Costa Mesa council to weigh proposed housing development
The Costa Mesa City Council is scheduled to review a revised version of a controversial plan to replace a College Park commercial center with a multi-story housing development.
Even if council members were to approve the project proposed for 440 Fair Drive during their meeting Tuesday, local voters would have the final say.
While the project that will go before the council next week differs in several respects from the version that drew the wrath of the College Park neighborhood in recent months, the fundamental idea is the same.
The applicant, Newport Beach-based Sheldon Development LLC, is seeking city approval to demolish the existing two-story building on the 1.66-acre site and replace it with 28 residential units.
Steve Sheldon, the developer’s chief executive, said the project will rid the area of an aging and blighted building and reduce traffic to and from the site, as residential properties typically generate fewer car trips than commercial uses.
“You’re trading out a very busy office building for the homes, which have a third of the traffic,” he said in an interview Friday.
Businesses currently at the center include Hotties Pizza, small offices and several spas and massage parlors.
Numerous College Park residents, though, have bristled at the project.
“More high-density housing is a terrible burden for our community,” College Park resident Molly McLarney wrote in an email the city in December. “On a daily basis, we already deal with College Park being used as a speedway and the streets in front of our single-family homes are used as parking lots for other high-density projects off Fairview Road. We do not need more of this type of housing in our community.”
College Park resident Ranell Nystrom called the project a “flawed proposal that will destroy the integrity of the existing neighborhood” in an email to the city in November.
One particular point of contention for many area residents was that the originally proposed project provided access to the property from Carnegie Avenue, rather than Fair, as is currently the case.
Allowing access from Carnegie, some residents claimed, would increase traffic in their neighborhood.
Under the revised project up for council review, the entrance to the property would remain off Fair.
A number of residents also raised issues with the height of the proposed new buildings.
Originally, Sheldon had sought permission to build eight detached units and 20 duplex units in multi-level buildings that would be 33 and 37.5 feet tall, respectively.
As revised, the eight detached units would instead be 27 feet tall, while the duplex units would remain the same height.
Sheldon said he’s “spoken with many, many residents” in the area and tried to adjust the project to address their concerns.
“Traffic was the No. 1 perceived issue among all the comments, and we’ve addressed that issue,” Sheldon said. “I believe everyone needs to compromise. I can’t address all the issues 100%.”
The city Planning Commission voted 3-0 in November to recommend the council deny the first version of the project, citing concerns about building a high-density project next to the single-family neighborhood.
The council could decide to deny the project, approve it, or refer it back to the Planning Commission so that body can review the retooled version.
Even if the council were to OK the project, it would still have to pass muster with local voters as a result of a growth-control measure approved in November’s election.
That initiative, which was on the ballot as Measure Y, stipulates that voters must also sign off on development projects that require a general plan amendment or zoning change and would also add 40 or more additional dwelling units or 10,000 or more additional square feet of commercial space on top of what already exists.
While the project at 440 Fair Drive does include requests for a general plan amendment and to rezone the property to residential, it doesn’t meet the measure’s thresholds on its own.
However, Measure Y also requires the city to consider other developments approved within a half-mile of the project site over the last eight years. Should a combination of previous projects and a proposed development meet or exceed the measure’s criteria, a public vote would be required.
In the case of 440 Fair, there are two previously approved sizable projects located within a half-mile — the proposal to build 224 high-end apartments to replace the Costa Mesa Motor Inn at 2277 Harbor Blvd. and the Azulón at Mesa Verde complex at 1500 Mesa Verde Drive East.
The City Council approved those developments in November 2015 and December 2010, respectively. Azulón is currently open, while the Motor Inn redevelopment project is tied up pending the outcome of a lawsuit by affordable-housing advocates and some former motel residents.
“Under Measure Y, the project would need to be placed on the ballot at the next regular municipal election following City Council approval, unless the applicant wished [to] pay for a special election,” council agenda documents state.
The city’s next regularly scheduled election is in November 2018.
Sheldon, though, said he’s focused on Tuesday’s hearing.
“I’ll cross that Measure Y bridge when I come to it,” he said.
Tuesday’s Council meeting starts at 6 p.m. in City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
