Car enthusiasts rev speeches for council meeting

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- A group of self-proclaimed “local gear heads” plan to

storm City Council chambers tonight to persuade city leaders to loosen

the existing laws regarding inoperable vehicles.

The Costa Mesa Cruisers, a group of car enthusiasts and hobbyists,

have launched a citywide campaign -- which includes peppering local

establishments with fliers, taking out ads in the Daily Pilot and forming

a Web site -- designed to motivate the public to encourage the council to

change the current codes regarding cars that cannot be driven.

“The City Council has graciously suggested relaxing these draconian

restrictions and has asked to hear from the public,” reads the Cruisers’

Web site that calls for car enthusiasts to make their voice heard at the

meeting. “Keep this in mind when making your statements: this is not a

threat, it is an opportunity.”

The Cruisers’ site also asks speakers to “be polite” when speaking to

council members.

The manner-promoting group has already won the favor of Councilman

Gary Monahan, who supports lesser restrictions of inoperable vehicles.

The councilman, who has a paved section of his side yard -- shielded by a

fence -- where he used to house a couple of race cars, said the existing

codes that regulate storage of a car in the backyard are far too

intrusive.

“Whether [a car] is in good shape or bad condition, if it’s in my

backyard, it can’t be hurting anybody,” Monahan said. “My backyard is my

business.”

Before the summer of 2000, city codes allowed residents to store cars

that didn’t run on a driveway leading to a garage -- provided it was

covered with an acceptable cover -- or in a yard area that was screened

by a six-foot high wall or fence, a staff report states.

New codes passed in 2000 banned those options and made it legal to

store an inoperable vehicle only in a garage or another enclosed

building.

When minor revisions to other parts of the same property maintenance

code came before the City Council in March 2002, Monahan asked the

Planning Commission to review the law and consider lessening the

restrictions.

In May, planning commissioners voted unanimously to uphold existing

property maintenance requirements, which mandate that inoperable vehicles

be stored in an “enclosed building” -- most likely a garage. Planning

Commission Chairwoman Katrina Foley said she was responding to community

feedback that junky, inoperable cars make horrible eyesores and drive

down the appearance of the neighborhood.

Sandi Benson, chief of code enforcement, has said inoperative cars can

be an eyesore and are the basis of many complaints to her department.

Cars that have sat in a driveway for a long time, have flat tires,

cobwebs or are up on blocks contribute to blight in the community, she

said.

Benson also defended the backyard enforcement provision, saying if a

car can be seen from a second-story window, it is technically in public

view.

Monahan agrees that junky cars sitting in driveways are ugly but

argues an ordinance can be written to specifically target those cars and

not punish car enthusiasts who have project cars, which may or may not

run.

An inoperative vehicle is defined as “mechanically incapable of being

driven” or prohibited from being operated on a public street for reasons

relating to expired license plates, registration or equipment, according

to a staff report.

FYI

What: Costa Mesa City Council meeting

When: 6:30 p.m. today

Where: City Hall, 77 Fair Drive

Information: (714) 754-5223

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

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