COSTA MESA : New General Plan to Be Studied More

Apartment owners affected by the city’s new General Plan will have to wait another month to learn the fate of their properties, the City Council has decided.

At its meeting Monday, the council delayed action until December on a controversial proposal designed to bring relief to hundreds of apartment owners whose property was rezoned when the General Plan was adopted in 1990.

In an effort to keep development in check, the rezoning reduced the maximum number of units per complex. Now the council is considering allowing some exemptions to the rule. Citywide, the rezoning affects 2,300 apartment complexes, duplexes and other multifamily complexes.

“We found the broad-brush approach (to rezoning) doesn’t work on everything,” said Mayor Sandra L. Genis, who suggested delaying action. “Some of the mixed areas I would like to look at more closely.”

In response to criticisms and concerns raised by both the public and city leaders themselves, the council decided to delay action so that many questions could be answered before the final vote. It was rescheduled for Dec. 6.

Although owners do not have to tear down the excess units, the plan does restrict how many units can be built or replaced in the future on each property. The council will consider several options, including allowing apartment owners in certain areas of the city to rebuild or replace units on the property even if they exceed the new limits. That is now banned.

For the last few months many of the apartment owners faced with a loss of income have complained about the new zoning laws, which render their properties “nonconforming” because the housing densities are not correct for a site. Several property owners have also accused the city of failing to notify them that the changes were even being considered.

“Many people went to bed one night with a certain (property) value and woke up the next morning with another,” council watchdog Sid Soffer said. “It is like going from driving a Mercedes to a Volkswagen.”

City officials acknowledge that many of the owners were not notified individually about the changes until after the adoption of the General Plan. And at that point, it was too late.

Because it was such a broad undertaking across the entire city, notices about the zoning changes were only sent out in certain cases, in accordance with state laws dictating when and how notices are given to property owners, said Alice Angus, senior planner.

According to city officials, the adoption of the new General Plan, which serves as a blueprint for development in the city, rendered 60% of the multiple-family units in Costa Mesa “nonconforming.” This translates into approximately 2,300 projects and 15,500 individual units. Before that, only about 325 projects held that designation.