Costa Mesa Stalls Auto Club Project
A bid by the Automobile Club of Southern California to become the city’s largest employer hit a roadblock Monday when council members could not agree on what impact the large project would have on traffic and housing in the city.
Auto Club proposed to double the size of its offices at 3333 Fairview Road, adding 500,000 square feet of space.
“There are issues that have come up repeatedly and have not been resolved, at least to my satisfaction,” Mayor Sandra L. Genis said.
Peter R. McDonald, vice president of Auto Club, said, “The thing that puzzles me is that the traffic study has been done for about three months. It’s frustrating.”
The council will reconsider the project at its June 20 meeting.
The expansion would add 1,400 employees to the current 1,135, Auto Club has said.
But some residents and people who worked to develop the 1990 city General Plan protested the large development last week at the Planning Commission meeting, saying they feared clogged streets and a burden on city services. They also feared it would set a precedent for other large developments.
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