Community Commentary -- Rick Rodgers

First, the City Council talks about larger size lots and increased

regulations when adding onto a home.

Next, some council members talk about increased affordable housing and

encouraging or basically forcing new developers to build and sell cheaper

homes.

Now compare: How can you have larger size lots and homes with cheaper

more affordable prices? Answer, you can’t. I dare you to find a single

developer who is going to build larger homes for affordable prices. And

who decides what is affordable? Is Mayor Libby Cowan the one who is going

to decide what defines an affordable house?

Everyone says they want to improve the Westside of Costa Mesa. If you

really think building affordable housing is going to improve the

neighborhoods and schools, think again. Affordable housing will do just

the opposite.

I have known quite a few people who purchased new affordable homes in

the cities of Moreno Valley, Palmdale and Riverside. But do you know who

else saw advertisements for affordable housing in those cities? I will

tell you. Gang members from Los Angeles have seen those advertisements as

well. And guess what? The gang members and their families decided to move

into those nice affordable homes. All of my friends have since taken a

loss on the purchase of their homes and moved.

What’s next? Before I sell my house, am I going to be required to come

before the council and ask you if I am selling my house for an

appropriate price? I don’t think so. The last time I looked, we still

lived in the United States. The land of the free.

You can tell developers that lot and home sizes have to be a certain

size, but you have absolutely no right to demand that a particular home

be sold for a particular price.

What do we live in? Communist China? I don’t think so.

Every day, this council is becoming more and more liberal and more and

more out of touch with the majority Costa Mesa citizen opinion.

RICK RODGERS

Costa Mesa