Costa Mesa staff pushes Home Ranch adoption

James Meier

COSTA MESA -- What was the talk of the town before the Sept. 11

terrorist attacks may clear its first hurdle -- the Planning Commission

-- tonight.

The Home Ranch project would convert about 93 acres of the Segerstrom

family’s lima bean field off the San Diego Freeway into a mix of

single-family homes, office and industrial space and an Ikea furniture

store.

The city’s staff has recommended the commission approve the project

tonight and forward it to the City Council, but no matter the vote’s

outcome, the issue, and its offshoots, will be touchy.

At the commission’s last meeting, held Sept. 10, Chair Katrina Foley

limited the public comment to those who had yet to speak on the issue.

Presented over the last 20 years in many incarnations, the Home Ranch

project has long been a subject of debate. The commission has hosted

four public meetings regarding the latest project since August. At a

study session Sept. 4, Costa Mesa Citizens for Responsible Growth, an

opposition group, provided a counter presentation to that given by the

plan’s developer, C.J. Segerstrom & Sons. The group said the project will

hurt the city by increasing traffic and pollution and reducing the

overall quality of life.

The plan changed significantly in June when Segerstrom & Sons

representatives replaced the apartments proposed for the site with

single-family homes and townhomes.

If the council approves it, the project -- bordered by the San Diego

Freeway, Fairview Road, Harbor Boulevard and Sunflower Avenue -- would

host a 17-acre Ikea, 791,050 square feet of office space, 252,648 square

feet of industrial use and 192 homes.

A development deal negotiated with Segerstrom & Sons for the project

includes traffic mitigation projects, a sales tax revenue guarantee, an

educational fund, preservation of 1.5 acres to maintain the Segerstrom

family home and barn and possible funding for a new fire station.

One term of the development agreement calls for a $5 million sales tax

guarantee over five years. The city will have a specific yearly amount of

sales and use tax guaranteed, and if the retailer -- most likely Ikea --

does not hit that mark C.J. Segerstrom will cut a check for the rest.

The Segerstrom family announced Aug. 22 it will donate $2 million to

Costa Mesa high schools and middle schools if the city approves its

development deal for Home Ranch.

FYI

* WHAT: Costa Mesa Planning Commission meeting

* WHEN: 6:30 p.m. today

* WHERE: City Hall, 77 Fair Drive

* INFORMATION: (714) 754-5245

* JAMES MEIER is the assistant city editor and editorial page editor.