Home Ranch project wins City Council approval

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- After 19 years and three incarnations, the Home Ranch

project received a surprisingly favorable endorsement from the City

Council on Monday.

After three hours of public comments and discussion, council members

approved by a 4-1 vote five of the six components of plans to develop the

city’s final 93 acres of developable land. Councilwoman Karen Robinson

objected.

The council approved the environmental report, general and specific

plan amendments, rezoning of the site, the Ikea master plan and the

development agreement. In the vote on the development agreement,

Councilman Chris Steel joined Robinson in opposition.

To those who witnessed the many council hearings on the issue,

Councilwoman Linda Dixon appeared to be the swing vote. At the meeting,

she came out firmly in favor of the development.

“After months of listening and studying and talking to members of the

community, I believe this is a quality project that will be good for all

of Costa Mesa,” she said.

Dixon’s comments and suggestions throughout the hearings were taken to

heart by the developers, as they fulfilled -- or tried their best to

fulfill -- all the councilwoman’s recommendations. Segerstrom spokesman

Paul Freeman even buckled to a strong-arm demand for a 15-year

development agreement after Dixon reiterated her disappointment in the

20-year proposal.

Dixon’s support, however, became less essential after Steel came out

in favor of the project. He said he recognized it was a dangerous

political move, considering most of his supporters oppose the project.

Yet, he said he believes the development is good for the city.

“I accept the wrath of the everybody,” Steel said.

Those who oppose the project were visibly disappointed, and some even

walked out before the council had voted on all the components.

Robinson did her best to assuage the concerns of some residents,

saying she will continue to try to protect the quality of life of Costa

Mesans, which was her main platform during her campaign last year.

“I got up here somehow and have to believe that the majority of the

community thinks this is the wrong project at the wrong time,” she said.

The Planning Commission unanimously approved the project’s

environmental report, a rezone petition, an amendment to the city’s

master plan and a specific plan amendment in September. The lone item

without unanimous support was the amendment to the general plan, which

Commissioner Bruce Garlich opposed.

Since then, council members have negotiated a few more perks in the

development agreement.

Under the approved development agreement, C.J. Segerstrom & Sons

agrees to contribute $250,000 for a new stadium and aquatic center at

Costa Mesa High School. City officials also were successful in locking in

2001 land values for property owned by the Segerstroms that the city may

be forced to buy in the future to widen roads, as suggested by Dixon.

Council members also were assured that public art would be displayed

at Ikea and day care for the employees of the furniture store would be

provided. The company also agreed to give $200,000 for the relocation of

the Huscroft House, a 1950s Craftsman-style home the city has considered

restoring for its historic value and to open to the public.

In addition, the Segerstrom firm will pay the $2 million it promised

to schools in the city in a lump sum, as requested by the Planning

Commission, rather than in payments over five years.

Plans for the Home Ranch site -- bordered by the San Diego Freeway,

Fairview Road, Harbor Boulevard and Sunflower Avenue -- call for a

308,000-square-foot Ikea store, 791,050 square feet of office space,

252,648 square feet of industrial use and 192 homes.

After nearly two decades of pitching various proposals to the city

regarding Home Ranch, C.J. Segerstrom & Sons finds itself in a familiar

position.

Plans for previous Home Ranch designs have garnered the approval of

the City Council but found themselves stalled because of a court ruling

in favor of the project’s opponents.

Sandra Genis, a former city mayor and opponent of all three Home Ranch

proposals, confirmed she has been gathering various documents about the

project for a possible lawsuit. Former Councilman Jay Humphrey made a

subtle threat to the council, saying he had more than enough signatures

on a petition opposing the Home Ranch project to spark a referendum.

City officials are also prepared for a lawsuit. A section of the

development agreement requires the Segerstroms to pay for all or part of

the cost to defend the project in case of legal action. How much the

developers will pay is subject to who the city hires to defend it, the

agreement states.

“We’re not done,” project opponent Robin Leffler said.

-- Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 lolita.harper@latimes.comf7 .