Mission Viejo continuing efforts to provide housing for essential workers

The City of Mission Viejo, as all jurisdictions throughout the State, is required by California law to prepare a Housing Element and receive approval from the State's Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Part of that State mandate included assigning for an additional 1.34 million housing units to be constructed in the Southern California region by 2029, with Mission Viejo's share set at a minimum of 2,217 new units.

In mid-2020, the City Council, Planning and Transportation Commission, City staff, consultants and the community began collaboration to prepare the Housing Element Update for the 2021-2029 planning cycle. The following year, several sites in the City were rezoned to accommodate the 2,217 new housing units mandated by California. The result of these efforts to comply with the State was a letter from HCD affirming that the re-adopted Housing Element is in compliance with State Housing Element Law. One of the locations included in the inventory of sites to be rezoned - at the request of the private property owner - was the Burlington Coat site.

With the numerous new California laws, Mission Viejo has limited ability to deny housing projects but has been actively requiring a developer to provide a maximum of 15% affordable housing units within the development to house local hospital workers, firefighters, teachers and deputies. These essential workers imbue life in the community, and the City's efforts to support them will be felt well into the future.

The City website's Housing Element pages provide a wealth of material on the public meetings and processes to comply with State law, and residents are encouraged to sign up for the City's eNewsletter and follow the City's official social media sites for the most accurate, up-to-date information.