COSTA MESA : Auto Club Office Expansion Approved
The Automobile Club of Southern California was given the go-ahead early Tuesday morning to double the size of its 467,000-square-foot complex at Fairview Road and Sunflower Avenue.
The City Council approved the project in a number of divided votes during a marathon public meeting attended by scores of supporters and opponents of the project.
The approval caps a monthlong debate about whether the economic benefits of the Auto Club expansion are worth the increased traffic. Some critics also fear that the project will open the door for other large commercial centers on the bean fields north of the San Diego Freeway.
But Auto Club representatives and most of the speakers at Monday night’s meeting argued that the expansion will boost the local economy by bringing in new jobs and additional tax revenue.
“This is a positive thing for the city of Costa Mesa and its residents,” said Peter McDonald, Auto Club vice president.
The Auto Club plans to build about half-a-million square feet of office space in a “campus-like setting” on the company’s 30-acre compound. The buildings will be used for administrative offices and an expanded data processing operation.
City officials predicted that the expansion will more than double the size of the Auto Club work force in Costa Mesa, from 1,135 to 2,509, making it the city’s largest employer.
An independent study concluded that the expansion would generate $150,000 in new fees for the city annually.
Costa Mesa business leaders were among the loudest supporters of the expansion. And even some residents who criticized the scope of the development acknowledged that the Auto Club is the kind of good neighbor the city should welcome.
The expansion is so large that it required the City Council to amend Costa Mesa’s general plan. Councilman Jay Humphrey said he feared such an amendment would set a precedent for other developers seeking approval for projects that exceed zoning guidelines.
Mayor Sandra L. Genis also questioned a city consultant’s estimates of the traffic that would be generated. Genis said she joined Humphrey in voting against the general plan amendment, in part because she felt the Auto Club did not give adequate assurances that it would keep the number of automobile trips below the consultant’s estimate.
But the club did agree to pay $228 for each trip that exceeds the estimate, said Donald Lamm, the deputy city manager.
Genis also voted against the development agreement for the project, which authorizes the Auto Club to build all the phases of the project without further City Council approval. Council members Peter F. Buffa, Joe Erickson and Mary Hornbuckle as well as Humphrey voted in favor of the development agreement.
