the commission the application would establish Specific Plan No. 6, rezone the site, approve a vesting tentative tract map to create six buildable lots and adopt a development agreement that spells out timing and community benefits. “The applicant is requesting approval of a specific plan to allow the construction of up to 1,583 residential units, up to 80,000 square feet of commercial space and up to 300,000 square feet of office space,” Guevara said during the staff presentation.

The project site currently holds the South Coast Plaza Village commercial center. Under the proposal, the center would be demolished and redeveloped into a 13.8‑acre campus with about 7.5 acres of publicly accessible open space at its center, approximately 3,439 parking spaces, a mix of building heights up to 25 stories and a plan for phased construction spread over multiple years.

Why it matters: The commission’s recommendation begins the formal city review path that would bring the project to the City Council for final decisions. If approved by council, the specific plan and development agreement would govern uses, development standards and a community benefit package the developer agreed to provide to the city.

What the commission reviewed and recommended

Staff recommended five actions: certification of the supplemental EIR, adoption of environmental findings and a statement of overriding considerations, approval of the specific plan and zone change, approval of the development agreement, and approval of the vesting tentative tract map. Staff also recommended the commission include a recommendation to the council to overrule the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission’s finding of inconsistency with John Wayne Airport’s land‑use plan; that override would require a two‑thirds…