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Tustin staff presents 2025 year-in-review, highlights major housing and business programs
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Summary
City staff told the Planning Commission on March 24 that 2025 saw approvals and construction across housing, commercial and industrial projects, the launch of business support programs (CityScope, concierge, visitation), and progress on affordable housing; staff recommended the certified local government annual report be forwarded to city council.
City planning and community development staff presented a summary of 2025 development activity to the Tustin Planning Commission on March 24, highlighting major project approvals, new business-support programs and steps to meet state housing requirements.
Assistant Planner Erin Valle reviewed ongoing and approved projects across the city, including the Enderle Center redevelopment (branded Campo 117) with 100 condominiums and commercial uses, the 145-unit Cypress Grove condominium project, Bonita Townhomes, the nearly complete 35-unit Kibbe Home Stafford Glen development, and the Irvine Company project at Tustin Legacy with more than 1,300 apartments and an affordable-unit component. Valley said several projects were approved by the city council in 2025 and are at various stages of construction or plan check.
Valley also summarized departmental performance metrics: approximately 1,334 construction permits issued, about 14,000 inspections, 435 code enforcement cases and a decrease in graffiti removals (3,188 removals at a cost of about $140,000), which staff attributed partly to contracting changes and fewer incidents. The presentation noted implementation of state-required objective design standards, four code amendments to streamline development review (including reduced processing time for alcohol-related permits), and two awards from the American Planning Orange Section.
On economic development, Deputy Director Valentin Flores described three new programs: a visitation effort to meet businesses in person, the CityScope data program that packages Placer AI and CoStar analytics for small businesses, and a concierge service that provides a single point of contact across departments for zoning/licensing support. "It's mostly the mom-and-pops that are taking advantage" of CityScope, Flores said, adding that the city has engaged with 171 businesses through visitation and provided CityScope reports to dozens of businesses.
The presentation also covered housing-support initiatives: a home repair program with Habitat for Humanity offering grants up to $15,000 for eligible seniors and veterans, and recent approvals for very low-income and affordable units at Compass at Red Hill and the Irvine Company at Tustin Legacy. Staff recommended that the Planning Commission approve the city's 2024–2025 certified local government annual report and forward it to the city council as a receive-and-file item; the commission later voted to approve and forward that report.
Commissioners asked about program eligibility, recruitment, and how ministerial versus discretionary permits are being handled following streamlining efforts; planning staff said certain entitlements for Enderle/Campo 117 (for example, conditional use permits for drive-thrus and tract maps to subdivide condos) will return to the commission for discretionary review.
The meeting concluded with announcements about Historic Preservation Week and an update that staff were authorized to enter negotiations with a developer on a 52-acre Cornerstone site that will likely come before the commission in the coming months.
