The City of Irvine is the largest master planned community in the United States and is unique in several respects in regards to the pace of population growth and housing development. The majority of the undeveloped land is owned by one corporation, The Irvine Company.
The City of Irvine Consolidated Plan describes the plan to allocate $1.15 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to provide services, temporary housing, and fourteen for-sale units for lower income families.
The City distributed 4,000 Housing and Community Development Needs Surveys
to households within the targeted area. In addition, the City held a Community
Forum on June 3, 1995 in order to receive input directly from the public.
Approximately 40 people attended the Community Forum. Most of those who
attended were Irvine residents as well as service providers. The City and its
consultant described the Consolidated Plan process and the allocation of funding
process. In addition, the City presented the various ways that interested
parties could become involved in the Consolidated Plan Process through the
Community Forum, responding to the survey, commenting on the Draft CPD, and
attending the Public Hearings scheduled through the City's Community Services
Commission, Planning Commission and City Council. Those in attendance were
invited to comment on areas of unmet needs in the City within the context of six
different needs categories including Housing Needs, Public Facilities Needs,
Infrastructure Improvements, Public Service Needs, Accessibility Needs, and
Economic Development Needs. The Consolidated Plan was approved by the City
Council in July 1995 during the 30 day review period and submitted to HUD by
August 15, 1995.
The City of Irvine was incorporated in 1971 and has developed into a strong, diverse business and residential community. The central Orange County location and attention to balanced planning have resulted in a city of regional importance. As of 1994, the City had a population of approximately 121,000 and is expected to have 154,000 residents by the year 2000. The majority of Irvine's population in 1990 is white (74%), approximately 18% of the population is comprised of Asian and Pacific Islanders, 6% Hispanic, and 2% represent all other racial/ethnic groups.
The median income for Irvine in 1990 was $56,307 for a family of four and
rose to $59,100 in 1995. Twenty-six percent (26%) of all households were low
and moderate income households. Several of the census tracts in Irvine indicate
a concentration of lower income households. This would be expected for most of
these census tracts given that the housing units for the Marine Corp Air Station
Tustin and El Toro are situated within the tracts. In addition, the census
tracts contained student housing for the University at California Irvine, as
well as senior and special needs housing.
The City of Irvine identified a need for affordable housing for families as well as a need to provide for special needs housing. The City identified the priority housing needs to include construction of rental hosing for extremely low-income elderly and families, the construction of Single Room Occupancy housing for extremely low-income individuals, to maintain a first- time homebuyer program for low- and moderate-income households, transitional housing programs for homeless families and victims of domestic violence, and homeless prevention.
There continues to be a high demand for housing in Irvine, especially for extremely low-and low-income households. Although the vacancy rate for rental units is 7.23% according to the 1990 Census, the average waiting period for low-income rental units 1-2 months for one- bedroom units, and 6-12 months for two- and three-bedroom units.
The City has projected the production of 5,946 units through the 2000, for a yearly average of 1,189 units. From July 1989 through July 1994, 2,412 units were constructed in the City, less than projected due to the downturn in the housing market.
In February, 1995, the median sales price of an existing single-family home in Irvine ranged from $228,000 to $251,00. In July of 1993, rental rates ranged from $720 for a studio apartment to $1,410 for a three-bedroom unit. Average rental costs have increased by up to $ 245 since 1988, leaving all but higher income groups unable to rent or buy in Irvine without some modification of the market rent structure.
The homeless population for the City or Irvine is estimated to be 52 people living in Emergency Shelters, and an additional 409 unsheltered homeless people, for a total of 461 homeless people. During a three month period in the Spring of 1993, Irvine Temporary Housing received 60 calls form Irvine households requesting shelter and/or other assistance. According to the service provider, these 60 calls represented approximately 168 people (2.8 persons per households). Extrapolating the quarterly figure over a twelvemonth period results in an estimated 672 homeless persons or people at risk of homelessness in Irvine in 1993. This extrapolation is higher than the estimated 461 homeless in Irvine because the Irvine Temporary Housing provides homeless prevention assistance to people who have housing but are at risk of becoming homeless, along with assistance to the homeless. Due to lack of accurate data, the City has no exact estimate of the number of homeless persons or families with its boundaries.
There is no public housing located in Irvine. However, there are several HUD-assisted rental development in Irvine. The Orange County Hosing Authority operates the Section 8 Certificate and Voucher program in Irvine. As of February, 1995, there were 193 households assisted with certificates and vouchers in the City. There are ten HUD-assisted rental development (Section 202 and Section 221 (d)(4)) in the City that have Section 8 project based rental assistance, comprising a total of 671 low-income units for the elderly.
Potential constraints upon the maintenance, improvement or development of affordable housing may be discussed in two contexts: governmental and non-governmental. The City of Irvine strives to reduce governmental constraints by ensuring that the Housing Element of the General Plan states the goals for the development of affordable housing, the City has the ability to waive or reduce processing fees for affordable housing developments, and processes development requests expeditiously. The fees, processes, General Plan policies and Zoning Ordinance do not pose significant constraints to affordable housing. The non governmental constraints include land costs, construction costs and financing which tend to reflect the state of the economy. Although the City cannot directly effect the economy, it does utilize its resources and CDBG funds to alleviate these barriers.
The Fair Housing Council of Orange County provides assistance in resolving tenant/landlord disputes and discrimination complaints in Irvine. According to the Fair Housing Council, about 800 Irvine landlord/tenant disputes are presented to the agency each year.
Because the explosive growth in Orange County's population has been accompanied by the construction of new, post-1950 housing, old lead paint in housing is not a likely source of exposure for most county residents. There are an estimated 1,021 housing units in Irvine occupied by lower- and moderate-income households that may contain lead-based paint.
In terms of infrastructure improvements in Irvine, there were no existing or
future needs identified. In general, the Needs Survey indicated that
infrastructure improvements are not considered a critical issue in the City.
Respondents to the survey indicated that youth centers, child care centers and
transportation for seniors are needed community facilities. In addition, the
need for continued employment training, substance abuse services, crime
awareness and health services were identified.
The City of Irvine continues to demonstrate a commitment to increasing its affordable housing stock, including for special needs categories, as well as continuing to support service programs. The City will continue to coordinate with service providers and other non-profit entities to ensure that the housing and non-housing needs of the community continue to be met.
The City's Housing and Community Development objectives center on providing additional rental and for-sale affordable housing for all economic levels as well as to continue to expand the community services offered to the citizens.
The City identified the priority housing needs to include construction of rental housing for extremely low-income elderly and families, the construction of Single Room Occupancy housing for extremely low-income individuals, to maintain a first-time homebuyer program for low- and moderate-income households, transitional housing programs for homeless families and victims of domestic violence, and homeless prevention.
The City identified the priority non-housing needs to include providing for new and expanded community services and facilities and to improve the quality of existing community services and facilities to serve those of lower- and moderate-income.
The city's housing programs are coordinated with services for the poor through the policies of the Housing Element and implementation of the CDBG program. In considering future applications for CDBG funding, the City will consider allocating funds to agencies that assist the homeless and working poor. This may include, for example, programs to create jobs and retain businesses. To enhance social service coordination, the City will also provide social service provider with information on the supply of affordable housing and an inventory of those services for the poor.
The City of Irvine utilizes CDBG, Section 8, and the Mortgage Credit Certificate for first time homebuyers. In addition, there exist State and Federal programs such as JTPA which are offered county wide.
The City of Irvine is responsible for the Consolidated Plan activities
through the administration of the CDBG program. The City does coordinate with
other service providers to implement the strategies of the Consolidated Plan.
The City of Irvine One-Year Action Plan outlines the use of $1.15 million CDBG funds. The funds will be dispersed as follows:
The fifteen service providers are located within the City of Irvine as well as outside the City. The Habitat for Humanity project is located within a newly constructed village close to schools, parks and retail centers. The four units for the temporary housing program haven't been identified.
The City of Irvine's Community Development Department is the lead agency for the administration of the CDBG program.
From 1989 to 1996, SCAG projected the housing need for Irvine as 13,188 total new units for all income groups. The RHNA figures are goals, there are no sanctions for not achieving this goal. The City's quantified objectives for new housing can be less than the need projected by SCAG. Due to the downturn in the housing market, the City has constructed fewer units than anticipated. The City will continue to strive to meet the housing needs of the community.
MAP 2 depicts points of interest and low-moderate income areas.
MAP 3 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and minority concentration levels.
MAP 4 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and unemployment levels.
MAP 5 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
Leslie Aranda
City of Irvine
Phone Number: 714-724-6441
