A Long Evening Of Contrasts

COULD HAVE BEEN SHORT - BUT WASN'T
It was a long and interesting evening as the Costa Mesa Planning Commission met Monday night at what could have, and probably should have, been a fairly short meeting.  Alas, it was not to be.

BRUMBAUGH'S "DESIGN AWARD"
The meeting started on a very positive note, with Code Enforcement Officer Mike Brumbaugh introducing the "team" that helped get him the Planning Commission Design Award.  It was peculiar for a city employee to receive an award that typically is reserved for a project that included something particularly meritorious or special.  I'm not saying that recognition was not due, it just seems that the particular award they chose to use to do it was odd.

A "TEAM" EVENT
Regardless, Brumbaugh and his "team" of fellow code enforcement officers, city staffers and residents plus vendors who offered reduced prices for things like paint, are to be commended for their hard work late last year on their clean-up of a section of the Mission/Mendoza community.

 HAPLESS HOOKAH GUY
Next up was Public Hearing #1, the issue with a hookah lounge in the north part of town.  The applicant, shown, was doomed from the beginning when he chose to represent himself without help  and didn't serve his cause well when his version of events didn't square with the staff reports.  In fact, not only did the commission vote unanimously to deny his request for additional hours, Colin McCarthy was so peeved at him and the circumstances that he suggested the staff investigate using the Nuisance Ordinance to punish him for consistently violating his operating permit.

ON THE OTHER HAND...
Contrast that with Public Hearing #2, the extremely professional presentation made by the partners who operate the Wild Goose Tavern on 17th Street who want to nearly quadruple the size of the facility and create a new two-story building to house tenants and their administrative operations.

GOP HEAVYWEIGHTS
Not only was their presentation crisp and on point, but they trotted out 19 speakers to support their plan, a big chunk of the approximately 30 supporters in the auditorium.  Only three people spoke to oppose it.  Among those who spoke in favor of the project were Shawn Dewane of Mesa Water, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Don Harper and Rhonda Rohrabacher - the Congressman's wife - who sat in the audience with one of their triplets, both busily working on laptops while waiting their turn during the two-and a half hours it took for this item to be completed.

PARKING AN ISSUE
It was clear from the staff report and presentations that this was a good project, but one that is severely under parked.  A great part of the discussion revolved around ways to mitigate that problem.  Unfortunately, the numbers are not even close, as commissioner McCarthy pointed out several times.

VALET TO THE RESCUE... ALMOST
The partners, Mario Marovic and Andrew Gabriel (shown), produced a plan to mitigate the parking issue by requiring mandatory valet parking use at peak hours on the busiest days.  Both Chairman Jim Fitzpatrick and Vice Chair Rob Dickson admitted that they were looking for a way to be able to approve this project, even it doesn't come close to providing enough parking.

GOTTA MAKE THE PARKING WORK - OR ELSE
Finally they decided to condition the project to require the owners to manage the parking issue or be subject to losing the use of their patio for dining - that would change the parking requirement ratio. The applicants agreed with that and all the rest of the requirements and, barring an appeal to the City Council, will move forward with the project.  The commission voted favorably, 4-1, with McCarthy voting NO because of the parking issue.  I give him credit for sticking to his guns because, as he stated a couple times from the dais, we have under parked commercial projects all over Costa Mesa.

I HOPE IT WORKS
Even though there is much trepidation about the parking issue, I hope the owner's make it work.  While I have not been to this restaurant, EVERY person with whom I've spoken about it raved about it.  I imagine the city staff will be closely-monitoring the parking issue once the new construction is finished and the restaurant has had some time to work out the kinks.

MORE APARTMENTS
The final item on the agenda, Public Hearing #3, the 240 unit apartment complex at 125 Baker Street in the northeast part of town, took another 90 minutes to wrestle with.  This project, in an area of town that was built as commercial/industrial and presently is the site of an aging commercial building and directly across the street from a manufacturing plant, has been in the works for awhile.

EXACERBATES THE RATIO
This project exacerbates the out-of-balance ratio of renters vs. homeowners, which Fitzpatrick doesn't seem at all concerned about. One of the owners, Joe Flanagan (shown) presented a strong case for the project.

PART OF TOWN "IN TRANSITION"
Only four people rose to speak on the issue and were equally split in favor or against the project.  One of them - a businessman who works in that area - spoke of that section of town being in "transition", with churches and schools recently replacing industrial uses.  He thought it was a good project.  The other three spoke of how this contradicts the General Plan, which requires all developments over four stories to be north of the I-405 Freeway.  And, they mentioned, at the meetings for the updating of the General Plan, there was broad support for limiting density throughout the city.  This will increase the density in that section of town dramatically.

TRAFFIC WILL IMPROVE
According to retired former City of Costa Mesa employee Peter Naghavi, who was one of the representatives of this project speaking to the commissioners, the traffic in that part of town will actually improve because of this project.  The developers are installing critical traffic signals near their facility, plus the cars are going the opposite direction from this site in the morning and the evening.  The meeting tonight was to consider five separate motions - each of which were passed unanimously by the commission before ending the meeting without discussing their Goals.

I'M THRASHED!
We ended the meeting at about 11:35 p.m.... Ugh!

Meetings This Week

PLANNING COMMISSION TONIGHT
Tonight, Monday, March 24, 2014, the Costa Mesa Planning Commission will meet for the final time this month beginning at 6:00 in City Council Chambers at City Hall.  You can read the agenda report HERE.

HOOKAH LOUNGE ON BRISTOL STREET
There are three Public Hearings on the agenda.  The first, HERE, is the recommendation by staff to deny a conditional use permit for a hookah lounge at 3033 Bristol Street, Suite F.


WILD GOOSE EXPANSION
The second, HERE, is the proposal to dramatically expand the existing bar/restaurant (Wild Goose) from 1,335 square feet to 5,185 square feet as part of a new two-story, 8,720 square foot multi-tenant retail/office building.  The request asks for three (3) conditional use permits, one (1) minor conditional use permit and two (2) separate deviations from normal parking requirements.  This is just one more under-parked project being requested by out-of-town developers.

APARTMENTS IN AN INDUSTRIAL AREA
The third public hearing is for 240 apartments on East Baker Street in what is now an industrial zone, HERE.  As this project has inched its way through the process several business owners near the location have expressed concern about having residential units so close - right across the street - to their businesses.  Those businesses generate noise and there is concern that residents of apartments so nearby may, in the not too distant future, may be so bothered by it that they may demand changes be made to those businesses.

PLANNING COMMISSION GOALS UPDATE
Also on the agenda is an update on the Planning Commission Goals, HERE.  It makes for some interesting reading.

FINANCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY
The Finance Advisory Committee meets on Tuesday, March 25, 2014 at 3:30 p.m. in Conference Room 1A on the First Floor of City Hall.  According to the published agenda, HERE, there will be a presentation by Development Services/Economic Development Director, Gary Armstrong and the presentation of the new Ethics Policy by new Assistant CEO Tammy Letourneau.

PARKS COMMISSION MEETS THURSDAY
On Thursday, March 27, 2014, at 6:00 p.m. in council chambers, the Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission will hold its monthly meeting and it appears, from the brevity of the agenda, HERE, that it might be a short one.

TREE REMOVAL REQUEST
There are no public hearings nor Old Business items and only two (2) New Business items on the agenda.  The first, HERE, is a tree removal request on Ceylon Drive that the staff recommends denying.

HARBOR SOARING SOCIETY AGREEMENT

The second, HERE, is the proposal of a 5-year extension of the agreement with the Harbor Soaring Society for the use of a segment of Fairview Park where that organization has been a good steward of the property since 2007.  I think the staff recommendation is a good one and expect it will be approved by the Commission.

Planning Commission Meeting Monday Night

A LIGHT SCHEDULE
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission led by Chairman Jim Fitzpatrick will meet for the first time in March with what appears to be a fairly light agenda, HERE.  The meeting begins in City Council Chambers at City Hall at 6:00 p.m.

CODE ENFORCEMENT UPDATE
The Consent Calendar contains the Code Enforcement Update, HERE, but it's not likely that it will be pulled for discussion.

ANOTHER INFILL HOUSING PROJECT
The first Public Hearing is for a tentative tract map for a 6-unit, two-story detached residential development at 2183, 2187 and 2191 Miner Street called The Oxford Cottages, HERE.  As has been the case in most recent requests for similar developments, this one has a load of requests for deviations/modifications to the current codes, including reduced front and rear yard setbacks, reduction is space between buildings and a small reduction in the front yard setback.  The staff is recommending approval.

RECYCLING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT
Public Hearing #2 is the six-month review of the conditional use permit for a neighborhood recycling permit in the State Bros. Market parking lot at 2180 Newport Boulevard, HERE.  This permit has thirty (30) conditions which, based on a review of the staff report, several of which are out of compliance.  The commission will provide direction regarding the continuance or revocation of the conditional use permit.

EXPAND RESTAURANT BY 240%
Public Hearing #3, HERE, is a request for the expansion of an existing restaurant (the Wild Goose) from 1,517 square feet to 5,185 square feet as part of a new two-story, 8,720 square foot multi-tenant retail/office building.  The staff has requested this item be continued - again - to the meeting of March 24th.  This project also has many deviations, including conditional use permits for 15 valet parking spaces for weekend use; expansion of outdoor seating; a shared driveway.  They also want to deviate from the shared parking requirements down to 50 from the 72 spaces required and to deviate from the maximum number of compact parking spaces, up to 10 from the current maximum of 7.  This was a hot-button project for the surrounding neighbors the first time around and I expect it will also be when the commission finally hears it later this month.

DESIGN AWARD TO AN EMPLOYEE?
The final item on the agenda, New Business #1, is the nomination of city Code Enforcement Officer Mike Brumbaugh for the "Planning Commission Design Award", HERE.  This is strange. In the past such awards are presented to projects, not people, and particularly not employees.  I know Brumbaugh a little bit - he's a swell guy who appears to be doing a terrific job.  But a "Design Award"?  Really?

Planning Commission Wrap

MR. EXCITEMENT

The Costa Mesa Planning Commission, led by the ever-exciting, "cool" and "excellent" Chairman Jim Fitzpatrick, plowed its way through another meeting Monday night.


UNDER-PARKED PROJECTS
The short Public Comments segment was led off by Eastside resident Jeff McConville, who cautioned the commission about approving projects with too little parking, and used as an example the Greenleaf Chop House on Westminster near 17th Street.  Because of the great success of the restaurant, according to McConville, patrons park blocks away in residential neighborhoods, which negatively impacts the quality of life in those neighborhoods.

REHAB HOMES...
Lisa Morlan bemoaned the proliferation of rehab homes on the Eastside and requested a list of non-licensed facilities in the city.  Fitzpatrick responded by telling her of the Task Force Mayor Jim Righeimer is theoretically putting together and said he'd do what he could to get Morlan and her husband included.

WIMBLEDON WAY EXPANSION APPROVED
An hour and forty minutes was spent on Public Hearing #1, an appeal of a staff decision regarding a home on Wimbledon Way.  It was the strangest hearing I've seen lately.  As shown here by the exasperation of the attorney for the appellant, things were just a little confusing.  Normally when someone appeals a decision they make their pitch for the reason.  Then the opposing party presents his side, then the appellant has a chance to respond.  This one was just the reverse.  The party who was the beneficiary of the staff decision went first - and last.  Very peculiar.  In the end the commission upheld the staff decision on a 3-0 vote - Vice Chair Rob Dickson was absent and Tim Sesler had to recuse himself.  Since the appellants had a lawyer, I suspect this is not the last we've heard of this issue.

WILD GOOSE EXPANSION MOVED TO MARCH
Just before 8:00 the commission began a discussion of Public Hearing #2, the request by the Wild Goose restaurant on 17th Street to do a massive expansion - nearly quadrupling its size.  This item was not supposed to be "heard" Monday night - the agenda report said it was going to be continued until the next meeting, on February 24th.  However, a half-dozen residents, including Katie Arthur,  showed up to speak to the issue - all expressing negative reactions to this request due mainly to parking, traffic and noise issues.  This proposal is severely under-parked by any standard - one speaker said it was requesting only 36% of the parking spots required by our codes.  After a half-hour of conversation it was decided to move the issue to the meeting on 3/10/14 to give staff time to re-notice it to impacted residents and business owners.

PLACENTIA LIVE/WORK UNITS MOVES FORWARD
Next up, Public Hearing #3, was the proposal for 36 live/work units on Placentia Avenue.  During the discussion much was made of the so-called "work" portion of the units - a room of only 119 square feet.  Speakers and commissioners expressed concern that these will end up being another bedroom, not a live/work space.  In the end the project was approved on a 4-0 vote with conditions added to change the landscaping and remove a wall in the "work" sections.  Nothing like micromanaging...

MORE ALCOHOL AT SOCO
Public Hearings #4 and #5 were alcohol licenses for two new businesses at th SoCo center on Hyland.  There was little discussion of either and both were approved on 4-0 votes.

KEEPING AN EYE ON G&W TOWING
The final item on the agenda was the report regarding complaints about noise by G&W Towing from residents and management of the adjacent mobile home park.  The report indicated that the firm has made some appropriate changes to mollify the neighbors so no further action will be taken.

That was it!  It took until 10:10 Monday night to accomplish that bit of business.

MID-YEAR BUDGET REVIEW TUESDAY
Next up on Tuesday is the Mid Year Budget Review in City Council Chambers starting at 4:30 Tuesday.  This should be VERY interesting.