Housing Element Rezone Project

On January 7, 2025, the Tustin City Council approved the Housing Element Rezone Project. Please see below for complete project information. 

Project Introduction

This web page provides information on the Housing Element Rezone Project, an implementation requirement of the City’s General Plan.  This website has been separated into the five sections for ease of reference:

  • Background
  • Project Overview
  • Tustin Legacy (Neighborhoods D North, D South, and G) – Housing Element Sites 1a, 1b & 2
  • Enderle Center – Housing Element Site 17
  • The Market Place – Housing Element Site 18

Background

California law requires every city to create and maintain a “General Plan”.  A General Plan establishes goals and policies related to the city’s growth and community health over a period of several decades.  The General Plan serves as a vision and guide for decision-making and land development. 

General Plans must address eight mandatory topics, or “elements’, including land use, circulation, housing, conservation, open space, noise, safety, and environmental justice.  The Housing Element, specifically, must be submitted to the State for review, and the State must certify it as being compliant with State housing laws.  The Housing Element must be updated and certified every eight (8) years. (Government Code Section 65580 et seq.) 

In October 2021 the City of Tustin’s Housing Element 2021-2029 was submitted to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for their review and certification.  The City received comments from the State, made revisions, and subsequently received State certification in September, 2022.  The City Council adopted the State certified Housing Element on October 4, 2022. 

Under State law, the Housing Element must show that the City can provide it’s fair share of regional housing over an eight year period (2021 to 2029). The City’s share of housing is established by a process called the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA).  To meet its RHNA obligation, the City of Tustin’s Housing Element specifies that the City will increase the amount of residential development currently allowed within Tustin Legacy, and that Enderle Center and the Tustin Market Place will be rezoned to allow housing development.  The City’s Housing Element states that these zoning changes are to be completed by October, 2024.

Rezoning Program Overview

The City of Tustin is currently working to implement the rezoning program specified in the City’s 2021-2029 Housing Element (HE), to accommodate the 2021 Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation. The Housing Element guides the City's housing policies and programs for the period of 2021-2029.

The rezoning program outlines how the City will accommodate its share of regional housing, as determined by the State. To accommodate the required amount of housing, the Rezoning Program specifies that the City will revise the zoning of the following three sites:

  • Tustin Legacy
  • Enderle Center
  • Tustin Market Place

The rezoning of these three sites requires the preparation of technical documents, which will be presented to the City’s Planning Commission and City Council for approval.   

The City’s environmental consultant has begun preparation of Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) that evaluate potential environmental impacts associated with the three project sites listed above and described in detail below.  The EIRs are being prepared pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and will be made available once complete.  The CEQA process is shown in the flow chart below:

Final CEQA Graphic Process

Contact Us

For more questions about the Housing Element Rezone Program, please email us at HousingElementRezone@tustinca.org, or call the Planning Division at 714-573-3140.

  1. TUSTIN LEGACY - SITES 1A, 1B, & 2
  2. ENDERLE CENTER - SITE 17
  3. TUSTIN MARKET PLACE - SITE 18

Tustin Legacy

The Tustin Legacy (Housing Element Sites 1a 1b & 2) is identified by Housing Element Program 1.1f as having its residential capacity increased in Neighborhoods D South, D North, and G.  To accommodate State Housing Law (RHNA), the rezoning program adds a total of 855 additional residential units to these three neighborhoods. The Housing Element also included 1,356 buffer units, which are intended to accommodate Housing Element sites that get developed with less than their specified capacity. Therefore, the total number of additional dwelling units being allocated to the TLSP under the rezoning program is 2,211 (885 RHNA + 1,356 buffer).  However, because State Density Bonus Law allows affordable housing projects to exceed zoning limits, and affordable housing is a Tustin Legacy Specific Plan (TLSP) requirement under the Surplus Land Act, the impacts of 2,759 additional units have been evaluated in the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (DSEIR).  Therefore, a total of 4,970 additional units (2,211 rezoning + 2,759 density bonus) have been evaluated. No development is proposed as part of this project. 

  •  The following summarizes the Tustin Legacy Rezoning Project approvals required by the Planning Commission and City Council: 
    • Specific Plan Amendment (SPA) – Amend the Tustin Legacy Specific Plan to accommodate additional residential units in Neighborhoods D and G;
    • Objective Residential Development Standards (ODS) – Design standards that objectively regulate the physical development of residential projects; and
    • Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) – An analysis of potential environmental impacts of the proposal, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)

TLSP Modified Project Site Opens in new window
Click here to view full map

Final Project Documentation:

Tustin Legacy Document Archive:

To review previously approved documents related to the Tustin Legacy Specific Plan and Environmental Impact Statement/Final Environmental Impact Report (EIS/FEIR), please visit the "Specific Plans" page on the City's website by clicking here.