Inside CITYHALL
WHAT HAPPENED: The Planning Commission on Monday approved asphalt
paving, a 6-foot-high block wall and landscaping on the west part of a
property at 1640 Babcock St.
The changes will create an impound yard for a towing business,
Southside Towing, owned by Richard Rodriguez.
WHAT IT MEANS: As part of a conditional-use permit, the property
owner, William Huscroft Jr., must clean up the rest of the property.
The commission gave Huscroft nine months to remove any vehicles,
boats, trailers or debris from the east part of the property and 24
months to sort through the contents of 11 outdoor containers, thought to
include potentially significant historic artifacts.
Commissioner Bruce Garlich said the commission decided it would take
the Huscroft family 24 months to inspect, categorize and “find homes for”
the artifacts.
The Huscroft family has only a limited amount of time to work on the
project each week and is dealing with two family members who are ill.
The family is also waiting for the City Council to decide at an
unscheduled future date whether to restore the Huscroft House, a
two-story, Craftsman-style house formerly owned by the Huscroft family.
The city may want the artifacts if the house is restored and used as a
museum, Garlich said.
In December, the council approved the restoration of the house --
donated to the city by Eric Cernich, a developer and Costa Mesa resident
who bought it from the Huscroft family, for use as part of a cultural
museum at Fairview Park, but in February voted to have a public hearing
to determine if it’s worth the cost.
The council earlier this month postponed making a decision on the
issue to get additional information on the house from the city’s Cultural
Arts and Historical Resources Committee.
The family will give status reports on the cleanup project every three
months.
WHAT THEY SAID: “All of this discussion had to do with the rest of the
property, not towing business,” Garlich said. “All of the property had to
be brought into conformance, and Mr. Rodriguez’s business was an innocent
bystander of some of these other issues.”
VOTE: 5-0 to approve
WHAT HAPPENED: The commission approved a fire lane for a future
Calvary Church site at 2115 Newport Blvd.
WHAT IT MEANS: The 20-foot-wide driveway, requested by the Fire
Department, will be gated and only used by emergency vehicles.
The lane will be blocked from residential properties by landscaping
and a 4-foot screening wall.
VOTE: 5-0 to approve
NEXT MEETING:
WHAT: Regular Costa Mesa Planning Commission meeting
WHERE: Costa Mesa City Hall, 77 Fair Drive
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. April 9
INFO: (714) 754-5245
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.