Fountain Valley approves 29-unit low-income senior housing project

Fountain Valley is set to add to its affordable housing stock after the City Council approved needed entitlements for a new 29-unit building at a site owned and operated by the nonprofit Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The 2.1-acre parcel is located at 17103 Magnolia St., which already has a 71-unit senior affordable housing apartment complex that was built in 1985. The proposal called for the new two-story development to be constructed adjacent to the existing building on a vacant portion of the lot.

Residency in the new building will be restricted to seniors who meet the low-income threshold, the criteria for which is dictated by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee.

“I just want to thank the owner, Our Lady of Guadalupe, for building these additional senior units,” Councilman Patrick Harper said. “Affordable housing is a challenge for everybody in California. … We certainly appreciate you adding 29 low-income units to the housing supply.”

Fountain Valley must plan for 4,839 housing units, with 2,093 of those being low-income units, per its Regional Housing Needs Assessment for the current planning period that runs through 2029.

A breakdown of the proposed project showed plans for 15 studio apartments and 14 one-bedroom units. A total of 63 parking spaces is planned for both buildings on site, and landscaping will be provided around 25.7% of the property, city principal planner Steven Ayers said.

Ayers also cited a traffic study for the project during his presentation to the council in saying that the project could result in 94 additional daily vehicle trips.

The total area of the building will be 18,442 square feet, Greg Irwin of the development team Irwin Partners Architects said. He said the firm would start construction documents at the beginning of the year. Irwin added that construction could begin in the middle of 2024.

Conditional approval of the project came Oct. 11 via a unanimous vote of the planning commission, who listened to residents’ concerns, including the need for noise mitigation and privacy.

“We’ve reduced the height and [changed the] location so that we can keep the light requirements on our site, but reduce the amount of light that approaches the neighboring fence line,” Irwin said. “Then they’ve asked us to have more trees along the property lines to help block the view some more.

“Now all of this is us cooperating and being nice with the city because under affordable housing law, they really don’t have the right to ask for this stuff, but we really went above and beyond trying to be good neighbors,” he said.

Additionally, shielding will reduce the light going toward the nearby residential properties.

Irwin said that during construction an effort would be made to control dust and reduce noise.

“Luckily, it’s a small enough project that makes it a little easier to do,” he added.

Once construction gets underway, it could take nine months to a year to be completed, the developer said.

“It sounds like you did listen to concerns from residents and made some changes, so I appreciate that,” Mayor Glenn Grandis said.