COSTA MESA
The city will pay homeowner Tracy Stevenson $260,000 to taper the roof on her Samoa Place home.
In 1998, Stevenson began adding a third story to her Mesa Verde home until city officials, saying homes there cannot have three floors, ordered her to stop.
Stevenson said she was building an attic that conforms to city codes.
She alleged in a lawsuit filed earlier this year that the council’s decision was unfair because city planners, after reviewing her blueprints, granted her building permits for the renovations, understanding it was an attic.
“The amount does not come close to allowing her to finish the house,” said Jennifer Friend, Stevenson’s attorney. Stevenson had sued for $520,000.
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