With thousands of Americans losing their homes, and others not being able to buy their own housing, developers have shifted gears with a focus on apartments rather than building for sale townhouses or single family units. The word for the next decade is density. This plays right into the master plan of AB32/SB 375’s regional land use goal to create more compact communities in the future with long range plans to contain existing urban sprawl with all its cul-d-sac homes. After all, we need to reduce our carbon footprint.
We have already experienced that shift with one Mission Viejo project where the developer pulled a “bait and switch” after getting a zone change and now wants a 30 percent increase from 250 authorized town homes to 325 apartments that were never in the approval mix.
On our Planning Commission Agenda for next Monday is the following proposal. For those familiar with the Mission Viejo Country Club off Interstate 5 and Oso Parkway, this is the project location.
Residents will hear from Watermarke Properties with their request as stated below. As the project contains affordable housing units, and with the possible abolition of redevelopment agencies across the state, this becomes tricky. The project site is within our redevelopment project zone. We have already buried a few million dollars in a recently created housing fund to keep it out of the hands of governor Jerry Brown.
With competing developments seeking our mandatory 20% low and super low housing set aside I question if the city will have the funds to cover the competing subsidy requests.
Mission Viejo Planning and Transportation Commission Meeting of July 25, 2011.
“Subject: Planned Development Permit PDP2009-219 – Petition submitted by Chris Livoni of Watermarke Properties, Inc. to construct a 256-unit multifamily residential apartment development (Andalucia Mission Viejo) on a 7.12-acre vacant site south of the intersection of Oso Parkway and Montanoso Drive, in the City’s
RPD 30A (Residential Planned Development by Right) zone. The subject site is located adjacent to Sunrise Assisted Living and Mission Viejo Country Club.
The proposed project consists of three, 3- to 4-story buildings with an average height of approximately 45 feet. The proposed development consists of two distinct communities designed to operate independently, or as one community sharing common area facilities. These developments are located on either side of Oso Creek and are connected via a foot bridge crossing the creek. The proposed project also includes Oso Creek improvements consisting of stabilization of the creek banks as well as re-vegetation and restoration. This 7.12-acre site is identified as a potential affordable housing site in the City’s General Plan Housing Element. Of the development’s 256 units, 38 units are proposed as affordable at very low and low income. The applicant has applied for a “density bonus” to increase project density approximately 20% over the otherwise maximum allowable residential density in accordance with state and local law.”
You are correct in that the future holds more condos, apartments, and less single family homes. The insurance industry has been moving in that direction for quite a while now also. And it will lower the carbon footprint, as you say.
The city is in a tight spot because there is a mandate, as you know, to provide low-income housing. Although the label “low-income” is slightly misleading and it’s probably more accurate to say “work-force” housing. And the city needs to adhere to the mandate or be fined again. So the “can we afford it?” issue gets interesting because we have no other choice but to afford it or to pay fines.
I am concerned however what this could do to our reserves. Currently our reserves are almost insanely plentiful. Reserves of 18% would be fair I think. And that is a discussion the council should have some day — determining a more appropriate percentage of reserves. However, I am concerned that complying with the housing mandate will drop our reserves below the point anyone wants to see it drop. But, again, we don’t really have a choice other than to not comply.
And for many it isn’t the legal issue, but more of a moral issue. We should help our brothers and sisters. It is the right thing to do.
We could do what some cities do – write a check to the state each year for the “affordable housing” extortion and tell them to pound sand.
*Finally…..affordable housing for Lake Mission Viejo! Wow…..you guys held back the tide for sometime. But hey, with property values falling to 1995 levels…..what are you going to do? How in the world can those low income folks from China afford anything unless those cool developer types provide the way! Think about it this way….more folks for the cinemas and Kentucky Fried Chicken! OK……build it and they will come!
this level of bigotry is simply stunning!
Well, if R&A are trying to make a crack about black people and fried chicken, I have to break the news to them that blacks like black-owned POPEYE’S a lot more than KFC!
I like ’em both. Hard to decide.
Church’s by a mile. Better tasting and they have killer fried okra. Get them every time I go to Riverside or Las Vegas.
I love KFC original recipe Vern, but being new to eating chicken, I haven’t had the pleasure of Popeye’s as of yet. Looks like I have something to look forward to.
Make sure to get their red beans and rice with your chicken.
Popeyes all the way
Now I want Popeye’s. By the way, to anyone discussing the affordable units at this property. All Irvine Company properties have affordable units. This is nothing new in the area.
Popeyes is real chicken, man. You can’t be serious about KFC. That’s like eating lard on a stick. (I’m in county-fair-mode, Vern. 😉 )
But to get back to Larry’s topic which I’m sure he’ll appreciate, and I’m more than a little surprised he hasn’t pimp-slapped me for deviating from it yet: it is that sort of racist nonsense that ends up costing communities more in the long run than if they had just built the housing in the first place. I mean really, civil rights was what…50 years ago now? Yeah like the notion of equality is going away any time soon…
LBM. Opposing high density housing is not racist
As a general proposition, that may be true. But you can’t sit there and say that there aren’t SOME people who oppose affordable housing that are motivated by their desire to NOT see brown people move into their neighborhood.
Sometimes, Larry, a few bad apples spoil the whole pot.
anon. I agree with your last sentence.
My issue is not with the Watermarke project or the color of anyone’s skin. My original next door African American neighbor was a former boxer from Chicago who was a great friend. Some of our friends are Hispanic leaders of Teen Challenge Intl in Santa Ana and San Juan Capistrano. I have no issue with the race or financial status of any individual. My angst is developer UDR for their deception to our staff and commissioners.
Let me point out that back in 1992 MV received “the Award for Excellence from the prestigious Urban Land Institute which stated that Mission Viejo “stands as one of the most successful American new towns ever realized.” Source. City brochure “A World Class Community. ”
Other than a job transfer one of the reasons we moved into MV was because we liked the “California Promise” concept as a bedroom community. If we could have afforded to buy at the beach we might have selected Laguna or Newport Beach. If we wanted to return to our roots we would have moved to LA or SF where you don’t require a car to get around. Let me also point out a comment from Frank Ury where he points out that we have not built any housing in MV for the past decade. Paraphrased. That’s my point. MV is built out.
The only opportunity to build anything new is to convert open space, a closed school (future possibly,) or rezone commercial properties as we have for the closed K-Mart off the 241 on Los Alisos. I expect to see an applicant request to rezone the recently shuttered Unisys facility, located adjacent to the new Target store, and the Lennar homes being built and sold today at that site.
Its important to look in the rear view mirror to see why the current 98,000 chose to live in MV as planned. We are not being elitists. The vast majority of our residents did not move here to raise their families in a high density community. We could continue this debate if you or other readers changed the word “elitist” to “nimby” with the only issue being future housing units.
Larry,
Don’t justify yourself to these race-baiters. Let your posts and your opinions stand for themselves.
So because some people in a group are ignorant and myopic, that means we have to just cave to the other side’s demands? By that logic, the entire Democratic Party is doomed.
“Little Big Man”……hmmm…guess you haven’t spent much time in MV. We went to
the Target there once. How about you? They even let us in to the Coco’s there..
before it closed.
Little Big Man–MV reserves are “insanely plentiful” ???
Your absolutely insane/uninformed if you think that !!!
MV owes over $78 Million on the combined debt for the Civic Center, Library, and Development District.
Get your facts right before you write such DRIVEL !!!
High density housing does nothing to reduce carbon footprint unless it is located near jobs or is accompanied by a good public transportation system, both of which are nearly nonexistent here in Mission Viejo! (Has anyone tried to take a bus on a Sat or Sun lately?). This is just another money grab by big developers for misguided state program dollars. My objection isn’t about the affordable housing aspect of this project, but rather the project itself. Not only are these big behemoth style complexes ugly (just my opinion) but I cringe at the thought of the extra congestion added to our streets. When I see all the high density that the city of Irvine has allowed recently, I can’t help but wonder if the leaders of that city have given much thought to the impact their decisions will have on the future residents of not only their own communities but those surrounding them. I don’t have a lot of faith right now that any government agency here in California is looking very far into the future. Their shortsightedness can be so damaging!
We have traffic gridlock, power outages, not enough water.. Who who are the brainless idiots that keep approving more housing.