Taking Fight to Home Front, Janitors Oppose Builder’s Plans

Saying the project will hurt the environment without providing affordable housing, the union known for the Justice for Janitors campaign is scheduled to appear at the Costa Mesa City Council meeting tonight to oppose the Home Ranch retail, office and residential project.

Service Employees International Union Local 1877 argues that the project will worsen air quality and increase traffic in nearby low-income communities. At the same time, the union says, the project fails to address the need for more affordable housing in Costa Mesa.

The comments are part of a lengthy public hearing process that the City Council is conducting before it makes a decision on the project, which already has been approved by the Planning Commission.

Home Ranch would rise on 93 acres of lima bean fields and an old ranch between Sunflower Avenue, the San Diego Freeway, Fairview Road and Harbor Boulevard.

The developer is C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, which built South Coast Plaza, the Orange County Performing Arts Center, the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel, South Coast Repertory and several other buildings in Costa Mesa.

The 192 dwellings in the project include townhomes that would cost about $300,000 and single-family homes that would cost $350,000 to $450,000.

Anastasia Christman, a research analyst for the union, said the project is of special concern to the union because 1,100 members live three to five miles from the project. She said the project should include housing that workers can afford.

“A lot of people will be priced out of this market,” she said.

Christman said the union will ask city officials to reconsider the type of housing needed at the site. A group of residents, who are also expected to speak during tonight’s meeting, oppose the project because of the resulting traffic increase.

The developer’s previous proposals for the property have been rejected because critics considered them too dense, with too much rental property.

In one version, Segerstrom proposed 400 rental units, “but that was shot dead on arrival. There was no support for it,” said Paul Freeman, a Segerstrom spokesman.

“We had proposed more affordable housing, but the community and the majority of the council don’t want it,” Freeman added. “We agree that affordable housing is an issue, but a lot of communities, including Costa Mesa, don’t want it.”

Freeman said the project may make air quality worse, but not as bad as if the property were used for industrial purposes, which the city’s general plan allows.

If the project is built, it will probably attract hundreds of service workers. The project will include a 300,000-square-foot Ikea home furnishing store and thousands of square feet of office space.

Freeman said he believes the union’s opposition stems from its campaign to get Segerstrom to pressure its contractors to use union janitors.

Christman denies that.

“We are really not arguing about workplace issues. This is more about the workers where they live,” she said.

The hearing begins at 5:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.