People sleeping on Irvine’s streets will soon have temporary access to beds at Costa Mesa’s homeless shelter as city leaders eye a long-term partnership.
Costa Mesa City Council members approved an agreement with the City of Irvine during their Tuesday night meeting, creating the partnership for Irvine residents to access beds at the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter.
The 100-bed shelter currently has 20 beds exclusively for Newport Beach residents and 80 beds for Costa Mesa. Irvine will have access to Costa Mesa’s beds, as available, until June 30, 2026.
The agreement outlines a $163 price tag per bed, per day. Irvine is expected to make monthly payments to Costa Mesa based on bed usage during the previous month.
Nate Robbins, Costa Mesa’s neighborhood improvement manager, said the city has seen a decrease in homeless activity on the streets in recent months, leading to vacant beds at the shelter.
Occupancy data at the Bridge Shelter from October to December 2025 showed an average of 28 vacant beds per night.
“We’re doing a really good job getting people holistically well — mind, body and soul — and getting them into housing,” Robbins said at the meeting. “We’re approaching 500 people housed since opening the temporary shelter at the Lighthouse Church in 2019.”
Robbins also explained recent changes in state law are landing more drug users behind bars.
“These hardcore drug users are getting state prison time,” he said. “A lot of times they are the ones that bring many of the issues, so they’re either locked up, or we’re getting people housed, so we’re just seeing a decrease in activity on the streets.”
The agreement with Irvine will help fill some of these vacant beds and will also provide revenue to offset some expenses to run the shelter, according to the staff report included with the agenda.
Costa Mesa city staff are currently searching for a new operator to run the shelter since the current contract expires at the end of June.
Once a new operator is secured and new costs are determined, Robbins said staff expects to enter a multi-year contract with Irvine that would give them exclusive access to 20 beds at the shelter.
Newport Beach’s agreement for 20 exclusive beds generates about $1.3 million in revenue annually for the City of Costa Mesa, Robbins said.
That agreement is also set to expire on June 30, with Newport Beach’s access to any beds at the shelter fully coming to an end at the end of the year. That means additional beds at the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter will become available if that partnership is not extended.
During Tuesday night’s meeting, Costa Mesa Councilmember Loren Gameros asked why the agreement with Newport Beach is ending, and Robbins said Newport Beach leaders are not interested in renewing at this time.
Gameros also asked about providing bed space for people outside the city if needed.
“We have a very close friend of our family, that we consider family, that ended up homeless,” he said at the meeting. “How can we go about taking in people that don’t necessarily reside in Costa Mesa but need a place to stay?”
Robbins said the city sometimes makes exceptions for people outside Costa Mesa who are in a severe situation and need help for one night.
Angelina Hicks is the Voice of OC Collegiate News Service Editor. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.
