Mailbag: Costa Mesa housing should ‘build community, not just density’

Recently, the Costa Mesa City Council approved the Victoria Place housing development despite the Planning Commission’s recommendation to deny it.

Mayor John Stephens dismissed concerns about parking by saying, “Nobody’s going to host Thanksgiving there.” That comment struck me as cold and out of touch with what makes a house a home.

I remember when my husband and I bought our first home in Costa Mesa — a run-down tract house we slowly remodeled over time. We planned to stay two years. That was 40 years ago. We stayed because we loved our neighbors, our quiet cul-de-sac, and the life we built within those four walls. Our kitchen wall still bears the growth chart of our children and now our grandchild. That’s what a home is: not just a structure, but a place where memories are made.

At the farmers market, I spoke with a young manager who rents in Eastside Costa Mesa. She dreams of buying a home in the city because she loves the walkable neighborhoods and the charm of one- and two-story houses.

She wants what many of us have had — a real home, not just a temporary apartment.

Costa Mesa’s new rezoning initiative, “Neighborhoods Where We All Belong,” claims to address the housing needs of current and future residents. But if it only brings more market-rate rentals and luxury apartments, how does that help people like her?

The city’s weak inclusionary housing ordinance excludes for-sale housing. The Fairview Developmental Center Specific Plan is floundering. And now, upzoning is being proposed across the city — except in neighborhoods where members of the City Council live.

We need housing that builds community, not just density. We need homes people can own, not just rent. We need to offer new neighbors the same opportunity many of us had: to build equity, to put down roots, and yes, to host Thanksgiving.

I urge all residents to attend the upcoming rezoning meetings. The schedule is available at costamesaneighborhoods.com. Let’s make sure Costa Mesa remains a place where people don’t just live — but belong.

Cynthia McDonald,
Assistant Secretary
Costa Mesa First

I reside in Costa Mesa and am acquainted with most members of the Costa Mesa City Council. Recently, I watched their latest meeting on the local public access television channel where they addressed the proposal to approve 142 residential units on the former Trinity Broadcasting property — a measure that passed unanimously. Having taught an Introduction to Public Policy course for two and a half years at Indiana University Bloomington, I found this city council meeting to be a master class demonstration of good government. Mayor John Stephens and the entire council showcased outstanding leadership and performance.

Their deliberations were thoughtful, transparent and deeply considerate of the concerns voiced by local residents and stakeholders. The council ensured every viewpoint was heard, balancing the need for new housing with respect for the neighborhood’s character and history. The process was neither rushed nor superficial; rather, it reflected a genuine commitment to civic engagement and prudent decision-making. The collaborative and professional spirit demonstrated by the mayor and council members should serve as an example to other cities grappling with complex development issues.

Samuel Abram Helm
Costa Mesa

Local politics, national stage

Of late I have been silent when it comes to local issues and politics because of what is happening in our country at large is so overwhelming. Our lives are challenged by the morality of the moment and nationally, institutions and people are cast aside like yesterday’s dross.

Many local citizens are dealing with the inhumanity of the moment by ignoring it. And there are certainly those who are trying to benefit from it but less vociferously than I expected. Other than the recent school board election in Newport Beach, local politicians (with some exceptions, certainly in Huntington Beach) seem to be sensitive enough to avoid flaunting “MAGA values” in public. While those values are appealing in other states, they are not so in California where the president’s popularity rating is currently in the 30th percentile.

Our local loyalties will not be officially tested until November of 2026 when Dave Min, from the local 47th congressional district, Derek Tran from the 45th district and Young Kim from the 40th district are up for re-election to the House. While the Republican Party is almost unanimously loyal to President Trump, individual representatives have been instructed by the chair of the campaign arm of the Republican Party to stop holding in-person town halls because of the wave of angry backlash over the cuts undertaken by this administration.

On the other hand, Democrats Tran and Min have held several meetings with their constituents. The two meetings held by Min, one at Newport’s Harbor High School (which appeared online as well) and the other at UCI, were attended by captivated audiences. In some cases Democrats in Congress have held meetings for Republicans who do not want to appear before angry crowds. Such was the case when Long Beach Rep. Robert Garcia held a town hall meeting for Republican Kim’s constituents at Orange High School.

Local politicians are currently playing such a large role in national politics — Rep. Kim cast the deciding vote in the House to advance Donald Trump’s massive budget reconciliation bill (218-214) — making her highly unpopular among many of her constituents. Also of local interest, Min was just selected by colleagues to lead the new Congressional Progressive’s anti-corruption task force, while Rep. Robert Garcia was elected by Democrats to serve as ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Last, but certainly not least, Katie Porter, who recently represented Orange County in the House, has emerged as a front runner in the 2026 gubernatorial race when Kamala Harris decided not to run.

Lynn Lorenz

Newport Beach

Mayor ‘unfit’ and ‘unchecked’

June 2024: Huntington Beach Mayor Burns called three council colleagues a four-letter obscenity for feces — a vulgar, disgraceful outburst from an elected official.

March 2025: He said, “Look what you started,” followed by another f-bomb.

May 2025: He lectured residents on decorum — no clapping, naming council members, or cursing — from the same dais where he mutters profanities into a hot mic.

June 2025: Burns again used crude, foul language — targeting residents this time — in a public meeting.

His hypocrisy is not just shameful — it is corrosive.

City Hall is now a place where chaos rules and accountability is optional. Real accountability starts with your resignation, Mayor Burns.

As for the silent City Council, city attorney and manager: your silence is not neutrality. It is complicity.

Andrew Einhorn

Huntington Beach

At the beginning of every Huntington Beach City Council meeting the Council and meeting attendees cite the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance. The words of the pledge have meaning and espouse distinct principles.

As citizens we routinely pledge our allegiance to those principles of “liberty and justice for all.” Within the principles of “liberty for all” is the covenant that liberty “for me” also includes liberty “for you and them.” In essence, tolerance of the liberty for others. The “justice for all” component holds all — me, you, they, the others — fairly and uniformly accountable in their pursuit and exercise of liberties.

The Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution is a testament to tolerance. Tolerance for differences in religion, differences in speech, the press and media, differences in the methods of expression, assembly and protest.

Tolerance should be considered as essential to our concepts of liberty. Diversity, equity, inclusion, empathy and acceptance should be considered as among the many manifestations of tolerance. Such manifestations are neither liberal nor conservative — blue nor red, left nor right — but societal endeavors to form “a more perfect union.” Per se, “the better good.”

How did we, a democratic society, allow diversity, equity, inclusion, etc. to become negative endeavors? We were not inherently or historically polarized, but have allowed our bigoted politicians and pundits to get away with being polarizing. I yearn for a return to more tolerant and civil society where you, me, and them tolerate each other and their differing creeds.

Dave Hamilton

Huntington Beach

While most of the attention at the “No Kings” protest rallies has been rightly directed toward Donald Trump, we must remember that it is not just the kings in the deck that are dangerous. There are local officials and other minions who may be called the “jacks” or “knaves” in the deck that share the same anti-democratic and anti-community prejudice as President Trump. These folks, “knaves” of both genders, deserve their own occasion of protest, a “No Knaves” day. It should be held in conjunction with “No Kings” protests.

In Huntington Beach, the City Council is full of knaves, as evidenced by their support in opposing Measures A and B in the June election and their anti-community stance at City Council meetings. My “No Kings” protest sign of four kings with a black slash through them will now be upgraded to include four jacks similarly displayed. We must not forget those officials who have chosen their anti-democratic path either in public meetings or at the ballot box. No “king” can rule effectively without “knaves” backing them. It’s time to call them out as well.

Tim Geddes

Huntington Beach