Costa Mesa staff outlines limits, open-space minimums and traffic trade-offs in Fairview Developmental Center specific-plan draft

City planning manager Anna McGill told the Costa Mesa Parks and Community Services Commission on Oct. 9 that the city’s draft specific plan for the state-owned Fairview Developmental Center (FDC) will be analyzed for impacts at a range of housing densities and will include a minimum 12 acres of publicly accessible open space for environmental review.

The planning commission recommended studying a minimum of 2,300 housing units and up to 4,000 units for environmental review, up to 35,000 square feet of commercial space, and a minimum of 12 acres of dedicated, publicly accessible open space, Anna McGill said. The planning commission’s preferred plan is scheduled to go to the City Council on Oct. 21. No final entitlement or developer has been approved; the state expects to select a master developer in 2026.

Why this matters: the FDC site is a large, complex parcel that the state owns and will dispose of to a private developer; the city’s choices about open-space requirements, access and mitigation affect whether the project will provide neighborhood parks and sports fields or concentrate development. Those trade-offs were the central focus of commissioners’ and public questions.

Background and planning details: McGill told commissioners the FDC opened in 1959, is presently in a warm shutdown status and remains licensed to house emergent cases. Recent state actions include the Department of…