IRVINE : Westpark II Gets Panel’s Blessing

Although the proposed 3,850-home Westpark II project awaits voter approval in November, the Planning Commission approved the finishing touches for the residential village this week, including its disputed affordable-housing program.

Planning Commissioner Kate Clark, who cast the sole vote against approval Tuesday night, complained that the city was allowing the Irvine Co. to get away with only minor concessions in providing affordable homes within the project.

“It neither abides by the letter or spirit of the (city’s housing) law,” Clark said. “I find it, in fact, to be morally repugnant.”

A 1989 change in the city’s housing goals requires builders to try to rent or sell 25% of all new units to families earning 80% or less of the county’s median family income. Half of those affordable units must be set aside for families earning half or less of the median. The county’s annual median income for a family of four is $52,200.

The affordable housing program approved for Westpark II retains the 25% mark as a goal, but bases most of the requirements on the availability of state or other financing to subsidize the units.

The plan requires that the Irvine Co. make 10%, or 385, of the units affordable for families earning half or less of the county’s median income, if financing is available.

At a minimum, though, the company must make at least 385 units in Westpark II or elsewhere in the city affordable to families earning up to the 80% income level, which roughly translates into apartment rents of $1,044 a month for a family of four, based on current city requirements.

The affordable-housing plan was one of several approvals needed for Westpark II before the Irvine Co. could submit plans for individual housing tracts and apartment complexes.

During a sparsely attended public hearing, the Planning Commission approved subdividing the 350-acre proposed residential village into smaller parcels. It approved the major internal streets, location of parks, and final environmental documents.

City planners have moved ahead at the Irvine Co.’s request with Westpark II’s approval, even after voters submitted a petition last January forcing a referendum on the project. The petition suspended the City Council’s decision in December to change the land’s zoning from agriculture to residential and turned the decision over to voters. Balloting is scheduled Nov. 5.

The Planning Commission’s approvals Tuesday stipulate that they will take effect only if the referendum fails to overturn the council’s decision.

A residential group called Irvine Tomorrow submitted the referendum petitions after complaining that the council’s decision last December would not protect residents from increased traffic, helicopter noise and the possible effects of electromagnetic radiation.

Westpark II is proposed for an agricultural field just east of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station and is bordered on part of one side by two high-voltage power lines running along Harvard Avenue.

If the referendum overturns the land’s residential zoning, the land reverts to an agricultural designation until the Irvine Co. submits another zoning request.

By law, the company would have to wait a year before submitting a plan substantially similar to that of Westpark II, but could submit a different plan immediately and begin the public hearing process anew.

However, if the referendum fails, the company will have its major processing hurdles behind it and can move ahead immediately.