A once-rejected plan to develop 498 units on about 76 acres in Anaheim Hills was given new life when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 330 into law earlier this year.
That bill provides developers with a builder’s remedy, essentially a state law that allows residential real estate builders to bypass local zoning restrictions if they include affordable housing in their proposals.
Salt Lake City-based SALT Development LLC proposed a project, Hills Preserve, to be built on 76 acres next to Deer Canyon Park Preserve and along the Riverside (91) Freeway. Anaheim City Council rejected the proposal late last year.
The developer is using the state-mandated builder’s remedy to bring back a revised version of the project. The new proposal could bring more than 302 single-family homes and 46 affordable apartments to a three-story building located between Santa Ana Canyon and the Anaheim Hills Festival shopping center.
The new law applies to cities that do not have a state-approved general plan housing element, according to an official statement by the city of Anaheim.
“Even with builder’s remedy, the latest Hills Preserve proposal has a lengthy process ahead of it,” Anaheim spokesman Mike Lyster told the Business Journal in an email. “The proposal is now undergoing initial planning review by several city departments. As part of that review, the developer could be asked for more information and an updated submittal. Any updated submittal would start the process over.”
Lyster added that the city is in the final stages of having its housing element approved by the state.
“We don’t expect builder’s remedy to be an issue going forward. But this application predates that,” Lyster said. “Our city’s housing element plan was held up by a legal challenge with Anaheim fighting for the city’s ability to reasonably regulate group homes in neighborhoods. Unfortunately, we did not prevail in the legal challenge, with state officials holding up our housing element as it played out.”
Lyster added that the project needs to go through an environmental review, which could take eight to 12 months.
“Just as with the first proposal, evacuation and fire safety will be looked at as this is in a high fire risk area. Should the proposal advance, it would go before the Planning Commission for a subdivision map and tree plan,” Lyster said.
“That could be a year or more from now. Any decision on any topic by the Planning Commission can see appeals filed and a follow-up City Council meeting.”
Hills Preserve
The city of Anaheim rejected the Hills Preserve proposal in a 5-2 vote last October, expressing concerns about the project’s fire safety and evacuation protocols.
The size and scope of the original proposal was also questioned by the council.
The SALT Development proposal called for a seven-floor apartment building with 498 units, 50 acres of preserved open space and 40,000 square feet of commercial uses.
SALT Development proposed the project to be built on 76 acres next to Deer Canyon Park Preserve. SALT Development revised its current proposal and resubmitted its plans in May.
“Under the new proposal, the 302 houses would start near Santa Ana Canyon and then continue to the south. The apartments would be along Santa Ana Canyon on the east side of the project area, closer to Anaheim Hills Festival shopping center immediately to the east,” Lyster said. “Apartments would be affordable for those at lower incomes based on income guidelines set by the state of California.”
SALT Development did not return requests for comment.
