Costa Mesa struggles to reach unified vision for housing at Fairview Developmental site
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Costa Mesa is in the final stages of collecting public input on a land use plan that will guide the eventual construction of between 2,300 and 4,000 residential units on the former Fairview Developmental Center off Harbor Boulevard.
But bringing residents and community groups into the folds of a complex zoning and development process and building consensus — amid mounting pressure from the state to produce more housing with affordability in mind — hasn’t been easy, as evidenced by two recent public meetings.
In a town hall at the Norma Hertzog Community Center on July 23, officials asked the community to share its desires for, and concerns about, potentially having up to 10,000 residents residing on an 80-acre portion of the state-owned property.
A planning commission study session Monday examined the draft Fairview Developmental Center Specific Plan, focusing on mobility and circulation, open space and density specifications the city might include before the document is adopted and the state selects a master developer for the site over the next decade or longer.
Both forums also raised questions about whether the FDC project is an opportunity for Costa Mesa to realize its housing goals or a yoke that could steer the city in an unwanted course, with strong opinions on both sides.
Speakers at the July 23 town hall asked about possible traffic impacts, a secondary access road that could cut through a Costa Mesa Country Club golf course and whether thousands of new residents might strain local schools, police and fire and the city’s overall infrastructure.
Capping off a public tour of workshops, surveys, focus groups and piles of comments, the event was a last stop before the specific plan will be heard in public hearings by the city’s planning commission and council.
Several queries about how open space might be configured or whether housing might be mainly apartments or include for-sale options cannot yet be answered because much of that decision making will be done only after a developer submits building plans, Gallardo Daly explained.
“A developer has to come in, and they have to get a project approved by the city,” she said. “They actually have to submit a development application that lays out exactly what they’re going to do … so we can check it with the specific plan.”
One bone of contention within the plan is that it sets the maximum buildout at 4,000 units, with 40% earmarked for lower income occupants — a figure much higher than the 2,300 units described in Costa Mesa’s housing element and a trigger point for a required secondary access road at the site.
A financial feasibility analysis last year determined a developer faced with such an affordability requirement could lose money on 2,300 units and might turn to state housing density bonuses to build more without making concessions to the city.
Affordability advocates and residents in favor of creating more housing embraced density. Mesa Verde resident and golfer Steve Dzita said he didn’t mind the impacts of an access road across golf lanes if it meant residents’ children and grandchildren could stay in town.
“We need to take a step that will start to solve our affordability problem here,” he said. “This will be a big step forward if we can continue in this direction.”
For others, the prospect of cloistered residents seeking services on nearby city streets failed to pass muster, even though city staff maintain the project’s anticipated 20,000 additional daily vehicle trips can be accommodated.
“College Park across the street is just 1,000 houses, and you’re going to put 4,000 units in this square,” said resident John Trotter. “You’re going to have four times the amount of vehicles coming out of that on the same boulevard. A traffic plan needs to be addressed here, because I don’t think you’ve got it.”
A similar dichotomy could be seen on the Costa Mesa Planning Commission at Monday’s study session, where panelists mulled final revisions before the draft plan returns for a formal vote in a public hearing set for Aug.10.
While some commissioners expressed their desire to see active transportation prioritized over vehicle use, others decried minimized parking requirements and maximized density as being out of sync with residents’ wishes.
“It is irresponsible on every possible level to design a community of this size and scale and pretend everybody is going to ride a bike or bus,” said Commissioner Rob Dickson. “It seems this entire process was hijacked by the financial feasibility analysis.”
Vice Chair Jon Zich called the plan “a colossal disappointment,” saying public feedback consistently indicates a preference for a lower number of units without a second access road.
“They overwhelmingly said no. That’s part of this public input — why did we ignore it?” he posed. “Maybe because we don’t care. It’s an irresponsible thing that’s in front of us here, it really is.”
After the August Planning Commission hearing, the draft Fairview Developmental Center Specific Plan will go before the Costa Mesa City Council for final approval, likely on Sept. 15.
To learn more about the project, visit fdcplan.com.
