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Council approves Village Santa Ana specific plan, with conditions on hotels and Bear Street design
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Summary
The City Council voted 7-0 to certify a supplemental EIR and approve the Village Santa Ana specific plan, a mixed-use redevelopment at 1561 W. Sunflower Ave., after requiring hotel uses be subject to a conditional use permit and directing changes to Bear Street frontage, loading and traffic signal timing.
The Santa Ana City Council voted 7-0 to certify the final supplemental environmental impact report and approve the Village Santa Ana specific plan (SP 6), a mixed‑use redevelopment proposed for 1561 West Sunflower Avenue, at a public hearing that concluded with several council-directed amendments.
The project, proposed by South Coast Plaza interests, would redevelop a 17.2-acre surface‑parking site into up to 1,583 housing units, roughly 80,000 square feet of retail, 300,000 square feet of office space and about 13.8 acres of private and publicly accessible open space; the council approved the entitlements after voting on the environmental findings and a development agreement. Council Member Becerra moved the motion; Mayor Meskwah seconded. The roll call showed 7 ayes and no nays.
City staff described the proposal as implementing the land-use vision for the South Bristol Street focus area: walkable blocks, expanded open space and high density near South Coast Plaza. Assistant Director Ali Pizzashear presented the project and the city’s environmental review, noting the EIR identified mitigable impacts in areas such as air quality and noise and a significant, unavoidable impact related to parkland shortfall under the city’s 2022 general plan. Planning staff and the planning commission recommended approval.
The council’s approval included several explicit amendments requested during the hearing: (1) change the specific‑plan use table so that hotels are not a by‑right use but instead require a conditional use permit (CUP), allowing full public review if a hotel is later proposed; (2) revise the Bear Street cross‑section to mirror Sunflower Avenue’s pedestrian, landscape and Class 4 bike lane configuration (including a potential reduction in an adjacent vehicle lane from 15 feet to 11 feet); (3) show a Class 4 bike lane on Bear Street in the plan’s bicycle network figure; (4) remove commercial loading zones from the Bear Street, Sunflower Avenue and Plaza Drive frontages; and (5) require installation of two traffic signals on Bear Street within 24 months of the ordinance’s effective date. The council also conducted first readings of ordinances to establish the specific plan and approve a development agreement; the ordinances will return for second reading.
Applicant representatives said the family‑owned developer has conducted extensive outreach and emphasized a commitment to local hiring and union construction agreements. Applicant Justin McCusker said the developer does not currently plan to build a hotel and offered to support removal of by‑right hotel language if council preferred; when asked later, McCusker agreed the applicant would accept language requiring a CUP for hotels. Architect Bryce Osborne described design intent to concentrate activation and open space toward the village core and to create landscaped pedestrian frontages along Bear and Sunflower streets.
Supporters from construction trades and business groups addressed the council during the hearing. Labor representatives highlighted anticipated local union jobs and urged approval; other speakers emphasized philanthropic contributions the developer and related family foundations have made to local schools and arts programs.
The council’s vote also approved a development agreement that, among other terms, sets a $9.3 million community benefit payment, establishes a negotiated $5 per square foot in‑lieu rate for affordable‑housing fees (with the city estimating about $7.1 million in in‑lieu funds), and requires certain retail and open‑space thresholds to be met before later residential phases can proceed. The agreement includes a public access easement for 7.5 acres of the project’s open space.
Council members who spoke cited the project’s expected fiscal and job benefits, the expansion of publicly accessible open space on a currently underused surface‑parking site, and the developer’s commitments to skilled and trained labor. Several council members also sought and secured clearer pedestrian and bike design along Bear Street and limits on loading and service activity on the street frontages.
The second reading of ordinances will return for final adoption at the next regular meeting; the development agreement will be finalized as an uncodified agreement to be recorded with future approvals.
Votes at a glance: Motion to certify the SEIR, approve entitlements and introduce implementing ordinances — motion by Council Member Becerra; second by Mayor Meskwah; roll call vote 7‑0; first readings conducted and ordinances to return for second reading.
Background: The project site lies immediately west of the previously approved Bristol specific plan (approved Oct. 2024) and is subject to the John Wayne Airport land‑use commission review; the council overruled that commission’s finding of inconsistency as part of the actions it took tonight.
