Fairview land use plan will eye up to 4,000 units, road through golf course
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Costa Mesa is continuing to clarify its vision for affordable housing, amenities and open space at the state-owned Fairview Developmental Center, with officials last week agreeing to consider between 2,300 and 4,000 residential units.
Councilmembers during an Oct. 21 regular meeting supported a land use plan further allowing for up to 35,000 square feet of retail/commercial development and seeking a minimum of 14 acres of open space on the site, which could ultimately house from 5,744 to 10,232 people.
Residents have weighed in at a number of City Council and Planning Commission workshops and meetings, stating their preference for a lower number of units. But staff last week reiterated only a project closer to 4,000 units would be economically feasible for a developer.
Because an estimated 40% of the total units have been designated for low or very-low income residents — a calculation included in the city’s housing element — a builder would have to maximize the number of at-market units to turn a profit.
A 2,300-unit project could result in a negative net cash flow of nearly $152.4 million, for an estimated -20% annual internal rate of return for the developer, while 4,000 units would net a positive cash flow of $669.9 million, for a 16.7% rate of return, according to city estimates.
Costa Mesa is pondering housing at the nearly 100-acre site. But residents bristle at a plan that would add 10,232 new residents but only 7.9 acres of open space.
“We assume a master developer would likely pursue a financially feasible development scenario,” the city’s planning and sustainability development manager, Anna McGill, told the council.
“The largest concept we studied, at 4,000 units, is financially feasible.”
Specifications in the council-approved land use plan will be evaluated for their potential environmental impacts and incorporated into a Fairview Developmental Center Specific Plan, which establishes zoning policies and regulations for an 80-acre portion of the 114-acre parcel and is to be completed by December 2026.
Fifteen acres at the site are being developed into a state-run Southern Regional Emergency Operations Center, while another 20 acres of the former state hospital grounds will be retained for the housing and treatment of individuals with complex needs.
Details on how the main residential space might look and feel are scarce, as it will ultimately be up to a master developer picked by the state to submit and execute building plans. City staff estimated full buildout could take up to 18 years.
Once completed, the state’s 15-acre Southern Regional Emergency Operations Center will serve 23 million residents in 226 Southern California cities during disasters and times of crisis.
But one thing is clear: The project is likely to impact play at the Costa Mesa Country Club, another aspect of the visioning process that’s perturbed locals who use the city-owned facility.
Earlier analysis determined any buildout greater than 2,300 units would require a second access road, in addition to a main entrance off Harbor Boulevard, which would cut through six holes of the club’s Mesa Linda course.
How the course might be reconfigured is anyone’s guess. Planning commissioners who considered the land use plan this summer, suggested a review of whether 22 city-owned acres along Harbor Boulevard, currently used for golf, could serve as part of a land swap in a broader reimagining of land within the FDC Specific Plan.
Mayor John Stephens, however, made a motion to separate out that parcel from any council approvals involving Fairview, indicating he only wanted to consider plans that enhanced play at Costa Mesa County Club, which generates roughly $4 million in annual for the city.
“This access [road] is a linchpin to unlocking a lot of profitability for a developer,” Stephens said. “We are providing a grant of real estate that’s so valuable for a developer, I think it’s reasonable for us to ask the developer not only to not harm the asset over which they’re going to put an access road, but to enhance it.”
The council unanimously approved the land use plan without analysis of the 22-acre Harbor frontage. Although Councilmembers Andrea Marr and Arlis Reynolds favored bringing that issue back for consideration, no action was taken at the Oct. 21 meeting.
