The City Council on Nov. 18 voted unanimously to approve Ordinance No. 2025-36 and Resolution No. 2025-80, authorizing a development agreement and voluntary Affordable Housing Implementation Plan for a proposed MacArthur Court mixed-use campus near the airport area.

Principal planner Liz Westmoreland told the council the proposal covers five parcels and would vest rights for 700 residential units and 10,000 square feet of retail or restaurant space over a 10-year term. As presented, the applicant (the Irvine Company) proposed off-site provision of affordable housing at 7% of market-rate units, which would amount to 49 affordable units if the full 700 units are built. Westmoreland said the agreement also includes a $3.25 million MacArthur Boulevard revitalization fee and a $17,000 per-unit public benefit fee for units not built on or after July 1, 2028; water supply assessments had been approved by the Irvine Ranch Water District.

Shauna Schaffner, principal for the applicant's planning team, said the company supported the staff recommendations and asked the council to approve the amended resolution consistent with the development agreement. Public commenters, including Adam Levins and Ron Rubino, criticized reliance on an off-site affordable housing plan and warned that in-lieu fees could make it cheaper for the applicant to pay rather than build units. Jim Mosier and others raised process concerns about timing and land-use designations. Mosier also raised questions about the site's density compared with prior housing-element assumptions and whether rights were being vested before certain land-use steps were complete.

Council members said they had engaged with state housing requirements and planning analysis while balancing local concerns. After discussion, Council Member Ball moved to approve the staff recommendation as amended; the motion passed unanimously.