Costa Mesa council upholds commission’s OK of Eastside small-lot housing project

Costa Mesa City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday night to uphold the Planning Commission’s approval of a proposal to split an Eastside property and build two new two-story houses on it, despite concerns from some residents that the project’s modern architectural design doesn’t fit the neighborhood.

The Planning Commission approved the project, proposed for 1933 Church St., on May 8. Mayor Katrina Foley called up the plan for City Council review after hearing concerns from neighborhood residents.

“Whether I ultimately vote for or against a project, I think it’s important to allow the neighborhood to be heard and to vet the project thoroughly,” Foley said.

The project involves subdividing the 7,006-square-foot parcel — which currently has one single-story home — into two lots, with a two-story, three-bedroom, 2 ½-bathroom house on each.

The new homes will have attached two-car garages and feature a modern architectural style using materials such as wood siding, concrete block veneer and aluminum-clad windows.

During Tuesday’s meeting, some residents bristled at the design, saying it’s unattractive and won’t fit with the one-story, bungalow-style homes on the street.

“It has nothing to do with the characteristics of that neighborhood,” resident Mary Spadoni said.

Some council members, while acknowledging that the project’s design is different, said they think it will fit in, given the varied architectural styles on the Eastside.

“I may or may not purchase this house, I may or may not like it, but we’re not Irvine,” Councilman John Stephens said. “We are Costa Mesa, and we do have the ability for property owners and homeowners to choose different styles of architecture.”

Others speakers said they’re worried that the two new houses might hinder parking or traffic on the street or the privacy of nearby property owners. The Church Street site backs up to some commercial establishments along Newport Boulevard.

Project applicant and architect Ryan Oldham said it “meets all the current zoning requirements of the small-lot ordinance,” which eases development standards for proposed housing projects of 15 or fewer detached homes in areas zoned for multifamily units.

“We’ve taken a lot of care to try and design this in a way that is sensitive to the properties on either side in terms of views,” he said. “It meets all the standards for parking and everything.”

Though Mayor Pro Tem Sandy Genis said the design is “very, very far” from her tastes, the development is “probably the poster child for the small-lot project that actually works,” she added.

She also noted that the property is in a residential incentive overlay district along Newport Boulevard in which high-density projects of up to 40 units per acre are allowed.

Genis said she sees the project as “creating a bulwark” against the possibility of a larger, denser development in the area.

Foley agreed, saying the project might prevent a “major, massive apartment complex going in on that corner.”

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