Auto Club Expansion Plan Advances

The City Council was moving closer to a decision late Monday night on a proposal by the Automobile Club of Southern California to expand its complex on Fairview Road to nearly a million square acres.

The debate came less than a week after Auto Club officials threatened to move out of the city if they were not allowed to expand.

Auto Club Vice President Peter McDonald said the project “benefits the city and the Auto Club . . . (which) brings positive cash flow to the city.”

Like several other hearings on the subject, Monday’s meeting brought more than 100 people to the council chambers. Most of the speakers expressed support for the project.

“I can’t understand all the bickering,” resident Ron Hall said. “We need businesses in Southern California. We can’t let them leave.”

Some residents opposed the project for fear it would increase traffic and open the door for other large commercial developments.

But city officials and Auto Club representatives Monday hailed the project, saying it will bring thousands of jobs to Costa Mesa and improve the local economy.

Auto Club officials have said it would allow them to double the number of employees at the Costa Mesa complex from 1,135 to 2,509, making it the city’s largest employer.

And an independent analysis found that the expansion would generate $150,000 in new annual fees for the city.

The proposal would allow Auto Club to more than double the size of its 467,000-square-foot complex on its 30-acre site at 3333 Fairview Road. The new offices would be used as a processing center for the Auto Club’s various services.

The size of the project required that the city amend its general plan. Residents said such an amendment would set a precedent that other companies could use when seeking approval for ambitious projects that exceed the city’s planning regulations.