Item 20 - Memorandum of Understanding of the Master Plan of Arterial Highways Amendment

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Memorandum of Understanding for the Master Plan of Arterial Highways Amendment and Irvine Business Complex Agreement Amendment July 1, 2025 Page 2 movement of people and goods. Amendments to the MPAH typically change the traffic capacity of roadways and may result in traffic impacts on other roadways. Amendments to the MPAH must include mitigation and be agreed to by OCTA, the City requesting amendment, and affected Cities. In 1992, the Cities of Santa Ana and Irvine entered into an agreement entitled "Implementation of Roadway and Interchange Mitigation Program" to jointly share in the responsibilities of road improvements resulting from new development around the boundaries of both cities. In 2011, both cities executed a restatement of the agreement incorporating the City of Irvine's Irvine Business Complex (IBC) general plan amendment. Via the 2011 restatement, a number of major improvement projects were identified and development thresholds and fair share contributions were established. Notably, IBC development would be capped at 51 million square feet of office space equivalency until both the proposed Alton Avenue freeway overcrossing project and the Dyer Road widening projects are completed (39.8 million square feet of office space equivalency has been built). As part of the City of Irvine's recent efforts to transform the Irvine Business Complex (IBC) from an area dedicated primarily to office, industrial, and commercial uses into a fully integrated mixed -use business and residential community, the City of Irvine (Irvine) updated its IBC Vision Plan, including the 2018 Traffic Study Update. In June 2019, the study recommended amending the MPAH and eliminating the proposed widening of Red Hill Avenue from four to six lanes between MacArthur Boulevard and Main Street. As a result, corresponding mitigation obligations in the City of Santa Ana were identified as a responsibility of the City of Irvine. On April 19, 2022, City of Santa Ana adopted its General Plan Update (GPU). As part of the GPU, a traffic operation study, separate from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process, was conducted. This traffic study identified traffic operational impacts and improvement mitigations at locations within the City of Irvine. As a result, corresponding mitigation obligations in the City of Irvine were identified as a responsibility of the City of Santa Ana. Prior Council Action At the April 16, 2024 City Council meeting, Staff recommended a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Irvine and OCTA regarding the proposed MPAH changes resulting from the IBC plan updates for consideration. The proposed MOU was not approved by Council. At the meeting, City Council expressed concerns with proposed traffic mitigations, specifically the fair share contributions and proposed traffic infrastructure improvement. In response to City Council concerns, staff reinitiated negotiations with Irvine and OCTA to further discuss and refine the proposed recommendations in the MOU. In these new negotiations, Staff proposed a broader