byEmily Wilson
Why you can trust Voice of OC
Land in an already approved housing development in Placentia is slated to see the minimum units per acre reduced from 65 to 15 in a city grappling to meet the state-mandated housing goals.
But it raised concerns from some planning commissioners that it could set a precedent for other developers in town.
According to a city staff report, planning commissioners took issue with “frequent modifications to approved development plans, the potential precedent for lower densities, and the long-term impact on the City’s housing goals.”
The reduction stems from a request from the developer, who said they’ve run into construction cost issues stemming from litigation, material costs and a changing housing market.
The development proposal is a mixed-use project that was approved in September 2024 as a five-story building with 248 market rate residential units alongside Placentia Avenue and Orangethorpe Avenue.
Notably, the approved project’s maximum density is 95 units per acre with ground-level commercial space and a parking structure.
Officials reduced the minimum housing units per acre from 65 to 15 for future developments on the 2.72 acres of land the project’s slated to be built on.
Orangethorpe Investment Partners owner Gilad Ganish said the amendment won’t change the 248-unit development, but future developments will be impacted.
“If an alternative project was proposed in the future it would have to be within that density range, and if it was significantly different from the approved project it would have to go back to Planning Commission and possibly City Council,” he said in an email.
City officials have to zone for nearly 4,400 new housing units by 2029, according to Placentia’s adopted housing plan. Of that number, roughly 1,900 are mandated to be low income or less – meaning a four-person household making $126,250 annually or less, according to state guidelines.
Placentia City Council members voted 3-2 at their Mar. 18 meeting to approve the amendment, with council members Ward Smith and Thomas Hummer dissenting.
It comes after the city’s planning commission recommended to deny the amendment at their Feb. 11 meeting.
“A developer asking for lower density is kind of like, I go to buy a used car, and I say, ‘oh, we’re going to pay seven percent interest’ and the guy says, ‘no, let me charge you three and a half,’ said Mayor Kevin Kirwin at the Mar. 18 meeting. “I don’t know what world that exists in. There has to be an advantage to that, somehow, that I can’t figure out.”
Kirwin also said that although the proposal seems “strange,” he voted to adopt the amendment as he is generally in favor of lower density.
The proposed amendment was also heard by the city’s Housing, Community and Economic Development Committee at their Feb. 5 meeting, where Mayor Kevin Kirwin and Mayor Pro Tem Chad Wanke recommended no minimum density at all, according to Wanke.
“If 15 (minimum units) is what the developer wants, then that’s what I’m supportive of,” Wanke said at the Mar. 18 meeting.
Ganish wrote in email to Voice of OC that the approvals for the 248-unit project were still in place, and there aren’t any plans for a different development.
“The item before the City Council on March 18 was only the minimum density for the property,” he wrote.
Ganish also told council members that if any new developments were to be made on the parcel of land, they would be aware.
“There is no new project before you tonight,” Ganish said. “And if anything did change, it would have to go through the process.”
Smith said that he found it “hard to believe” that Ganish would want to lower the minimum density to 15 units per acre.
In a city council meeting last summer, city council debated until 2 a.m. with Ganish to raise the maximum units per acre to 95 for the development.
The amendment to reduce minimum residential density requirement is intended to provide greater flexibility for future land use planning but doesn’t change the entitlements for the approved project, according to a city staff report.
Staff also said the development is also not a part of the city’s state-mandated housing requirement.
Correction: A previous version of this story stated Councilman Ward Smith served on the Community and Economic Development Committee: Mayor Pro Tem Chad Wanke sits on that committee. Additionally, a quote from Wanke was misattributed to Smith.
Emily Wilson is a Voice of OC intern. You can reach her at egwilson33@gmail.com or on Twitter @ewilssson.
