COSTA MESA

City officials got a surprise this week when more than 60 homeowners packed a tiny meeting room to discuss city plans for widening East 17th Street.

The monthly meetings of the ad hoc committee have drawn fewer than 10 people since they began in January. The meetings started after the city formed a committee of merchants and homeowners in January to discuss its plans for widening East 17th Street from four to six lanes.

But in a string of contentious meetings with city transportation officials, the committee overwhelmingly opposed the plan. The group instead has pushed for bus turnouts and new landscaping.

Since the initial discussions began, Peter Naghavi, the city’s director of transportation services, and transportation staff have created a compromise that calls for six lanes on East 17th Street from Orange Avenue to Santa Ana Avenue only.