Inside CITY HALL

HOME RANCH

The new Planning Commission will listen as community members get their

first chance to sound off on the revised Home Ranch draft environmental

report today.

The commission previously discussed the project in November.

Home Ranch, a 90-acre project originally scheduled for Planning

Commission review in June, has been redesigned to add housing, as well as

reduce building heights and the square-foot density of the proposed

office space.

The modified proposal for the site, a lima bean farm bordered by the

San Diego Freeway, Fairview Road, Harbor Boulevard and Sunflower Avenue,

calls for a 17-acre Ikea furniture store, 950,000 square feet of office

space and 464 homes.

Copies of the draft environmental report for Costa Mesa’s revised Home

Ranch development proposal are available at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive; the

Mesa Verde Library, 2969 Mesa Verde Drive East; and the Costa Mesa

Library, 1855 Park Ave.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

The commission will take public comment on the adequacy of the draft

environmental impact report but will make no decision about whether to

certify the document or to approve the project.

The city will continue to accept public comments on the project until

Friday.

Q-CLUB BILLIARDS & CAFE

The commission will review the Q-Club Billiards & Cafe to determine

whether it has complied with modified permits that were approved in

August.

The commission postponed a review on Dec. 14 to allow the landlord,

Mark Les, to try to resolve differences between the cafe and other

tenants, including the Dancers in Motion dance studio, which filed a

complaint against the cafe.

Complaints from neighboring tenants were that Q-Club Billiards & Cafe

patrons would smoke outside of the club and would use loud and abusive

language.

The commission postponed a review Nov. 27 because neither the property

owner nor neighbors who have filed complaints about the cafe at 1525 Mesa

Verde Drive East attended the meeting.

The business is allowed to have a small smoking area in back of the

cafe but is not allowed to serve food or alcohol there. It also must

supervise the area to keep noise down.

The owners applied for permission to create an outdoor dining patio

and sell hard liquor but withdrew that application after the commission

received several complaints in August about customers smoking and

loitering in front of the cafe.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Since the December hearing, Q-Club Billiards & Cafe has reported that

food sales made up an average of 58% of its sales from January to October

2000.

That percentage is in keeping with the requirement that quarterly food

sales must exceed alcohol sales.

According to the staff report, the extent of the problems between the

club and other tenants has been reduced and Bob Michna, an adjacent

bookstore owner, said that loud and abusive language has diminished.

If the commission agrees that conflicts have been resolved, it is

expected to end reviews of the Q-Club but decide to resume them in the

future if the city receives new complaints.

LEARNING CENTER

The commission is scheduled to consider allowing Learning Tree

University to operate a nonprofit education and training facility in an

industrial building at 3160 and 3170 Pullman St.

The issue has been continued three times because of parking disputes

that have not yet been settled.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

The parking dispute still not been resolved. According to the staff

report, city staff recommends the council deny the center’s request

because “without clear limitations on hours of operation for each use,

there is a strong possibility that parking demands will overlap and

exceed supply, resulting in overflow of parking onto adjacent

properties.”