Irvine Backs Housing for Poor at Tustin Base

Irvine officials promised Tuesday to honor a commitment by Tustin to offer 14 homes at the former Tustin Marine base as temporary housing for poor families.

The homes are on an area of the base within Irvine’s boundaries. The bulk of the base is in Tustin.

The homes, transitional housing, will be operated by Families Forward of Irvine, formerly known as Irvine Temporary Housing. Families of four making no more than $22,700 a year, less than a third of the county’s median income, will be eligible to live in the houses.

The fate of the homes became an issue after the Navy sold the base’s military neighborhoods at a public auction last year, including the homes Tustin had hoped to obtain for free for use as low-income housing. The rest of the base was deeded to Tustin for other residential and commercial development.

A decade ago, Tustin had agreed to provide 14 of the homes to Irvine Temporary Housing as part of affordable housing requirements within the federal government’s base closure process. The Tustin base was slated for closure in 1993; it closed in July 1999.

Two existing neighborhoods on the base were bought for about $208 million last year by a joint venture of Lennar Communities and Lyon Homes, which plans to demolish about 550 homes and rebuild them.

On Tuesday, Irvine council members praised Lennar Communities for standing by its agreement to provide houses for the homeless, even though the homes are no longer within Tustin’s control. Margie Wakeham of Families Forward thanked company and city officials.

Irvine plans to rezone its portion of the base land, including a park and school site donated to the city by the Navy, from military uses to medium-density housing.

The city boundary also will be moved to allow one of the neighborhoods, known as Moffett Meadows, to be completely within Tustin.

Irvine will retain control over the other neighborhood, known as Marble Mountain. Irvine officials will require Lennar to provide at least 83 homes at affordable prices, topping out at about $345,000. The homes would be available to buyers through a developer subsidy.

Several council members said they wanted more homes offered for families making in the low range, or $56,500 a year.

Councilman Mike Ward countered that Irvine should make more homes available in the moderate income range of $90,700 a year.

That would allow Irvine’s public employees -- including teachers, firefighters and police officers -- to afford to live where they work, he said.