Stephen R. Sheldon
Service area: Portions of Irvine, Newport Beach and Tustin
Stephen R. Sheldon is an elected member of the Orange County Water District (District) Board of Directors; his division includes parts of Irvine, Newport Beach and Tustin. He has served on the board since 2005 and was previously president of the board in 2008 to 2009, and 2021 to 2022. Sheldon serves as Chairman of the Property Committee. Sheldon is a strong advocate that water should be prioritized for people and food; and has worked hard at the District to ensure that water is pure, plentiful and affordable for Orange County residents. In November 2022, Sheldon was re-elected to the District with nearly 60% of the vote.
Sheldon brings more than 25 years of experience in water policy, public policy and real estate development. As a land-use consultant and attorney, his work includes managing hundreds of land-use entitlement efforts before cities, counties and special districts and negotiating development agreements. He is currently the CEO of Sheldon Development, LLC and has developed over 2,500 homes, both market rate and affordable, along with parks, open space, trails, and other public amenities and benefits. He was a recent successful bidder for a surplus elementary school site and has acquired surplus land from municipalities.
Director Sheldon resides in Tustin.