John Wayne "Next Gen" Flight Paths Discussed

SO MANY MEETINGS, SO LITTLE TIME
'Twas a busy evening at A Bubbling Cauldron last night.  First, we attended the briefing provided to the public at Newport Beach's Oasis Senior Center in Corona del Mar regarding the changes being made by the Federal Aviation Administration in the airspace over the United States.  This briefing focused on the impact of the changes on John Wayne Airport and Long Beach Airport.

FAA BRIEFING ON AIR TRAFFIC CHANGES
The City of Costa Mesa announced this meeting on the City web site HERE, and provided a link, HERE, to the Southern California Metroplex (SoCal METROPLEX) Environmental Assessment Website.  The country has been carved up into several "metroplexes" for the purpose of studying and evaluating the changes thought to be necessary to bring air traffic control into a more modern mode.  This is a very informative site, which also has dozens of other links to Google Earth programs which can show us current and proposed traffic patterns in our area.

NEW SYSTEM NEEDED TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY
According to the handouts provided at the meeting, this metroplex includes 99 new satellite-based procedures, including 41 departure procedures, 37 terminal arrival procedures and 21 runway approach procedures.  Yikes!  These are apparently necessary to reduce the complexity of the airspace in our region that encompasses 21 airports, including six major airports.  In theory, this will improve the safety, efficiency, reliability and availability of air transportation in the United States.  The new procedures replace old, inefficient systems that relied on ground-based navigational aids, which limited available flight paths.  They compared it to replacing old paper maps with GPS systems while driving our cars.

HEADS-UP!
We are told that, once these new procedures are implemented, we may see aircraft flying in areas where none previously flew, due to route changes and the satellite-based procedures. 

IT'S HAPPENING NOW
And, yes, this is a done deal.  After the FAA held 11 public workshops and conducted 79 additional briefings for stakeholders and others it has completed the studies and is moving forward.  According to the handouts, phasing-in of the new procedures has begun and will continue through April.  More information can be found at the project website, HERE.

MINGLING WITH OTHER RESIDENTS
I spent a little over an hour at this casual event and joined hundreds of other interested citizens viewing the screens, trying to decipher the jargon and speaking with the experts wandering around the large room.  Several Costa Mesa residents were in attendance.  I saw Senior Staffer Minoo Ashabi chatting with former councilman and Planning Commission candidate Jay Humphrey and others.  Teresa Drain, community activist and candidate for a Planning Commission seat, also attended and interrogated FAA staff.  I saw Mayor Pro Tem Sandra Genis and activist Beth Refakes investigating some of the interactive screens around the room.

A SLIGHT NOISE DECREASE AT MY HOUSE
In the handouts it encouraged us to contact our local airports if we're concerned about noise infractions.  When I chatted with one of the operators of the screens located around the room she input my home address and showed me that, based on their noise monitoring conducted as part of this project, the noise level at my location would, in theory, slightly decrease.  Of course, that all depends on every pilot following every rule - which doesn't happen today and I have no confidence it will happen in the future, regardless which rules are in place.

COMPRESSING MORE AIRCRAFT INTO THE SAME SPACE!
Based on some conversations I heard, these new procedures will make it possible to compress more flights into the same airspace.  That made me more than a little nervous, especially when you consider that for these new procedures to be FULLY implemented it requires the planes flying in the space to have new, very expensive equipment.  We are told that all the airlines flying into and out of John Wayne Airport are cooperating, but the airport has a very significant population of private aircraft which may NOT be equipped with the necessary new technology.

CHECK IT OUT YOURSELF
So, off we go into the future.  I encourage you to follow the links above and do your own visitation via Google Earth to see how these changes may affect your neighborhood.  It's actually an interesting exercise.

AND, OF COURSE, POLITICIANS MADE AN APPEARANCE
After an hour I made a rapid departure to my next meeting - the Costa Mesa Bikeway and Walkability Committee meeting at OUR Senior Center... more on that in the next entry.  As I departed I noted that Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer had erected a shelter outside the room and was holding court with constituents.  I didn't take the time to eavesdrop on his conversations.

Planning Commission Meets For Final Time This Year

SHORT MEETING - LESS THAN AN HOUR
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission met Monday night for the final time this year and dealt with a very abbreviated agenda.  Only two items were discussed and processed.  At least they all were present this time.

SOBER LIVING HOMES ON HIATUS
At the beginning of the meeting Chairman Rob Dickson advised those in the audience that all sober living issues that had been tentatively scheduled for this meeting actually never made it to the agenda.  According to Interim Development Services Director Jay Trevino, the incoming City Council has determined that it wants to evaluate our process and the issues facing them before proceeding with any more sober living issues.

SOBER LIVING AND PROBLEMS AT THE GMC DEALERSHIP
Only two members of the public stepped up during Public Comments - a rarity these days.  Jay Humphrey suggested that WHEN sober living items are agendized and notices be sent out, those notices be sent to a 650 foot radius of the facility in question instead of the normal 500.  He chose that number because that's the space between facilities required in our ordinances.  He also expressed concern that the vehicles being delivered to the recently rebuilt GMC dealership at the corner of Harbor Boulevard and Merrimac Way were being done in the middle of Merrimac, making for a very dangerous traffic situation for cars and bicyclers.  He also expressed concern about the so-called "Green Wall" at the dealership, shown, which is anything BUT green so far and, from the looks of the plants being used, it's going to be several years before anything resembling a true "Green Wall" is evident.  He wondered about the conditions of the conditional use permit that authorized the Green Wall.

TRAFFIC ON VICTORIA AND MORE SOBER LIVING ISSUES
An unidentified woman stepped up and complained about traffic along Victoria Street and about sober living homes.  She complained about those near her Westside home and the fact that she's come back to meeting after meeting and had not been able to speak because issues had been deleted from the agenda, or re-scheduled because of the late hour.

COMMISSIONER COMMENTS - SUCH AS THEY WERE
During Commissioner Comments all the commissioners wished everyone a happy holiday.  Colin McCarthy also expressed concern about the Green Wall at the GMC dealership, as did Chair Dickson.

ANOTHER SMALL LOT DEVELOPMENT ON THE EASTSIDE
Public Hearing #1, a small lot ordinance no the Eastside, caused Vice Chair Jeff Mathews to recuse himself because he lives nearby.  This project takes three units - a single family home and a duplex on the rear of the property - and converts them to two larger single family homes using the Small Lot Ordinance.  The rear unit is a so-called "flag lot" - it is connected to the street by a long driveway that runs along side the front lot.  The applicant was asking for a variance along that driveway.

SMALL LOT ORDINANCE DIDN'T DO THE JOB
Jay Humphrey stepped up and opined that the Small Lot Ordinance was supposed to have taken care of all those ordinances - but it apparently didn't.  He also opined that, while this is a nice project, it's too big for the lot.

NO UNDERGROUNDING, BUT ABOUT THAT POLE...
During the brief commission discussion brief mention was made of undergrounding utilities, but City Engineer Bart Mejia said because it only involved two units undergrounding was not necessary.  I did notice one thing that is likely going go become problematic - the power pole sits squarely in front of the driveway, making maneuvering more than a little tricky.  Nobody said anything about it... so...  The item passed, 4-0, with Mathews absent.

UNDERPARKED STRIP MALL GETS APPROVALS
Public Hearing #2, is for two conditional use permits for shared parking and a massage parlor at a strip mall in the 1900 block of Harbor Boulevard.  Although it is underparked by a significant number - a fact affirmed by speaker Beth Refakes, who says she uses that venue a couple times a month when she hauls her cat to the animal hospital.  The fact that folks park parallel to the street creates problems for those in parking spaces.  The commission ignored those facts and approved the requests on a 5-0 vote.

THAT'S ALL FOR THIS YEAR
Dickson adjourned the meeting to their first meeting in January - on the 9th.  Some folks around town are wondering about the future for this commission after the installation of the new City Council.  Two have terms that expire early next year, but there are rumblings about a clean sweep.  I guess we'll see.

Planning Commission Meeting Wrap...

LATE, BUT MOST FOLKS DON'T CARE...
Yeah, I know... I'm tardy with this report, but I seriously doubt if too many people are worried much about it.  There were fewer than a dozen folks in the auditorium Monday night for the 90 minute meeting, and nearly all of those were involved in one of the two items on the agenda.  But, let's get with it.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
All the commissioners were present at the meeting and they started right on time.  During the Public Comments segment three people spoke on issues important to them.

LICENSING CONFLICT
Steve Chan, who has been up to his ears in hassles with the new night club, Holiday, near his Center Street home, stepped up to remind the commission and Deputy City Attorney Yolanda Summerhill of the complications of issuing an entertainment permit to an establishment that is already encumbered with a beverage permit from the State that includes language affecting noice issues.  He's hoping for a clarification of the issue soon.

SUCCESSFUL GOWN DRIVE
Beth Refakes, representing the Military Affairs Team, told the commission about the successful gown collection/distribution event for the wives of the 1/5 Marines at Camp Pendleton.  She and her cohorts did a great job again of gathering gently-used gowns, prepping them and delivering them to Camp Pendleton for distribution.  Kudos to all involved again.  She also reminded us of the collection of individually wrapped candies for the "Trunk or Treat" event.  Residents are encouraged to deliver candies to City Hall for that distribution in a week or so.

SOBER LIVING HOMES
An unidentified person spoke to the commissioners on the Sober Living Home issue.  She's a member of TBON, a grass-roots organization created a few years ago to help get a handle on the proliferating Sober Living Home issues.  For more information on the group click on their name.

INTRODUCING NEW CONSULTANTS
Before turning to Commissioner Comments Chairman Rob Dickson introduced Jay Trevino, Interim Development Services Director, replacing the departed Gary Armstrong.  Trevino has a long and illustrious career in planning, both in Los Angeles and Orange County.  He held the top Development position in Santa Ana most recently.  He, in turn, introduced another consultant, Peggy Schneble, who is the Interim Assistant Director of Development Services - the position Claire Flynn held until she left for a private sector position earlier this year.  Both these individuals bring decades of relevant public and private sector experience to our city and should be helpful at a time when the workload is up and staffing is down.

During Commissioner Comments Colin McCarthy noted the departure of Fire Protection Analyst, Dave Hollister, who retired last week after decades of service to the City.  He suggested a proclamation be prepared to acknowledge his contributions.

Tim Sesler, once again, refuted comments made by that unidentified person, above.  He does that each time she speaks.

Neither Vice Chair Jeff Mathews nor Commissioner Stephan Andranian had any comments.

Dickson also addressed Hollister's contribution and spoke to Chan's concerns about the ABC license and asked the staff for a brief presentation on the process.

CLARIFICATION ON THE MINUTES OF 9/12/16
Chan asked for one of the items on the Consent Calendar - the minutes of 9/12/16 - be pulled for separate discussion.  He reminded the commission that they were being considered this time is because he challenged them at the last meeting as being inaccurate.  He is concerned that they may not meet the legal test because they are "action minutes".  When he finished it was explained by Dickson that if there were to be any legal challenge parties could refer to the video for a precise record of the event.

OLD LOS ANGELES TIMES SITE
At 6:25 Principal Planner Minoo Ashabi began hearing Public Hearing #1, the Re-zone of the old Los Angeles Times property and an adjacent chunk that currently contains a ball field - a total of just over 23 acres.  One speaker addressed this issue, reminding the commission that the "evil twin mayors" - Steve Mensinger and Jim Righeimer - had long ago commanded that there would be no residential uses north of the 405 Freeway and questioned their authority to unilaterally make such judgments.  She also told the commission that the Pat Moore Foundation - a 78 bed sober living facility - had recently moved out of their facility and, apparently, nobody at the City knew about it.  She wondered what was moving in there.  After almost no discussion the commissioners voted, 5-0, to approve the staff recommendation for the re-zoning of the property.  The entire discussion took less than 10 minutes.

SELF-STORAGE AT 375 BRISTOL STREET
Next came Public Hearing #2, the second pass at a modification of the property at 375 Bristol Street presented by Senior Planner Mel Lee.  The commission denied an earlier plan for this property in June.  This time around consultant Paul Freeman presented a different plan which abandoned the earlier proposed food court, retained some of the existing businesses and reduced the number of self-storage units to 719.

 A half dozen people spoke to this issue.  The previous time many more spoke - mostly business owners that would be forced to move with the old plan.  This time it was equally split between supporters and opponents, including existing business owners on both sides of the issue.

Following the speakers and other discussion Freeman reminded the commission that the current use is very constricted by the location and the airport and that the existing business model is not sustainable. 

Dickson told us he asked for a report from the Costa Mesa Police Department on typical calls for service to public storage places verses calls at the existing auto repair mall.  The self storage facilities had fewer calls for service.

McCarthy recalled the earlier presentation and described it as a "potato only half-baked".  He supported the new plan.

Sesler seemed on the fence about it and interrogated Freeman on some issues.  An amusing sidebar - Freeman had to ask Sesler to speak into the microphone because he couldn't make out what he was asking.  Welcome to my world, Paul!  Sesler is nearly impossible to understand when you're in the auditorium - he usually sounds like he's talking with a mouth full of marbles.

Andranian acknowledged that it is a difficult piece of property to work with, but felt he could support the current plan. 

The commission voted to approve the plan, 5-0, at 7:24 p.m.

ADDITIONAL MEETINGS... MAYBE
Trevino told the commission that they were working on a plan for possibly having extra meetings this month and, maybe, again in December.  He mentioned that they might have back-to-back meetings on October 24th and 25th to accommodate the avalanche of Sober Living Home appeals, and said the staff was working with the commissioners to coordinate their schedules.  As it turns out, as of this afternoon, there will only be one meeting - at the regularly-scheduled time and date - Monday, October 24, 2016.

Surprising Lack Of Unity Marks Planning Commission Meeting

OOPS... A LITTLE DISAGREEMENT
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission met Monday night to a full agenda and, to my amazement, they actually found an issue that split their vote.  More on that when we come to it.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
During Public Comments Beth Refakes, representing the Military Affairs Team, gave an update on the success of the gown drive for the wives of the 1/5 Marines and announced the current candy drive - Trunk or Treat - for the children of that organization.  Individually wrapped candies may be delivered to the lobby of City Hall for this drive.

FIREFIGHTERS FOR THE GOOD GUYS
Mary Spadoni announced the Firefighters event supporting candidates Sandy Genis, John Stephens and Jay Humphrey on Saturday, October 1st at TeWinkle Park at which the firefighters will serve pancakes in the morning and roasted brats for lunch.

CRITICIZING COLIN, TICKING OFF MATHEWS
An unidentified woman took Commissioner Colin McCarthy to task, citing his recent commentary in the Daily Pilot praising the current council majority.  She also asked Vice Chair Jeff Mathews where he lived - south county?  Mathews was REALLY peeved at that question and said he lived on 20th Street and "don't ask me that question again!"  Hmmm... struck a nerve, did she?  As a matter of fact, she can ask him anything she wants and Mathews can do nothing about it.  Methinks he doest protest too much.  Hmmm...

GOOD JOB, SAILORS
During Commissioner Comments Stephan Andranian praised his alma mater, Newport Harbor High School, for their good behavior while losing the Battle of the Bay last weekend.  He was obliquely refering to some bad behavior by students from Corona Del Mar High School at the event.

PETTY TIM
Tim Sesler was peeved at Spadoni's announcement.  He, of course, mispronounced her name - SPANDONI - and suggested she ask firefighters about their high pay.  It was hard to hear him on the CMTV feed - I think he sometimes speaks with marbles in his mouth.

COLIN CAMPAIGNS FROM THE DAIS
McCarthy also used his time to campaign from the dais, speaking about his personal experience ten years ago with alleged firefighters going door-to-door.  He launched in to a lauditory screed about how lucky we are to have the current council majority because they are responsible for our $11 million surplus.

THEY JUST CAN'T STOP IT
Chairman Rob Dickson spoke briefly about how lucky he had been to have purchased a former rehab home on the Westside and how the property has doubled in value.  Again, campaigning from the dais.

CORRECTING THE RECORD
The only item on the Consent Calendar was the minutes of the September 12th meeting and resident Steve Chen pulled them for discussion.  He presented some specific items on the minutes that he said misrepresented the actual facts and asked that they be corrected.  The commission decided to have the staff review the entries and bring the minutes back for approval at a future date.  I think this is the very first time I've seen anyone from the public challenge the minutes.  It was refreshing.

788 CENTER STREET FIRST
Then, instead of taking the Public Hearings in order they decided to pull #4 to the front, apparently because the applicant showed up with small children.  So, the commissioners took a couple of minutes to hear the staff report and hear from the applicant for 788 Center Street in which an old single-story home will be demolished and two units built.  It was approved, 5-0.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF 2850 MESA VERDE DRIVE EAST
Then we went back into the normal order and heard Public Hearing #1, the General Plan Amendment and Rezone at 2850 Mesa Verde Drive East.  This one is curious - and I don't mean that in a good way.  It seems this is out of sequence because the City Council, during a Special Meeting in June to hear the General Plan Update, somehow managed to approve, 4-0 (Gary Monahan was absent) that this issue would be included in the motion.  Normally, there would be a separate hearing in which a Tentative Tract map would be considered.  So, Peter Zehnder - who has build several small developments around town, including one right next door to this proposed project - presented it for the commission's consideration.  The plan is to demolish two existing office buildings and replace them with low density housing.  Zehnder provided a potential project layout.

LOSS OF BUSINESSES
Several prople spoke out against this plan, including Reverand Jim Terrill, who has had an office in one of the buildings for 28 years.  He spoke about the disruption of him and 20 other tenants and those who used the services provided by those businesses.

LOSS TO THE COMMUNITY
Robin Leffler, a Mesa Verde resident, spoke about the loss of this "business community" and how it would negatively impact the nearby residential community.

MCCARTHY BRUSHES CONCERNS ASIDE
After a discussion in which McCarthy shrugged off the claims of this business complex would be a loss to the community by telling us that his dentist used to be there but he didn't like the shabby buildings, so he changed dentists - as if that had ANY relevance to the issue at all!

"THE COUNCIL GAVE US DIRECTION, SO...."
Commissioner Stephan Andranian said he sympathized with the business owners, the City Council had apparently provided direction that this is the way they wanted to go with this proposal.  So, the commission passed it along, 5-0.

LOW DENSITY IN MESA VERDE... CURIOUS
An observation - low density developments are pretty rare these days in our city.  It's more than curious that two of them are now going to be done back-to-back in Mesa Verde - where McCarthy and the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem lives.   Just sayin'......

SOBECA - DON'T BLINK
That brought us to Public Hearing #2, the required action bringing the recent changes to the General Plan Update for the SoBECA area into compliance with the General Plan.  This took less than 10 minutes and the commisson passed it, 5-0.

PIERCE STREET ANNEX/THE COUNTRY CLUB
Then came Public Hearing #3, the proposal to convert the existing Pierce Street Annex, a bar at 330 East 17th Street, into a restaurant to be called The Country Club.  The applicant, Mario Marovic - owner of the Wild Goose a block to the East - also wanted to have operating hours of 6 AM to 2 AM.  We've seen Marovic in action before - when he pitched his ideas for The Wild Goose.  He's a very polished operator and, lest you forget that, he comes prepared with slides and charts telling you what a great guy he is.

WHAT LIVE ENTERTAINMENT?
One thing that happened during the discussion was the revelation of a couple things.  One, the current operation was already permitted to operate starting at 6 AM if they wished to. And, contrary to a section in the staff report, the current use already includes live entertainment.  That surprised the commissioners.  Marovic didn't want to give either of those up.  There was also some haggling over the facade in the front of the restaurant - the City wants more "transparency" in the front wall and Marovic didn't.  The staff could find no record of a live entertainment permit having been issued - but this place has been open for business under one name or another since 1959.  After nearly 90 minutes the commission eventually passed it, 5-0, with some changes regarding the facade - more light showing - and deleted the reference to live entertainment.

PARKING PROBLEMS WITH THE CRACK SHACK
After a short break they tackled Public Hearing #5, the conversion of a bank building at the corner of 17th Street and Orange Avenue into a restaurant called Crack Shack - a place that specializes in chicken and egg dishes.  This one seems like an interesting concept, but parking was an issue.  The applicant, Mike Rosen, brought with him a "parking consultant" who proceeded to tell the commissioners why our parking standards are all wrong for this use - at least, that's what I think he said, because we couldn't hear a word of his presentation.  He had stepped away from the microphone to be able to read his slides, so those of us watching at home have no clue about what he said, except what we could attempt to interpret from his slides.

RESIDENTS BALK AT PARKING PROBLEM
Beth Refakes and Chuck Perry - both Eastside residents - expressed grave concerns about the parking issue.  It seems our requirements for this use is 75 spaces and the applicant's solution only provides for 62, but does include a valet option.  Round and round the discussion went.  McCarthy observed that in EVERY case involving this kind of a situation the applicant will present a parking expert to find a way around our parking requirement and the result is severely underparked projects like this one.  He specifically cited 17th Street, where parking is terrible.

 SHARED PARKING OPTION
Andranian suggested that the applicant find a nearby business to negotiate a shared parking arrangement.  The applicant said that was in the works, but balked at the requirement because of the unknown of the future of the business in question.  He was adament that his project met the city requirements via the use of valet parking.  After a little more than an hour the commissioners voted, 3-2, to REQUIRE the applicant to find shared parking for 13 more cars.  Dickson and Sesler voted NO.  That was VERY interesting.

 LATER HOURS AND ALCOHOL FOR PIZZA PRESS
The final item, Public Hearing #6 - a Conditional Use Permit for the Pizza Press at Metro Point to operate past 11 p.m. with the onsite sale of alcohol.  The hours would be 11 AM - 1 AM.  The commission took only 10 minutes to approve this one, 5-0.

LATER THAN WE THOUGHT
Dickson adjourned the meetin at 10:10 p.m.