Limited moratorium for West Side

Andrew Glazer

COSTA MESA -- The owner of a West Side auto body shop said Wednesday he

was relieved that the city this week chose not to prevent new auto shops

from opening in the neighborhood.

After hearing from Paul Frech, owner of C&F; Auto for 27 years, and

several other area shop owners, the council elected not to impose a

proposed 45-day moratorium on granting permits to auto shops and

industrial businesses.

“I’d like to think they listened to us,” Frech said. “Their moratorium

won’t be a problem. It doesn’t have any teeth in it. Not even baby

teeth.”

After also considering whether to prohibit new liquor stores and

restaurants selling liquor in the neighborhood, the council voted only to

put a freeze on stores that primarily sell liquor. The city has not

granted a liquor store permit in the neighborhood for several years, said

Mayor Gary Monahan.

The proposed moratorium was part of the city’s revitalization efforts for

the West Side, which features a mixture of homes, businesses and

industry. EIP Associates have been working since August 1998 on the

comprehensive plan.

The revitalization zone includes 19th Street between Federal and Pomona

streets, Placentia Avenue between 18th and Victoria streets, the

Placentia Avenue side of Palace Avenue and the southerly extension of

Federal Avenue.

Delays in the plan prompted the Planning Commission to recommend the city

approve a temporary moratorium to prevent certain businesses from moving

into the area before the consultants release their final plan.

But on Monday night, Monahan made it clear that he wasn’t ready to

support the total moratorium. He said it made more sense to wait for the

consultants’ overall plan, which may or may not recommend all of the

proposed restrictions on new businesses.

Frech told the council a full moratorium would ruin his retirement. He

said it would make it impossible for him to sell his body shop business.

“A lot of these people feel that they’re being kicked out of town,”

Monahan said after the meeting. “The shops are owner-operated and they

feel their livelihoods are at stake.”