Redevelopment Plan Rejected in Costa Mesa

A plan to declare 527 acres in the city a redevelopment zone has been rejected by the Redevelopment Agency because of opposition from the area’s residents, who feared having their homes condemned, city officials said.

Mayor Norma Hertzog said that some single-family homeowners, whose property was to be included in the zone but not targeted for redevelopment, were concerned about having their homes demolished.

The plan was proposed to upgrade the Shalimar Drive area, which the Redevelopment Department considers the most blighted part of the city, Hertzog said. The proposed area was bounded by Wake Forest Road on the north and ran to the city’s western border next to Newport Beach, jutting out to include a large residential area bounded by 16th Street, Whittier Avenue and 19th Street.

Councilman David Wheeler said that abandonment of the project means that “Costa Mesa residents can look forward to not having any more redevelopment areas,” adding that “people were concerned about having their homes bulldozed for the addition of some car dealerships.”

Hertzog said: “We will work toward redefining the area and finding other ways of redeveloping it.”