Stalled Project to Be Built, Segerstrom Official Says

Citing “the support of the community,” an official with developer C.J. Segerstrom & Sons said Wednesday that the company intends to build the One South Coast Place commercial complex as soon as Costa Mesa city officials have complied with a court ruling that has blocked the project.

“We processed this project according to the directions that were given to us” by Costa Mesa city officials, said Chase McLaughlin, managing partner for One South Coast Place Associates. “And it’s important to know this project was not the object of the ruling. It was the (city’s) general plan.

“Because this project was processed with a general plan that was inadequate, it is fallen victim,” McLaughlin said. “But there’s nothing in the judge’s ruling . . . that would lead us to believe that there is something wrong with this project. While the ruling addressed itself to the city’s general plan, it had the effect of halting the construction of One South Coast Place, which had been under way.”

Orange County Superior Court Judge Tully H. Seymour last Friday ruled that the city’s general plan is inadequate because it does not set population density and square footage standards for the site and that the project is inconsistent with zoning established for the area. The tentative ruling is expected to become final in about a month.

Seymour’s tentative ruling directed “the city to set aside and vacate approval” of the 16-acre project east of Harbor Boulevard and north of the San Diego Freeway.

As proposed, the complex includes office towers of 12 and 20 stories, a parking garage, a child-care center and a 50,000-square-foot pavilion on 16 acres of a larger 98-acre area known as Home Ranch.

IBM was scheduled to move into the 12-story building in the spring of 1989, McLaughlin said.

“We are hopeful it doesn’t take two years,” McLaughlin said of construction delays caused by the lawsuit. “But we have to wait; we really don’t have a choice.

The ruling was a major victory for Costa Mesa Residents for Responsible Growth, a citizens group that sued the city. The group has opposed the project, maintaining it would be too great a concentration of offices for the site and would create congestion.

Seymour ordered the city to set aside approval of the project and revoke building permits. He also barred the issuance of permits pending full compliance with state’s environmental and zoning laws.

Ruling Expected

A further ruling by Seymour on whether the project was approved in accordance with state environmental laws is expected today or Friday.

Sandy Genis, vice president of the residents’ group, speculated Tuesday that a revision of the city’s general plan may result in a smaller project at One South Coast Place.

But McLaughlin said Wednesday: “The judge’s ruling was not directed at the quality of this project or the design. There isn’t anything that leads us to believe that it will not be acceptable, but one never knows. There is nothing that we have seen . . . that would indicate that the project was the reason for the ruling.

“The level of support that we sense in the community has been very high. And the council vote is 4 to 1, which I think is a good indication of the feeling of the elected representatives.”

City offices were closed Wednesday in observance of Admission Day, and city officials could not be reached for comment.

But at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, City Atty. Tom Wood said it may be up to a month before the final details of the court ruling are known. Once the details are known, Wood said, he will be in a position to recommend action to the council.

“The city really has the lead now,” McLaughlin said. “The city will be directed by the judge to take some very specific steps. Until that happens, we are literally on the sidelines.”