COUNTYWIDE : Costa Mesa Joins War on Business Complex

Costa Mesa formally joined the opposition to the proposed Irvine Business Complex this week, becoming the third Orange County city to do so.

A letter to the Irvine City Council, signed by Costa Mesa Mayor Mary Hornbuckle, asserted that Costa Mesa’s concerns over the 2,800-acre development proposal have been overlooked and in some cases ignored.

Complaints have already been lodged by officials in Tustin and Santa Ana.

“Specific comments regarding the adopted methodology and technical inadequacies . . . have been consistently made by the city of Costa Mesa,” states the letter, which the council approved this week. “However, these comments have been inadequately responded to or, in some cases, not responded to at all.”

At the center of the dispute is an environmental report that Costa Mesa officials contend is inadequate. Director of Public Services William Morris told the council this week that the methods used to compute possible traffic increases in the report were not correct. In fact, the report concludes that roadways in Costa Mesa will not be impacted at all.

“We don’t feel the document specifically addresses the impacts to Costa Mesa,” Morris said.

According to transportation officials, the traffic snarls would be greatest in the northeastern portion of the city near the Newport and San Diego freeways. However, because of the development’s scale, traffic problems would also spill over into other areas that don’t specifically border on Irvine, officials said.

Costa Mesa isn’t the only city upset over the proposal, which, if approved, could add up to 3,896 residential units and 55 million gross square feet of non-residential development in Irvine. The cities of Tustin and Santa Ana have been adamant in their opposition and are negotiating with Irvine officials to work out some of their concerns.

The final public hearing on the environmental report is expected to be held by the Irvine City Council Tuesday, according to officials. The letter, which is seen as a last attempt to get concerns aired, requests that Irvine put the approval process on hold so an agreement can be reached.