A closer look -- Zoning changes muddy water for some

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- The “transitional zoning” of a small, residential

portion of West 19th Street may have been lifted, but the fog that

surrounds the issue is still very thick.

Since the City Council voted unanimously this month to return the area

formally known as the “19th Street Transitional Zone” to a purely

residential neighborhood -- blocking the opening of any business that is

not already established -- more questions about code enforcement and

property values and rights have been raised, officials said.

City Manager Allan Roeder said the council’s action prompted a series

of questions from the Planning Department, Planning Commissioners and

residents about the enforcement of the detailed provisions that govern

the newly residential area.

“Is this [issue] a little muddled?” Roeder said. “The answer is yes.”

Preparing for a bridge

In 1965, a portion of West 19th Street was designated a “transitional

area” in the anticipation of a 19th Street bridge over the Santa Ana

River. At that time, city officials said the bridge would require a

gradual change in the existing properties from low-density residential to

commercial use, a staff report says.

The area maintained its residential zoning but an additional

“transitional layer” was created to allow businesses to be run from the

properties. The transitional area runs from 854 to 1014 W. 19th St. --

even numbered properties only -- and 1903 Federal Ave.

Council members voted to return the residential feel to the street now

that the city is in the process of removing the bridge from official

plans. An added provision of the zone change allows the 10 existing

businesses in the 31-property area to continue operating indefinitely but

bars them from expanding the business or selling their house for a

different commercial use.

And at that point, the fog is rolling in.

Roeder said members of the Planning Department started scrutinizing

details of the zoning change the day after the council’s vote. What would

happen if a property owner, who also happens to run a business from his

home, wanted to add a den to the house? He would have the right to do so

under a purely residential zone, but would be prohibited from using the

den for business purposes, Roeder said.

“Once the den is built, how would we know that he is using it in

accordance to the zoning?” Roeder asked. “It is not a nice, clean, easy

delineation.”

Skirting the law

Planning Commissioner Eleanor Egan raised more concerns regarding code

enforcement in the area. During public comment at the last City Council

meeting on June 3, Egan said she suspected various regulations in the

transitional zone were widely violated.

For example, Egan said Friday, it appears that some property owners

have chosen to convert the garage area into living space or additional

work space for the business. Under existing property maintenance codes,

single-family homes are required to have a garage, Egan said.

Although the area allows for commercial operation, it still carries

nearly all the same regulations as any other low-density residential

zone, Egan said. Furthermore, many businesses have turned what should be

a front yard into a parking lot, she said.

“These places are supposed to look like homes and be used as homes;

they are not supposed to be full-fledged businesses,” Egan said.

Sandi Benson, the city’s chief of code enforcement, said her officers

have found and cited some of the properties for converting the garage to

living space and renting it out as an apartment. One investigation even

found a property owner renting out a recreational vehicle, she said.

Officers have concentrated on enforcing property maintenance codes,

Benson said. Benson said her department will start to monitor the

existing businesses to make sure they don’t change or expand.

Egan said she was also under the assumption that the owner of the

business was mandated to live in the home and suggested the issue be

researched.

Don Lamm, the city director of development, said the city had never

been concerned with that issue and conceded it would be extremely hard to

enforce. City government is not intended to be aware of every aspect of

people’s daily operations.

“People need to realize that we are reactive and try to stay out of

people’s lives,” Lamm said.

As city officials examine the affects of the zoning change, business

owners of the area are formulating their own questions.

A subtle reason for change?

Nori Bunasawa, owner of the Judo Journal at 880 W. 19th St., has

consistently questioned the real reason behind the sudden need for a

zoning change on 19th Street. Bunasawa suspects a financial motivation

linked to the upcoming redevelopment of the Westside.

Bunasawa said he believes the city is trying to devalue the properties

to make the possibility of eminent domain -- the city’s right to purchase

properties in a defined redevelopment area at market value -- less

costly.

To be able to buy into that theory, it must be proven that the

properties are actually worth less as a result of the zoning change,

Roeder said. Only an appraisal of the property can determine that, the

city manager said.

Property owner W.D. Heidorn, who does not own a business in the area,

said the zoning change protected business owners from losing money on

their land but not him. He said he bought his parcel on West 19th because

it had the potential to house a business. Heidorn has now lost the right

to open a business and therefore the property is worth less.

Roeder disagreed. Appraisals are based on the current use of the

property, not its potential. Properties that do not have businesses have

not been developed or utilized to their full value, Roeder said.

“If the owners choose not to exercise that option, is it the city’s

responsibility to compensate them for a business decision they did not

make?”

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

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