The city of Irvine will move forward with its review of plans to build 3,100 homes on and around the site of the Oak Creek Golf Club, but nothing will be set in stone for quite some time.
The City Council unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, this week with the Irvine Company to continue a city analysis of the developer’s proposal to eliminate the golf course and a nearby office complex to build what City Manager Oliver Chi said could be Irvine’s last traditional “residential village.”
The Irvine Co. has built 22 such villages across the city, from Turtle Ridge in the south to Orchard Hills in the north.
City Attorney Jeff Melching compared the MOU to a “roadmap” for the city to use in its review. It could take up to a year before the council ultimately decides whether to approve or deny the plans.
“To me, this is not going to be too hard to decide,” Councilmember Melinda Liu said before her yes vote on Tuesday night. “We are voting on whether to have a plan.”
As part of the proposal, the Irvine Co. would transfer more than 300 acres of open space near Portola Springs, including 250 acres of orchards, to the city for preservation, as well as commit to building a school in the new neighborhood and to issue 1,000 two-year vouchers that would provide 65% discounts off market rate on Irvine Co. apartment units.
The new development could include 1,500 single-family homes and 1,600 apartment units.
The city would also receive more than $90 million in community benefit payments over eight years to finance transit, urban forestry, food security, nonprofit support, bike center operations, trail and park improvements and funding for other city priorities.
“It has taken 50 years to get to 5,100 affordable housing units in this city — 50 years,” Mayor Larry Agran said. “In my State of the City remarks, I said we needed to double that number in the next five years. With stuff in the pipeline and this MOU — or something like it including an instant affordability program, we can get to 10,000 affordable housing units.”
More than 80 residents filed requests to speak on the Oak Creek project at Tuesday evening’s council meeting. Many spoke in opposition to losing the golf course. Others supported the push for more housing.
City Manager Oliver Chi said the proposal is an important initiative for the council to contemplate to meet state-required housing mandates and facilitate the production of housing.
In August, councilmembers adopted a new comprehensive general plan update that identified where 57,656 new units of housing could be built to meet the state mandate.
The Oak Creek community falls within the Irvine Spectrum planning area, one of three locations where the city plans to facilitate most of its new housing developments. The other two are the Irvine Business Complex and around the Great Park.
Jeff Davis, Irvine Co. senior vice president, said at Tuesday’s meeting that first occupancy could be somewhere “between 24 to 36 months from now” if the project is approved.
“It’s a long review process,” he said, “And we do feel that this plan does represent a strategic convergence for Irvine’s longstanding master planning principles in terms of community benefit and the city’s commitment to addressing local housing needs.”