Posted August 2026 | By Eric Engelbert
West Whittier Boulevard Is Getting a Four-Story Mixed-Use Building with 63 Apartments and Ground-Floor Retail
A mixed-use project at 2301, 2321, and 2331 West Whittier Boulevard in La Habra would replace three parcels of aging commercial frontage with a four-story building containing 63 apartments above 19,320 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space. Roughly half the apartments would be income-restricted as affordable housing, which is how the project unlocks California's State Density Bonus Law and qualifies for a streamlined ministerial approval process that limits the city's ability to require discretionary review.
The project has gone through multiple rounds of filings and resubmittals since January 2024 and as of mid-2026 is approved or very close to final approval. This post covers what the building will look like, how the affordability and density bonus mechanics work, and what the approval path has looked like.
What's Being Built: Four Stories, Ground-Floor Retail, Subterranean Parking
The three adjacent parcels at 2301, 2321, and 2331 West Whittier Boulevard would be consolidated into a single development site. The building rises four stories with the residential floors sitting above a retail podium. Ground-floor commercial space totals 19,320 square feet, designed for multi-tenant retail and restaurant use along the West Whittier corridor. Subterranean parking serves both the residential and commercial components.
The 63 apartments sit on floors two through four. California's State Density Bonus Law lets developers build more units than zoning would normally allow when they commit a meaningful share of those units to affordable housing. In this case, the project committed to approximately 50 percent affordable units, which triggered the maximum 50 percent density bonus allowed under state law. Working backward, the base entitlement was roughly 42 units; the bonus added 21 more units to reach the 63-unit total.
Of those 63 apartments, approximately 31 to 32 will be income-restricted at levels defined under the city's Inclusionary Housing Ordinance and state affordability guidelines. La Habra's inclusionary ordinance requires 15 percent affordable units for projects of 10 or more units. This project's 50 percent commitment far exceeds that threshold, which is what made the density bonus and ministerial review request possible.
Project at a Glance
| Address | 2301, 2321 and 2331 West Whittier Boulevard, La Habra, CA 90631 |
|---|---|
| Building Type | Four-story mixed-use |
| Residential Units | 63 apartments |
| Affordable Units | Approximately 31 to 32 (approx. 50% of total) |
| Commercial Space | 19,320 SF ground-floor retail and restaurant |
| Parking | Subterranean |
| Density Bonus | 50% (maximum) under California State Density Bonus Law (Gov. Code §65915) |
| Approval Path | Ministerial/by-right review per LHMC 18.84.050 (Gov. Code §65913.4) |
| Inclusionary Compliance | La Habra Inclusionary Housing Ordinance; exceeds 15% threshold |
| Initial Filing | January 29, 2024 |
| Most Recent Filing | May 5, 2025 |
| Status | Approved or pending final approval (mid-2026) |
How the Density Bonus Works Here
California's State Density Bonus Law (Government Code Section 65915) is a state-level tool that requires cities to grant additional residential units beyond what base zoning allows when a developer agrees to restrict a portion of the project's homes to income-qualified tenants. The bonus scales with the share of affordable units: commit more units to affordability and you earn a larger bonus, up to a ceiling of 50 percent additional units.
This project hit the ceiling. By committing approximately half of all units to affordable pricing, the developer earned the maximum 50 percent bonus. A base entitlement of roughly 42 units became 63 approved units. The trade-off is that the affordable units must remain income-restricted for 55 years under standard California affordability covenants, meaning they cannot be converted to market-rate rentals during that window.
The density bonus also comes with additional incentives and concessions the city must grant. These can include reduced parking requirements, relaxed setback standards, or increased building height. Subterranean parking rather than surface lots likely reflects one of those concessions, allowing the full ground floor to be activated as commercial space rather than consumed by parking.
For a corridor like West Whittier Boulevard, the commercial component matters as much as the residential one. The 19,320 square feet of ground-floor space is roughly equivalent to a full neighborhood retail strip, sized to support multiple tenants across restaurant, service, and retail categories. A four-story building at this corner would be among the more urban-format developments on this stretch of Whittier.
Why the Applicant Requested Ministerial Approval
Alongside the density bonus request, the applicant asked the city to process this project under ministerial review in accordance with La Habra Municipal Code Section 18.84.050, which implements California Government Code Section 65913.4. That state law, enacted through Senate Bill 35 and subsequently strengthened, created a streamlined approval pathway for residential and mixed-use projects in cities that have not met their state housing production targets.
Ministerial review is fundamentally different from the discretionary approval process that most large projects go through. In a discretionary process, the planning commission or city council evaluates a project on subjective grounds including neighborhood character, design aesthetics, and community preference, and can deny or substantially modify it based on those judgments. Ministerial review removes that discretion: the city can only check whether the project meets objective development standards. If it does, the city must approve it. Ministerial approvals are also exempt from environmental review under CEQA.
To qualify for ministerial review under Government Code Section 65913.4, a project must be located on an infill site in a jurisdiction that has not met its state housing production targets, and must include a minimum share of lower-income affordable units. La Habra's obligation under the 6th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment is 803 units, a target the city has not come close to meeting. At approximately 50 percent affordable units, this project clears the affordability threshold by a wide margin, making it eligible for the streamlined track.
The practical effect is that the city has limited ability to block or substantially redesign the project if it meets objective standards. That is the legal landscape the applicant is working within.
Five Filings in Sixteen Months: What the Resubmittals Tell Us
Projects that move through multiple rounds of filings and resubmittals are sometimes struggling to gain approval, but they can also be refining details in response to city design comments rather than fundamental opposition. The West Whittier project shows signs of the latter pattern.
- January 29, 2024Initial application: four-story mixed-use building, 19,320 SF commercial, 63 residential apartments.
- May 16, 2024Design Review filing: commercial square footage revised to 14,892 SF; 63 units retained; 50% affordable units specified; ministerial review under LHMC 18.84.050 formally requested.
- December 13, 2024Resubmittal: commercial space restored to 19,320 SF; subterranean parking confirmed; State Density Bonus Law and Inclusionary Ordinance compliance stated.
- January 14, 2025Second resubmittal: Design Review Committee meeting held.
- May 5, 2025Final resubmittal: 63 units above 19,320 SF commercial; 50% density bonus and affordable unit compliance per Inclusionary Ordinance.
The unit count held steady at 63 throughout all five filings. The main variable was the commercial footprint, which briefly dipped to 14,892 square feet in the spring 2024 round before returning to 19,320 square feet in December 2024 and staying there. That shift likely reflects a design reconfiguration, possibly related to how parking, lobby, and building services were allocated at grade. The consistency on unit count suggests no fundamental dispute about the residential program, and the ministerial review request has been on the table since the first Design Review filing in May 2024.
Where Things Stand
As of mid-2026, the project is approved or in the final stages of approval. The combination of the ministerial review request and the high affordable unit commitment put this project in a stronger legal position than most La Habra applications. The city's discretion over the project's ultimate approval is constrained by state law in a way that standard discretionary projects are not. Projects on the ministerial track do not go to a public hearing for an up-or-down vote; approval is an administrative determination.
The West Whittier project is one of a handful of La Habra applications actively using state housing law to move through an approval process that would otherwise give the city more room to slow or reject the project. The Westridge Hills project on the former golf course uses Builder's Remedy for similar reasons, though at a far larger scale and with a different approval framework. On Whittier Boulevard, the scale is smaller and the tool is different: density bonus plus ministerial review rather than Builder's Remedy, with an affordable housing commitment that anchors the legal argument for streamlined processing.
Construction timing has not been publicly confirmed. Apartment projects of this type typically move from final approval to groundbreaking within six to eighteen months, depending on financing and contractor availability.
Looking for Homes or Investment Property in La Habra?
La Habra's housing pipeline is more active than most people realize. New apartments, townhomes, and mixed-use projects are moving through the approval process across the city. If you are watching La Habra as a buyer or an investor, I can walk you through what is coming, what is already available, and how the new supply may affect values in specific neighborhoods. Whether you are looking for a resale home, new construction in La Habra, or an income property, I know this market and can help you navigate it.
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