Irvine Rezones Land by John Wayne Airport for Homes

The City of Irvine has rezoned a business district next to John Wayne Airport for 15,000 homes, overriding airport commission concerns about aircraft noise, safety and land use incompatibility.

The City Council, pressured by a state mandate to build more homes, voted 4-1 to rezone the Irvine Business Complex, northeast of the airport, the Orange County Register and Daily Pilot reported.

The decision by Irvine joins those of other Orange County cities to override an Orange County Airport Land Use Commission ruling that housing was “inconsistent” with the plan for the airport.

Irvine, which must plan for 23,554 more homes by 2029, had a state gun to its head.

If the council failed to rezone land next to the airport for more homes, the city risked missing a February deadline to update its long-term housing plans — which would subject Irvine to hefty fines, stripped it of permitting powers and opened the threat of other state penalties.

The council voted in August to move forward with overriding the airport commission’s ruling, while approving its broader general plan update, which included housing.

In addition to the 2,700-acre Irvine Business Complex, the update also eyed neighborhoods around the Spectrum and Great Park that could accommodate more than 57,000 future homes.

In August, when the council last voted on the plan for three high-density residential areas, Councilmember Tammy Kim said Irvine had a “moral obligation” to approve that vision.

“This is about smart sustainable planning that not only safeguards and protects our quality of life as Irvine residents,” Kim said at that time, “but it addresses the affordable housing needs that we so desperately need.”

Councilman Larry Agran was the sole vote against the override and zoning change.

“Unless we are absolutely committed to installing transit first and unless we are absolutely committed to addressing and providing affordable housing first, development of this magnitude is just unconscionable,” Agran told the council. “The spillover effects will be dramatic.

“We’re asked here to override all kinds of environmental concerns that have been identified [and] cannot be properly mitigated.”

The cities of Newport Beach, Santa Ana and Costa Mesa have each overridden the airport commission, allowing them to plan for homes near John Wayne Airport.

In July, the Newport Beach City Council approved 67 condos at 1401 Quail Street and a 229-apartment complex at 1400 Bristol Street, over the objection of airport commissioners. Newport Beach has a state-mandated goal to plan for 4,485 homes by 2029.

Matthew Friedman, a Caltrans senior aviation planner, in a letter to an Irvine city official this fall, said the city’s decision to build low- to very-low income housing next to the Orange County airport “fails to adequately address the principles of environmental justice.”

“These communities are often more susceptible to adverse environmental conditions, including those associated with proximity to airports, such as noise and safety risks,” Friedman said.

— Dana Bartholomew