In a state where the housing shortage and ensuing affordability crisis is at the center of every issue facing cities today, the city of Santa Ana is at a crossroads. One road leads to more housing—both market rate and affordable—in the redevelopment of a crumbling shopping plaza into a true mixed use destination imbued with community vision. The other road leads to lawsuits, potential fines, and a housing block devoid of community support.
The Related Bristol project is stuck in neutral and waiting to move forward to formal hearings and, hopefully approval. This transformational project in Santa Ana could deliver several thousand apartments, vibrant retail and 13.1 acres of actively programmed open space as the centerpiece of the single largest private investment in the city’s 154-year history. Related Bristol is a mixed-use project years in the making that reimagines 41 acres now occupied by an aging, outdated shopping center with increasingly vacant big box retailers into a model for future housing and sustainable growth on south Bristol Street in the heart of Orange County’s arts and entertainment district.
Related Bristol brings much needed housing and a package of unprecedented economic and community benefits that the developer has volunteered at a time when the city is facing a worsening and potentially crippling budget crisis. The sales tax revenue from new retail opportunities at Related Bristol would provide an ongoing source of revenue to help address a multitude of intersecting issues facing Santa Ana’s leaders as they work diligently to meet the needs of their residents.
Related Bristol is an opportunity that should by all accounts be embraced enthusiastically by Santa Ana decision makers.
Yet, while other cities in Orange County push developments forward to solve their own housing and fiscal challenges, Santa Ana is inexplicably failing to move with any urgency on Related Bristol, a once-in-a-generation $3 billion project. If built, Related Bristol will deliver an estimated $500 million in new revenue to the city during its first 30 years of operation that could be spent across the city on all types of critical projects and resident-serving initiatives. Related Bristol will also create 7,500 new jobs and 13.1 acres of public, programmed open space on site in a city sorely lacking parks and playgrounds for the county’s second largest population.
Moreover, the project’s proposed 3,750 market rate apartments will enable a significant amount of new low-income subsidized housing, either built on site or through in lieu fees to support affordable projects elsewhere in the city. This contribution of both affordable and market rate housing would put a major dent in region’s housing shortage, which poses an alarming threat to the county’s economic future and viability. Without an adequate housing supply in Orange County, workers in all sectors and income levels will continue to drive from distances further and further away to fill the expanding and envied job market in Santa Ana and surrounding communities.
For Santa Ana, Related Bristol is precisely the type of development envisioned by the city when it studied, took input and ultimately adopted a General Plan amendment in 2022 for the South Bristol Street Corridor. Replacing the half-century-old, increasingly vacant retail center and its accompanying expanses of crumbling asphalt parking with a vibrant, walkable, human centered mixed-use community with the caliber of design proposed at Related Bristol is a once in a generation opportunity. As proposed, Related Bristol is consistent with Santa Ana’s laudable vision to create a model urban village with the character and appropriate density spelled out in the General Plan. This project will set the standard in Orange County for the redevelopment of car-oriented strip shopping into pedestrian-friendly mixed-use destinations that puts people first.
Related Bristol is now ready for public hearings following two years of extensive community outreach, public presentations, environmental reviews and millions of dollars spent on design working with the city and its stakeholders.
So why hasn’t it happened, and what happens if this landmark proposal remains in bureaucratic limbo much longer?
The inability of the developer, Related California, and city to come to terms on the Development Agreement and the package of community benefits may now prompt Related Bristol to seek relief under the state’s Housing Accountability Act (HAA) to move the project forward from concept to actual roofs and walls. This course of action would negate the time and investment in the community outreach and visioning process that produced this high-quality design. Nevertheless, if the city of Santa Ana and Related California —with a track record of working collaboratively with many California cities including Santa Ana— cannot reach a development agreement, then the developer should withdraw the project and pursue entitlement approvals using the HAA.
Unfortunately, such a step could result in the elimination of key community benefits that make this project a unique destination, including the actively programmed 13.1 acres of open space, the amount and composition of the retail, and other financial contributions to the city.
In addition, it would expose the city to potential litigation. Under state law, if Related pursues approval under the HAA and the city tried to block the project, the city could be sued and subject to potentially tens of millions of dollars in fines, money that could be much better spent on public infrastructure or community services for Santa Ana’s residents.
Given all of the work that has been done with the community to date, it would be a grave misstep to shelve the progress that has been made to secure the community and fiscal benefits for the city and residents, and a tragic missed opportunity to approve a project that will become the gold standard for redevelopment projects that follow.
In a state where visionary development is imperative to overcome the quagmire of government regulation, short-sighted NIMBY opposition, and well-meaning but misguided municipal leadership that entangles and impedes housing projects, Santa Ana needs to act now and advance Related Bristol for consideration and approval.
Elizabeth Hansburg is the Co-founder and Executive Director of People for Housing Orange County. She lives in Fullerton where she served on the planning commission. She can be reached at elizabeth@peopleforhousing.org
