READERS RESPOND

AT ISSUE: The council has passed a temporary ban on multi-home

developments on single lots, sparked by concern about their proliferation

on the East Side (“Can city have growth and keep its character?” June

12).

Your photo says it all: “Mike Real sitting in his yard,” or should I

refer to that as his “setback.” The City Council did the right thing, and

I applaud Heather Sommers. Now if only they will extend it for another

few years. Why would anyone feel it’s good for our community to cram more

people into an already overcrowded area? We have folks fighting against

the widening of 17th Street, yet we’re increasing the density in that

same area. If the home buyer wants lower-cost housing and doesn’t need

back and front yards, they should be looking for a condominium. I’d

rather see buyers who demand more and are willing to pay for it.

TIM CROMWELL

Costa Mesa

I believe Mayor Monahan is missing the point. The residents on the

East Side aren’t saying they want only large-scale single-family housing.

We’re saying we don’t want high density. It should be about quality, not

quantity. I know from experience, because I have “cookie cutter,”

high-density homes all around me. It’s very sad to see small children,

too small to leave their property, playing in the streets because there

are no backyards or personal space to play in. I talked to some of these

developers that have built in this area -- believe me, these developers

don’t care about our area and the effect the overgrowth has in our daily

lives. These developers build, cash in and leave. I agree with council

woman Heather Somers and thousands of others who want to maintain our

quality of life. Believe me, next time we vote for council members, we

definitely need to ask them their opinion of growth and density before

voting. I believe this will become a bigger issue in the future.

KAY ANDERSON

Newport Heights

Thank you, City Council. I applaud your decision to deny a recent

building project on Garden Lane in East Side Costa Mesa. I am glad your

alarm clock finally went off. Now, don’t waver. I speak for many East

Side residents who would like to see a moratorium on high-density

building of “cookie cutter” homes.

It’s a sad day to wake up on a weekend morning, sit in your once-quiet

backyard where you’d hear the birds, or the light breeze blowing through

the trees, only to be blasted by the sound of hair dryers, showers

running and intimate conversations between spouses in a bathroom

overlooking your yard. Forget reading the paper -- it’s not the same.

This high-density surrounding low-density doesn’t make sense. It

certainly is not appealing and definitely is out of character with the

charm that once existed here with picket fences bordering nice yards with

flowers and trees. Now it’s long concrete driveways heading down rows of

stucco and tile. Everything looks the same.

Oh sure, the builders have to meet all the required regulations for

drainage. They bring in about four feet of fill dirt, erect a nine-foot

cinder block wall, scatter the drains where the city says they must be,

and call it “code.” What happens to the poor adjacent homeowner when the

drains get changed or removed by the new homeowner, and the flow of water

takes on a new direction? Sorry, it’s not the builder’s problem anymore.

Now it’s a battle between the homeowners. What a nice friendly

neighborhood this has become.

It’s got to stop now. You must begin to take into consideration the

quality of life affected by these projects. Start caring. This is your

community, too. Does it have to be in your backyard before you open your

eyes?

I’m definitely in favor of a moratorium on development on the East

Side, especially this style of high-density, “cookie cutter” home. It’s

out of control.

Speak up, homeowners. Go to the city and tell them you don’t want this

in your backyard. They need to hear from us. If we say nothing, nothing

will ever get done. Also, keep an eye on the council members who keep

approving these projects.

PATTY HARVEY

Costa Mesa

I would like to write to show another side to the East Side “cookie

cutter” home issue. I have lived on Mesa Drive for 15 years in one of the

old original Costa Mesa homes that the council so wants to preserve. It

was a very unique home built by my husband’s grandfather in 1950 on a

very large lot. Last summer we tore the old house down and put up the

dreaded, cookie-cutter homes.

Believe me, we looked into every other possibility before we did that.

The old house had no heating other than two fireplaces, the kitchen was

the original, termites had done their share of abuse over the last 50

years, the foundation had shifted and all the windows and doors needed to

be replaced. I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. It

would have cost us a fortune to bring the house up to standards. It broke

my husband’s heart to tear that house down, but we faced the economic

facts. In a month we will be moving into a new house on our old lot with

four other neighbors. It is not what we wanted, but it was the only way

we could afford to build a house and still have a mortgage we could

afford. We wanted to put fewer homes on the lot, but building and

remodeling today is so expensive. Many people are under the impression

that we are making a fortune by doing this. It is not true.

I understand the moratorium, and truly do not want our type of homes

to be on every lot, but there are two sides to every story.

VICKIE HUNT

Costa Mesa