Irvine City Council members heard a presentation for a proposed update to the Irvine General Plan on July 23. The plan focuses on the construction of thousands of housing units to comply with state mandates.
Originally intended to be considered for approval, council members voted to extend the discussion of the item to the next city council meeting on Aug. 13.
Irvine’s General Plan, first adopted in 1973, outlines standards for elements of the city, including housing, cultural resources, open space, energy and safety. The most recent major changes to the General Plan took place in 2000, and in 2015, the city began outreach processes to propose updates. Now, Irvine is required by the state to comply with California housing mandates and make comprehensive changes to the General Plan by Feb. 15, 2025. The proposed project, the 2045 General Plan, provided options on the quantity of housing to be built by 2045.
Irvine is required to build 23,610 new units by October 2029 in accordance with the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) assessment. Over 10,000 of the required units are classified as low and very low-income housing, with low-income calculated as less than $126,250 in income per year for a family of four and very low-income as less than $78,900. According to the California Department of Housing and Community Development, the number determined is meant to require cities in California to “plan to meet the housing needs of everyone in the community.”
Presented by principal planner Alyssa Matheus and manager of planning services Marika A. Poynter, Irvine’s 2045 General Plan proposes building up to 57,656 new units in Irvine by 2045. The number was determined through a “housing development capacity analysis” that located land to build the RHNA-required housing, according to the proposed update presented at the meeting.
The proposed units would be concentrated in three high-density areas: the Irvine Business Complex, the Irvine Spectrum and Irvine Metrolink Station/Great Park. According to Matheus and Poynter’s presentation, the focus on the high-density areas would preserve the low-density housing areas, facilitate proximity villages and increase housing close to areas of high employment and public transportation centers.
Regarding the project, Matheus presented three options for the City Council: approval of the plan for a maximum of 57,656 units, approval of a modified plan of up to 23,610 or rejection of the plan.
The option to approve the modified plan was recommended by staff to “maintain local control and master planned approach,” according to the General Plan presentation.
Staff identified rejection of the plan as leading to litigation with the state of California over housing requirements.
Facilitated by Vice Mayor Larry Agran, the public hearing regarding the project at the council meeting included comments from 22 community members.
Susan Sayre, the first speaker, expressed support for the plan but stated concerns about accessibility to the allotted low-income housing for disabled and senior residents. She also regarded accommodations on public transport to facilitate the growth of the city.
“Affordable housing needs to address the special needs of disabled residents,” Sayre stated in a written comment to the meeting agenda. “I believe that at least 15% of the low and very low income categories should be both ADA accessible and adaptable with occupancy limited to disabled residents.”
Other speakers at the public hearing voiced concerns, support and dissent for the 2045 General Plan initiative.
“If you truly care about making a fair, responsible and educated decision, you will push this item out until there is a district election that ensures [the] residents affected will have a voice in this decision,” a commenter said.
College students and parents from local schools also spoke at the hearing regarding housing for students.
“Every autumn, online forums at UCI spring up, and thousands of UCI students are desperate to find housing, and a lot of them can’t. They end up sleeping on couches,” a computer science student from UCI said.
If the proposed update is passed, approving construction of 57,656 or 23,610 new units, the next steps for the project will require council members to formally override the decision made by the Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) on June 20, 2024. In the decision, the ALUC determined proposed housing in the Irvine Business Complex focus area to be within the boundaries of the 2008 John Wayne Airport Environs Land Use Plan (AELUP) and inconsistent on measures of noise and safety for potential residents. A two-thirds vote, or four affirmative votes, from the council and a public hearing will be required to complete the override process.
At the conclusion of the council meeting, Vice Mayor Agran and Council members Mike Carroll, Tammy Kim and Kathleen Treseder voted in a 4-0 decision to continue discussion of the General Plan at the next meeting on Aug. 13. The meeting will feature a second public hearing and allow Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan to vote on the item.
Alyse Billiard is a News Intern for the summer 2024 quarter. She can be reached at abilliar@uci.edu.
Edited by Kaelyn Kwon, Beatrice Lee and Jaheem Conley.
