A Little Surprise At The Planning Commission Meeting

DEVELOPERS WON'T BE HAPPY
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission met Monday night and presented us with a little surprise.  More on that in a minute.

ANDRANIAN IN CHARGE
All the new commissioners were present and Chairman Stephan Andranian is getting the feel of running the meetings.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
During Public Comments only two people spoke - the crowd was sparse, perhaps 20 people at the most during the evening.  There were three of us remaining for the final public hearing.

SMALL LOT ORDINANCE MUST GO
The first speaker, Mary Spadoni, questioned the value of the Small Lot Ordinance - all the public hearings on the agenda fell under that category.  She strongly suggested that the ordinance at least be reviewed.

MANY ISSUES
A second, unidentified speaker agreed.  She then asked that the council no longer approve residential projects that front on alleys.  She also addressed a problem site on Newport Boulevard and gave Andranian a group of papers to review and return to her.  She also mentioned that the 99 Cent Store on Harbor will soon be selling alcohol and that Mayor Katrina Foley has requested a review of the Zoning Administrators decision in that regard.  She also wondered, based on a recent Los Angeles Times article about private jails, whether we are housing prisoners for pay in our outsourced jail.  She also drew the commissions attention to a problem with new construction at 231 Flower Street, in which she felt he wall was too close to the alley.

KERINS
During Commissioner Comments, Isabell Kerins commented on the excellent information she had received at the recent Planning Commission training.

WOODS
Carla Woods observed about educational experiences available at Fairview Park.

DE ARAKAL
Byron de Arakal addressed the Newport Boulevard Specific Plan, citing what he called as great opportunities for bringing it up to 21st Century views of land use.  He also addressed South Harbor Boulevard, indicating that it's a 1950s configuration that needs to be reviewed in light of e-commerce impact on our community.  He also spoke of the groundbreaking for Fire Station #1 last Saturday.

ANDRANIAN
Stephan Andranian indicated he will look at the documents presented to him by the unidentified speaker, up top.  He also agreed with de Arakal that the Newport Boulevard Specific Plan needs freshening.  He acknowledged that Mayor Foley had requested a review of the Dollar Store issue, which will be heard within 45 days.

HARLAN
Jeffrey Harlan reminded the commission of the joint meeting with the City Council and Parks and Recreation Commission regarding the new Library/Community Center project on March 28th at the Costa Mesa Country Club.

CONSENT CALENDAR
The Consent Calendar was passed, 5-0, without comment.

 353 18TH STREET PASSES AFTER REVISION
Public Hearing #1 is the first of three (3) Small Lot Developments on the Eastside of Costa Mesa to be heard that night.  This one is for a 4-unit development at 353 18th Street.  This project had been heard previously by the Planning Commission - the old commission - in November, 2016.  It was rejected and the applicant was advised to return with one that properly parked the project.  The difference is shown on the image provided.  The only issue with this project now is the narrow, 2 foot, space along the driveway - the code calls for 3 feet.  The discussion, including public comments in which resident Richard Huffman called for a review of the Small Lot Ordinance because, more often than not, variances are granted on such projects, took an hour.  Several commissioners observed that the Small Lot Ordinance requires a separate discussion.  The commissioners passed this item, 5-0.

391 LA PERLE PLACE DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE
Public Hearing #2, another Small Lot Development at 391 La Perle Place, replaced an aging single story home with 2 two-story homes on a 7200 square foot lot.  The discussion on this one, which included three neighbors criticizing the project as being out of character with the neighborhood, went on for nearly an hour.  In the end, guided by comments from Commissioner Harlan - who observed that the design didn't respect the neighborhood very well - the commission denied the request without prejudice so the applicant can bring back a more satisfactory project within 6 months.

326 E. 16TH STREET BREEZES THROUGH
Public Hearing #3 was another Small Lot Development at 326 E. 16th Street.  This one breezed right through with high praise by several commissioners on a 5-0 vote.  The commissioners were pleased with the presentation and the use of open space.

PUBLIC SERVICES REPORT
During the Public Services Department report City Engineer Bart Mejia observed that the City Council had recently approved renovation of Bristol Street near the SOBECA area and construction may begin in a couple weeks.  He also said he will provide periodic reports on the progress of the construction of the new Fire Station #1.

DEVELOPMENT SERVICES REPORT
In the Development Services Department report Interim Director/Consultant Jay Trevino again reminded the commissioners they will have back-to-back meetings in two weeks.  Their regular meeting on March 27th will have a discussion on Group Homes and a couple requests for Conditional Use Permits.  The next day, on March 28th, they will attend the joint meeting with the City Council and the Parks and Recreation Commission, where the new Downtown Community Center and the Library will be discussed.  This will take place at the Costa Mesa Country Club.  The meeting ended shortly before 9:00 p.m.

SMALL LOT ORDINANCE IS IN TROUBLE
A word about this meeting.  Based on comments from commissioners and residents, it appears there will soon be a discussion of the controversial Small Lot Ordinance.  That's a good idea.

COMMISSION IS LOOKING GOOD
And, this commission is showing great promise.  Chairman Andranian is getting his arms around the process and conducting a good meeting.  The other commissioners - all rookies in the role - are beginning to get their sea legs and spending sufficient time on the staff reports and at job sites to present good questions - and even some answers.  It's going to be interesting to watch them work. 

Planning Commission Tackles 3 Small Lot Projects

EASTSIDE PROJECTS FILL THE AGENDA
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission, under the leadership of Chairman Stephan Andranian, will meet again Monday, March 13, 2017 to deal with three (3) separate Eastside developments which fall under the controversial Small Lot Ordinance, replacing 3 dwelling units with eight (8).  The meeting begins at 6:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers.  The full agenda report is HERE.

VACATION OF RIGHT-OF-WAY
Following the Consent Calendar, which includes a right-of-way vacation request at 152 East 19th Street, HERE, the commission will deal with the three public hearings mentioned above.

4 UNITS AT 353 EAST 18TH STREET
Public Hearing #1, HERE, is a design review  and tentative parcel map for a project at 353 East 18th Street which replaces one single story dwelling and replaces it with four (4) 2-story, 4-bedroom units of over 2,000 square feet each.  Despite being guided by the Small Lot Ordinance this project asks for an additional variance.

2 UNITS AT 391 LA PERLE PLACE
Public Hearing #2, HERE, is a design review and tentative parcel map for a project at 391/393 La Perle Place, replacing a single story dwelling with two (2) 2-story 4-bedroom units of more than 2,500 square feet each.  This project appears to meet all the requirements of the Small Lot Ordinance.

2 UNITS AT 326 EAST 16TH STREET
Public Hearing #3, HERE, is another Small Lot Subdivision project at 326 East 16th Street.  This project replaces a single-story single family residence with two (2) 2-story units of greater than 2,300 square feet each.  One unit is 3-bedroom and the other is 4-bedroom.  This project appears to meet the Small Lot Ordinance requirements and provides additional open space. 

COMMISSION GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS
This will be the first meeting of the new commission where they can actually dig their teeth into some projects.  It will be interesting to see them work on these projects.

Small Agenda For Planning Commission Monday

SHORT AGENDA PROBABLY WELCOME
The agenda for the Costa Mesa Planning Commission meeting on Monday, December 12, 2016 has been posted, HERE.  This meeting begins at 6:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers at City Hall.  This will be the 5th consecutive Monday that the Planning Commission will have met, so this abbreviated agenda will probably be welcomed.

NO SOBER LIVING HOME ISSUES ON THIS ONE
As we mentioned in an earlier post, all the Sober Living Home issues originally scheduled for this meeting have been removed from the agenda.  It's our understanding that no further hearings will be held on Sober Living Home issues until the new City Council conducts an "evaluation" - a term that was not further defined in the memo sent out announcing the fact.

SMALL LOT DEVELOPMENT AT 2053 TUSTIN
There are two items remaining on the agenda for Monday's meeting.  Public Hearing #1, HERE, is a design review and tentative parcel map  for a two-unit, two-story small lot development at 2053 Tustin Avenue.

SHARED PARKING AND A MASSAGE PARLOR ON HARBOR BLVD.
Public Hearing #2, HERE, is a Planning Application for a Conditional Use Permit for shared parking between 1912 through 1942 Harbor Blvd. and a minor CUP to deviate from shared parking requirements for a massage establishment.

LAST PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING FOR THE YEAR
This should be a relatively short meeting, and is expected to be the final one of this calendar year for the Planning Commission.  I'm sure they, and the staff, can use the rest.

Mixed Bag For The Planning Commission Monday

MIDWAY THROUGH MARATHON MEETINGS
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission meets again Monday, November 28, 2016 beginning at 6:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers at City Hall.  This will be the third of what will likely be five (5) consecutive Mondays that this body will have met by Christmas.  You can read the full agenda for this meeting HERE.

SOBER LIVING ITEM YANKED LATE!
This agenda was revised late Wednesday, today, to remove Item #4, a request for Conditional Use Permits for a Sober Living Facility serving up to 30 residents at 574 and 578 Joann Street.  This item will NOT be heard Monday night.

50/50
The remaining items on the agenda are sp

lit, with two development-related issues and two sober living issues facing the commission.

SOBER LIVING HOMES AT 351 AND 357 VICTORIA STREET
Public Hearing #1, HERE, is an item continued to this date from November 14, 2016 due to the lateness of the hour.  This requests Conditional Use Permits for sober living permits at 351 and 357 Victoria Street and an appeal of reasonable accommodation for a land use requirement.  The staff recommends denial.

QUADRUPLING DENSITY AT 353 EAST 18TH STREET
Public Hearing #2, HERE, is a small lot development at 353 East 18th Street, demolishing one unit and replacing it with four.

SOBER LIVING HOME AT 2152 RALEIGH AVENUE
Public Hearing #3, HERE, is an appeal of the denial of a Special Use Permit to operate a Sober Living Home at 2152 Raleigh Avenue.  Staff recommends upholding the denial of the request.

15 STORY HOTEL AT 3350 AVENUE OF THE ARTS
Public Hearing #5, HERE, is a Master Plan amendment for a new hotel tower at 3350 Avenue of the Arts.  The applicant is requesting variances from the previously approved project to reduce an open space setback and a change in parking requirements.  The staff recommends approval.

FINGERS CROSSED FOR A QUORUM
Last time only 3 of the 5 commissioners showed up.  Will be interesting to see how many make this meeting - or the next two, for that matter.

Planning Commissioners Push Back! What?!

FIRST AUGUST MEETING WAS INTERESTING
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission held their first meeting of August (while their benefactors on the City Council took the rest of the month off) and it actually turned out to be an interesting, although brief, meeting.

SOBER LIVING APPEAL OFF THE AGENDA
Right off the bat Chairman Rob Dickson reminded those in attendance that Public Hearing #3, the Appeal of the Decision of the Economic and Development Services Director to Deny a Request for Reasonable Accommodation by a sober living home on Victoria Street had been removed from the agenda at the request of the appellant.  There is no date for a future consideration.

"REBELLION"?
During Public Comments an unidentified person jumped right into that issue, providing background only gleaned from personal investigation, and criticized the City for failure to enforce our ordinances designed to manage those type of businesses.  She said it was "asking for rebellion".

GOWNS FOR THE MARINE BALL
Beth Refakes again reminded us that the Military Affairs Team is collecting lightly-used cocktail, prom and ball gowns for the women of the 1/5 Marines at Camp Pendleton for the Marine Ball in October.  Donations may be dropped off at City Hall.  She also reminded the commission that members of her group recently repainted the airplane at Lions Park.

MORE SOBER LIVING CONCERNS
A Costa Mesa property owner, but Laguna Beach resident, also complained about the proliferation of sober living homes in the City, and waved a copy of what looked like the map created by Take Back Our Neighborhoods (TBON) showing locations of such businesses in the city.  He expressed concern for the safety of his tenants, who apparently live near some of those places.

DON'T LIKE CRITICISM
During Commissioner Comments Colin McCarthy, Jeff Mathews and Tim Sesler all angrily took exception to the representation by speakers that the City is not doing enough to managed these businesses.  McCarthy reminded us it's an election season and that "snake oil salesmen they can solve the sober living home problem", and invited them to step up and do so.  We presume he's referring to council candidates opposing his pals currently on the dais.  His backhanded slap at unnamed candidates was not unexpected.

DON'T BLINK!  ONE YEAR EXTENSION
Public Hearing #1, the request for another one-year extension on Anton Boulevard was quickly dispatched on a 5-0 vote.  The commissioners were in love with the project and were only too happy to see it receive yet another extension.

THEY DIDN'T LIKE THIS ONE!
Public Hearing #2, the project at 752 and 756 West 19th Street at Wallace Avenue was quite a different story.  The current owner, Michael Alladawi, took a previous project and tweaked it.  Unfortunately, most of the commissioners were not buying what he was selling because of the large numbers of deviations.  This project falls under an amagamation of plans - the Small Lot Ordinance for the purpose of creating fee-simple properties, and 19 West Urban Plan and the Mesa West Bluffs Urban Plan.  Even planner Ryan Loomis admitted confusion when he inherited this project.  Problems with parking, setbacks, undergrounding utilities and much more created unease for the commissioners.  Their solution was to kick the can down the road.  They voted, 5-0, after consulting with the applicant, to continue this issue to a date uncertain to allow the applicant time to step back and work on the issues troubling the commissioners.  The alternative would have been to deny the project.

PARKING AND MISUSE OF SPACE
During the public comments segment of this item several members of the public spoke.
Jay Humphrey was concerned about parking and the potential for the lower floor "work" area to become a defacto rental unit.  He was also concerned that, although our plans call for a minimum of 1 acre lot size, this project is only one quarter of that size.

BUILDING "SLUMS"
An unidentified person showed a painting of the slums of Rio and told the commission this is what they are approving.  She referred to some of the new Westside developments as "stack-a-shacks".

GAVE AWAY RIGHT-OF-WAY BEFORE
Cynthia McDonald, a member of the Bikeway and Walkability Committee, reminded the commissioners that there was a right-of-way deeded to this project which likely has created a problem for future bike-oriented infrastructure.

"RUINING THE WESTSIDE"
Rick Huffman was also concerned about parking and indicated that builders are being allowed to abuse our plans and the commissioners are "ruining the Westside".

GENERAL PLAN REVIEW
New Business #1, the review of the previous General Plan only took a couple minutes.  McDonald pointed out an error that will be corrected before the General Plan is forwarded to the City Council.

DEL MAR AVENUE BEAUTIFICATION PROJECT COMPLETE
City Engineer Bart Mejia announced to the Commissioners that the Del Mar Avenue Beautification Project at the corner of Newport Boulevard is now completed.  He showed us this photo, but didn't tell us how much it cost.  It's taken awhile.

City Council Holds Only Meeting Until September

ONLY MEETING THIS MONTH
The Costa Mesa City Council meets for its only official meeting until after the Labor Day holiday tomorrow, Tuesday, August 2, 2016 beginning at 5:45 p.m. in City Council Chambers at City Hall.  This meeting has a fairly short agenda, which you can read HERE.  The council has previously agreed to cancel the meeting scheduled for August 16th.  It will be interesting to see which council members show up for this one.

MESA WATER "UPDATE"?  ABOUT WHAT?
I did note with interest that early in the meeting Mesa Water District General Manager Paul Schoenberger will present an "update".  I wonder if he will talk about the one-sided bogus survey Mesa Water recently contracted for, and which apparently has caused their board to place a non-binding "advisory" measure on the ballot asking the voters if Mesa Water and the Costa Mesa Sanitary District should be merged?  Based on the public record of events and official utterances from folks on both sides of this issue, it certainly seems like this is just a hostile takeover attempt in a fancy dress.  And, it's my understanding that Mesa Water will spend over $150,000 to place the item on the ballot and conduct community outreach efforts to convince you voters of the value of their idea.  No biggie, right?  They'll just raise the rates if money gets tight.

CONSENT CALENDAR
The Consent Calendar has fourteen (14) items on it.  You will recall, in theory these items are of a routine nature and, therefore, could be voted upon with one vote without separate discussion.  And, the Mensinger/Righeimer council has implemented a policy whereby if a member of the public, council or staff chooses to ask for a separate discussion on any item or items, they will be trailed to the very end of the meetings - which sometimes turn out to be the next day.  I'll address a few of these items that caught my attention.

THE WARRANT
Item #2 is Warrant 2561, HERE. This is a roster of bills paid by the city. This time it amounts to more than $8 million dollars!  Some of the entries you may find of interest:

• Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth - $31,044.75 - Legal Svcs, Various
• Best Best & Krieger LLP - $10,211.42 - Legal Svcs
• Government Jobs.com Inc - $8,856.00 - App. Tracking System
• Interwest Consulting Group Inc - $7,360.00 - CIP Prog. Mgt.
• RJM Design Group Inc - $11,490.15 - Open Space Master Plan Update
• Jones & Mayer - $150,682.70 - Legal Svcs, Various
• Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $32,000.08 - Legal Svcs, Personnel
• Civil Source - $82,281.00 - Staff Support Various Proj. Apr & May
• Costa Mesa Conference & Visitor Bureau - $217,571.61 - BIA Receipts, May 2016
• HYM Engineering Inc. - $113,332.34 - Const. Contract City Pro (?)
• Johnson Favaro LLP - $115,632.00 - NCRnvtn Proj
• Jones & Mayer - $49,153.82 - Legal Svcs (Ddey) 
• Lilley Planning Group - $19,890.00 - Sr. Plng Svcs May and June
• Newport Mesa Unified School District - $508,432.12 - Developer Fees, April, May, June
• Wigmore Insurance Agency, Inc - $100,353.00 - Excess Wrkrs Comp Ins Rnwl
• Carl Warren & Company - $3,250.00 - Wkrs Comp Admin Fee June 2016
• Continental Interpreting Services Inc - $4,204.50 - Interpreting Svcs, 5 Dist. Voting Meetings
• Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $5,864.00 - Legal, Negotiations
• Orange County Treasure Tax Collector - $13,186.49 - Teletype Svc for June 2016 (?)
• State of Califorina Dept of Justice - $13,695.00 - Fingerprint Apps, June, 2016
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. - $425,300.12 - Insurance Premiums (Excess)
• Moore Iacofano Goltsman Inc. - $57,578.87 - Genl Plan Update and EIR
• RJM Design Group Inc - $16,521.62 - Open Space Master Plan Update
• WLC Architects Inc - $54,844.61 - Fire Station #1 Design Svcs
• Best Best & Krieger LLP - $8,137.64 - CEQA Legal May 2016 
• Compass Demographics Inc - $5,000.00 - Dist Formation
• Templeton Planning Group - $8,800.00 - Prof. Svcs, June

LEGAL FEES AND INSURANCE COSTS!
So, on this warrant we see nearly $290,000 in legal fees - just under $200,000 for Jones & Mayer alone.  And, I was interested to note the insurance costs on this warrant.  We spent nearly $600,000 for insurance costs.  Take a few moments and scroll down through the various entries.  I won't try to cover all the rest of the Consent Calendar items - you can scroll down through the agenda for that information.  There are a couple, though, that require comment.

SWAP A CODE ENFORCEMENT SLOT FOR A PLANNER
Item #9, HERE, is a request to swap one full-time Code Enforcement Officer position for a new Assistant Planner position due to the overwhelming workload in Development Services.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SERVICES FOR "LIONS PARK PROJECTS"
This one is a contract for nearly $3 million for project management services for what is now being referred to as "Lions Park Projects" - the demolition of the Neighborhood Community Center and construction of a new library; the renovation of the current Dungan Library building as a community center and other park improvements - the total anticipated costs for which are $30 million.  The planning part will go through July, 2017 and the construction phase from that point forward to March 2020.

OPPOSING ELIMINATION OF DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
Item #14, HERE, in which it is recommended that the City Council direct staff to draft a letter in opposition to Assembly Bill 385, which proposed to eliminate Daylight Savings Time in the state of California.  The Parks and Recreation Commission is opposed to this bill because it would severely restrict daylight field use - almost 4,000 hours of playable hours of field time - from March through November.

VACATION OF RIGHT-OF-WAY ON WESTSIDE
Public Hearing #1, HERE, is for the vacation of excess right-of-way at 671-673 W. 17th Street at two locations: W. 17th Street and Superior Avenue.  Significant new construction is taking place adjacent to these two sites.

APPEAL OF PLANNING COMMISSION APPROVAL
Public Hearing #2, HERE, is an appeal of a Conditional Use Permit and Share Parking at 3184 Airway Avenue involving a proposed Arts & Learning Conservatory.  The appellant, an attorney for Koll-Irvine Community Association, is asking the council to reverse the Planning Commission approval indicating the proposed use is not compatible with the other uses withn the complex.  This will be a "de novo hearing", meaning they will start over and can consider the project in it's entirety.  When this was heard by the Planning Commission the house was packed with interested parties.

CAMPAIGN SIGNAGE CHANGES
Old Business #1, HERE, is the second reading of changes to ordinances regarding campaign signage.

ANOTHER SMALL LOT DEVELOPMENT - 1974 CHARLE STREET
New Business #1, HERE, is a request to amend the land use designation from General Commercial to High Density Residential at 1974 Charle Street.  This proposal would replace existing commercial building with a 6-unit detached small lot subdivison.