Costa Mesa : Residents’ Advice Asked on Segerstrom Project

Just three weeks after homeowner opposition led the City Council to quash plans for a 30-story office tower, developer C. J. Segerstrom & Sons is asking residents for advice on how to build an acceptable project.

In a post card survey mailed last week, the developer asked Costa Mesa residents to rank in order of importance eight concerns--among them, traffic control, height reduction, and building design--to aid the company in considering revisions for a commercial project on its 98-acre Home Ranch site.

The unusual move by a company, that in the past has easily won project approvals, was well received by Costa Mesa activists.

“I view this as a hopeful sign,” said John Gardner, the founder of Mesa Action, a local political group that helped spearhead homeowner protests against the 30-story tower. “No developer has ever asked the people directly for their input before. I think it’s a positive development.”

In addition to ranking priorities for a revised project, the company offered to keep residents informed about the new project and invited them to “help” with the development project.

The original structure would have been the tallest building in Orange County, nearly twice as tall as Segerstrom’s 285-foot Center Tower. The project was shot down when Costa Mesa residents packed the City Council chambers last month, voicing concerns about traffic that the tower would generate.