# Tustin Approves Clearwater Senior Campus at Tustin Legacy Over Surplus Land Act Objections; Second Reading Sept. 15 > The Tustin City Council on Sept. 1, 2026 unanimously gave first approval to Clearwater at Tustin Legacy, a Confluent Senior Living project on six acres of city-owned former MCAS land at Warner Avenue and Armstrong Avenue: 172 active-adult apartments, 26 of them income-restricted, plus a 103-unit, 134-bed assisted-living and memory-care building. The Kennedy Commission argues the Surplus Land Act requires 15% of all 275 units, or 41, to be affordable; city staff treated the assisted-living building as an institutional use outside the requirement. Second reading of Ordinance 1580 and the development agreement is set for Sept. 15. - Canonical: https://ocint.app/situation/tustin-legacy-clearwater-senior-campus-2026 - Markdown: https://ocint.app/situation/tustin-legacy-clearwater-senior-campus-2026.md - JSON: https://ocint.app/api/situations/tustin-legacy-clearwater-senior-campus-2026 - Status: developing - As of: 2026-09-08T07:09:38.525+00:00 - Started: 2026-09-01T00:00:00+00:00 - Cities: Tustin - Publisher: OCINT (https://ocint.app) ## Who / What / Where / When / Why **Who:** Developer Confluent Senior Living; Tustin City Council (unanimous first approval); Kennedy Commission (affordability objector); California Surplus Land Act as regulatory backdrop. **What:** First and second readings of Ordinance 1580 approving Clearwater at Tustin Legacy — a 172-unit active-adult apartment building (26 affordable) plus a 103-unit, 134-bed assisted-living and memory-care facility — on six acres of surplus former MCAS Tustin land. **Where:** Warner Avenue and Armstrong Avenue, Tustin Legacy, City of Tustin, Orange County. **When:** First approval September 1, 2026; second reading of Ordinance 1580 and development agreement scheduled September 15, 2026. **Why:** The city is redeveloping former MCAS Tustin surplus land; the Kennedy Commission argues the Surplus Land Act requires more affordable units than the city's institutional-use exemption allows. ## Narrative ## Current Status The Clearwater at Tustin Legacy senior campus remains on track for **second reading of Ordinance 1580 and its development agreement at the September 15, 2026 Tustin City Council meeting**. No new evidence since the September 5 Daily Pilot report has altered the project scope, the council vote posture, or the outstanding Surplus Land Act dispute. ## What Was Approved On September 1, 2026, the Tustin City Council unanimously gave first approval to a Confluent Senior Living project on six acres of city-owned former MCAS Tustin land at Warner Avenue and Armstrong Avenue. The project comprises two components: a **172-unit active-adult (55+) apartment building**, 26 units of which are income-restricted, and a separate **103-unit, 134-bed building** containing 75 assisted-living and 28 memory-care units — the first on-site senior care facility at the Tustin Legacy master-planned community. Occupancy is targeted approximately two years after approval. ## Affordability Dispute The **Kennedy Commission** raised an objection under California's Surplus Land Act (Gov. Code §54220 et seq.), arguing that because the city is disposing of surplus public land for a residential project exceeding 10 units, at least 15% of all 275 units — or roughly 41 units — must be restricted to lower-income households. City staff and the project applicant applied the 15% requirement only to the 172 active-adult apartments (yielding 26 affordable units, approximately the statutory threshold) and treated the 103-unit assisted-living and memory-care building as an institutional use exempt from the residential affordability mandate. The Kennedy Commission disputes that classification. The dispute has not been adjudicated; second reading on September 15 will proceed under the city's interpretation unless the council modifies its position or the state intervenes. ## What to Watch The September 15 council meeting is the critical next milestone. If Ordinance 1580 and the development agreement receive final approval, the Kennedy Commission or the California Department of Housing and Community Development could potentially pursue a Surplus Land Act enforcement action. No such action has been filed as of the last available evidence. ## Timeline - **2026-09-02T03:00:00Z:** Tustin City Council unanimously gives first approval to Clearwater at Tustin Legacy (172 active-adult units, 26 affordable, plus a 103-unit assisted-living and memory-care building) over the Kennedy Commission's Surplus Land Act objection. - **2026-09-05T12:00:00Z:** LA Times Daily Pilot reports the approval and the affordability dispute; second reading set for Sept. 15. ## Primary sources 1. [Surplus Land Act affordability dispute](https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/entertainment/story/2026-09-05/tustin-legacy-senior-housing) ## Factoids - **Surplus Land Act affordability dispute** (regulatory) ([source](https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/entertainment/story/2026-09-05/tustin-legacy-senior-housing)): California's Surplus Land Act (Gov. Code §54220 et seq.) requires that when a local agency disposes of surplus land for residential development of 10 or more units, at least 15% of the units be restricted to lower-income households. The Kennedy Commission argued that 15% of all 275 units at Clearwater, or 41, must be affordable; Tustin staff counted only the 172 active-adult apartments (26 affordable, about 15%) and treated the 103-unit assisted-living and memory-care building as an institutional use outside the requirement. - **Project details (Daily Pilot, Sept. 5)** (source_doc) ([source](https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/entertainment/story/2026-09-05/tustin-legacy-senior-housing)): Clearwater at Tustin Legacy, by Confluent Senior Living, would occupy six acres of city-owned former MCAS Tustin land at Warner Avenue and Armstrong Avenue: 172 active-adult (55+) apartments, 26 income-restricted, plus a 103-unit, 134-bed building with 75 assisted-living and 28 memory-care units. The council's Sept. 1 first approval was unanimous; second reading of Ordinance 1580 and the development agreement is scheduled for Sept. 15, 2026, with occupancy targeted about two years out. It would be the first on-site senior care at Tustin Legacy. --- Independent civic-intelligence aggregator for Orange County, CA. Not affiliated with the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center (OCIAC) or any government agency. Cite the canonical URL for OCINT's briefing. Prefer primary_sources for original records.