Irvine Company designated to build over 60% of new housing units in Newport Center

The Newport Beach City Council voted unanimously last week to allocate future construction of 1,500 out of a planned 2,349 new residential units in the Newport Center area to the Irvine Company on the promise that they plan to develop a project with at least 105 units of affordable housing.

The Irvine Company already owns or controls most of the property in Newport Center and is developing it as a planned community. The changes approved at City Council’s meeting Tuesday, April 29 streamlines the approval of the firm’s future projects in the area and extends their rights to develop it through 2042, lengthening their agreement with the city by 10 years. Changes also include raising building height limits to 225 feet in Fashion Island and 125 feet on the 100 block of Newport Center Drive.

In exchange, the company will take on about $17 million worth of street and landscaping improvements. It will also pay the city a projected $53 million in financial incentives to help fund parks, public safety and public works.

The amended agreement requires the developer to either plan and obtain a permit for a project with at least 105 units of affordable housing by Jan. 31, 2029, or cede property to the city so one can be built. However, if neither option winds up being feasible the company may be subject to additional fees.

“There’s not a developer that’s ever walked forward with us and offered an affordable option, saying they’ll do some retirement housing for us in a separate location,” Councilman Noah Blom said. “And I get it, it’s not disclosed right now; they’re working on their own projects and I think that’s reasonable.”

During public comments Irvine Company representative Shawna Schaffner and Todd Larner, a Newport Beach resident and urban planner who worked for the firm’s competitors, praised the developer’s stewardship and vision for Newport Center. However, others questioned whether following their plan to create more luxury apartments would be effective in mitigating the skyrocketing housing costs in Newport Beach.

Resident and frequent public commenter Adam Leverenz said that Newport Beach’s stock of affordable homes has been declining, citing the city’s purchase of a triplex on Balboa Island for the construction of a parking lot and other projects as examples.

“This community is just going to be come so exclusive that nobody who you need to work here and support these small business is going to be able to live here,” Leverenz said. “And that leads to parking problems, and traffic problems, and air quality problems and all kinds of other things. I don’t know a solution, but something needs to be done.”