3-story condos approved for Newport Beach lot
A new residential development in Santa Ana Heights that is planned to replace three 1970s units with seven three-story “cottage” condominiums won unanimous approval from the Newport Beach Planning Commission on Thursday night.
Six of the condos at 20452 Santa Ana Ave., a roughly quarter-acre lot, would have about 1,400 square feet. The seventh would be 1,953 square feet. All would have two bedrooms, an attached garage and three bathrooms.
The property, owned by local Realtor Adrienne Brandes, is zoned for multi-family units and could have as many as 11, according to city staff. Fourteen garage parking spaces are included, with an additional four guest spots onsite.
The condos are attached, with four on one building and three on the other. A common driveway will be between them.
City planners called the project’s architectural style eclectic, with Spanish elements. They said the homes could be no taller than 33 feet.
The Planning Commission’s decision is final unless appealed to the City Council.
In correspondence sent to the commission before Thursday’s meeting, residents near the project site expressed concerns about additional traffic created by the higher-density development and the possibility of three-story buildings disrupting the integrity of the neighborhood.
The three-story style is similar to several new developments built in Costa Mesa’s Westside in recent years. On those tracts, some units have rooftop decks with ocean views and are replacing commercial sites with residential uses.
That similarity was not lost on Woodrow Lewis of Woodco Investment Co. Inc., a business on Campus Drive.
In a letter to the commission, he called Costa Mesa’s three-story development projects “ultra tight” and said they’re flooding the market.
“What if the market slows up and these, being overpriced and not viable, are to become foreclosures [in Newport Beach]?” Lewis wrote. “How soon does government financing and lack of alertness [open] up a market of ‘unqualifiables’? We’ve got instant slum.”
Twitter: @BradleyZint
