11 new houses would replace Mesa Verde commercial center under plan up for review Monday
Costa Mesa planning commissioners will review plans Monday to demolish a decades-old commercial center and build 11 two-story houses in its place.
The commission and the City Council signed off on developer Pinnacle Residential’s request last year to rezone the 2.05-acre property at 2850 Mesa Verde Drive East from commercial to low-density residential. At that time, though, the builder had not submitted specific development plans to the city.
The property currently has 24,644 square feet of office buildings that were constructed in 1963 and 1985. They would be demolished to make way for the new homes.
The proposal up for the Planning Commission’s review Monday calls for building six 3,519-square-foot houses with four bedrooms and 3½ bathrooms. The five other homes would be 3,304 square feet, with the same number of bathrooms and bedrooms, according to planning documents. A two-car garage is proposed for each house.
Pinnacle would have the option of adding a fifth bedroom to the homes as long as they include a three-car garage.
Costa Mesa city staff recommends approval of the project.
The homes would feature Santa Barbara-style architecture “with composition shingle roofs, stucco and stone siding,” according to a staff report.
Similar architecture was used for Miraval, a 10-home tract on adjacent property that Pinnacle built with Collective Housing Supply.
During the council’s Oct. 17 hearing on rezoning the site, several people spoke against the project, saying the commercial center is home to successful small businesses that serve the surrounding neighborhood.
Tearing it down, they said, could force businesses to close for good if they’re unable to find other space.
At the time, Pinnacle representative Peter Zehnder said the center is nearing the end of its economic life and called the housing proposal “a great project for Costa Mesa.”
As part of the council’s vote approving the rezoning request, members required that current tenants at the center be allowed to remain for at least nine months and up to a year.
Monday’s Planning Commission meeting starts at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.
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