Proposed $20-million affordable-housing bond falls short in Costa Mesa council vote
Faced with a decision on whether to move ahead with putting a proposed $20-million affordable-housing bond on November’s ballot, the Costa Mesa City Council opted instead Tuesday to put the idea on ice, citing a lack of specifics.
Mayor Steve Mensinger and council members Katrina Foley and Sandy Genis voted against a resolution necessary to move the proposal forward. The vote virtually eliminates the proposal’s chance of being on the fall ballot, though the issue could be studied further at some point.
“For me, it’s pretty simple,” Foley said. “It’s a blank check. There’s no plan. There’s no proper proposal.”
Supporting the resolution were Councilman Gary Monahan and Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer, who proposed the bond.
The bond would have been funded through a tax, which likely would have ranged from $7.32 to $9.42 per $100,000 of assessed property value, according to the city.
Righeimer said the bond would have created a pot of money that the city could have leveraged into additional money from state or federal sources.
“I’m a right-wing conservative Republican, ‘no new taxes,’ I get all that, OK?” Righeimer said Tuesday. “But I’m telling you we have homeless on our streets. We have people that we have to help.”
The resolution submitted to the council said the bond proceeds could have been used to help acquire or construct affordable rental housing outside of single-family residential zones in the city.
Besides that, some council members and residents said, many details were lacking on what the bond money would be spent on or what projects could be funded.
“This should have been started a year ago and we should have had study sessions on it,” Genis said. “At this point, I think it’s an interesting concept, but I’m not prepared to support something that’s so open-ended.”
Foley said she didn’t think there is “a sense of trust in how the money will be used” and that a study session should have been held to discuss the issue in greater detail.
“You can’t just come in and say, ‘You know, I want you to support a $20-million tax on our residents, but I’m not going to include you in the process or discussion or include you in the analysis on how it’s going to work, what are the impacts, what are the pros and cons — you just need to trust me,’ ” Foley said. “It doesn’t work like that.”
Others questioned Righeimer’s motivations for bringing the issue forward since just a few weeks ago he blasted the notion of an inclusionary housing ordinance, which could have required developers of certain projects to incorporate affordable units or pay fees to the city. He called it essentially “theft.”
During that council meeting April 19, he said that people struggling to find housing they can afford in or around Costa Mesa should look elsewhere.
“I just can’t believe that the man who proposed this pie-in-the-sky bond is flat-out against inclusionary housing, calling it socialized housing and stealing and theft,” resident Tamar Goldmann said Tuesday.
Affordable housing has been a regular topic at city meetings in recent months, with proponents urging city officials to consider different ways to require or encourage development of more low-income units in Costa Mesa.
“There is certainly a dire need for affordable housing in Costa Mesa, which I’m glad the council is recognizing,” said Kathy Esfahani of the Costa Mesa Affordable Housing Coalition.
But, she added, the coalition didn’t think there was enough information to officially take a position on the bond proposal.
Esfahani said previously that there’s likely a need for hundreds of additional low-income units in Costa Mesa. On the other hand, a state-mandated document called the Housing Element, which addresses citywide housing needs from 2013 to 2021, says Costa Mesa needs only two more low-income units.
After Tuesday’s vote, Righeimer said he’d like to study the issue further. Genis echoed that.
“The problem’s not going to get taken care of if we don’t raise money,” Righeimer said. “And if we can’t do it now, I understand, but I’m willing to do it two years from now.”
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Twitter: @LukeMMoney
