• Community Development Grant Program
• Easement Approval Process
• Housing Assistance Programs

Community Development Grant Program

The City of Irvine sponsors an annual Single-Family Rehabilitation Grant Program, which provides grants to rehabilitate residential properties throughout the City of Irvine.  Property owners of owner-occupied single-family dwellings or mobile homes whose income does not exceed 60 percent of the County Area Median Income (AMI) are eligible to participate in the Program.  The City’s Program provides grants up to $5,000 to pay for rehabilitation costs to correct substandard conditions, correct violations of local housing codes and bring the property up to current code.

Easement Approval Process

Easements are frequently required for a variety of reasons, such as access, drainage sidewalks, or street right-of-way.  If your project requires easements to be established, you must complete an application with the Public Works Department and submit it with the application fee.  Two copies of the legal description of the easement area, closure calculations, title reports, and the conditions of approval for your project must be included with the application.  The City will either approve the application or provide you with comments within fifteen working days of receipt of the application.  Upon approval of the easement, the City will have it recorded and return a copy of the recorded document to you.  For more information, please contact the Public Works Department at One Civic Center Plaza, between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and Fridays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on alternate Fridays when City Hall is closed.  If you have any questions, you may contact the City’s Right-of-Way Administrator, Tim Kirkham, at (949) 724-6422.   

Housing Assistance Programs
The City of Irvine is committed to providing a wide range of housing opportunities for all income levels.  A variety of housing assistance programs are available to low, very-low and moderate income to obtain income restricted rental units in Irvine as well as ownership opportunities.  The goal of these programs is to insure that all Irvine citizens have safe and affordable housing for their families.  To accomplish this goal, the City requires that all new residential developments provide a percentage of the units as affordable to families earning less than the area median income.  As a result, the City currently has over 3,000 existing affordable rental units for very-low, low and moderate income with more planned for the near future.  In addition, a total of 93 affordable for-sale units were recently approved.  The City also has a First Time Homebuyer Program, which consists of three components: the Down Payment Assistance Program (DAP), the Lease Purchase Program (LPP) and the Mortgage Credit Certificate Program (MCC).