Home-addition options must be kept open

First, let’s be clear.

We have no problem with city government striving to keep a balance

in Costa Mesa. We have no problem with it making sure that the

neighborhood ambience, the look and feel of the community is

consistent.

That’s the key word, though, consistent.

And that’s where we part ways with some recent Planning Commission

and City Council decisions to forbid homeowners from adding a second

story to a house.

It seems to us the idea that a homeowner can’t add a second story

is both unreasonable and inconsistent with the rest of the city.

Two-story homes are the norm throughout Costa Mesa -- from the

Eastside, to the Westside, to Mesa del Mar, to College Park and to

Mesa Verde. The common, consistent theme in all these neighborhoods

is that the two-story homes coexist right alongside single-story

homes.

It’s just the way it is and has been for years. In fact, it’s the

way it is and has been in probably every city in the great state of

California.

In the case of Aviemore Terrace, where a homeowner’s two-story

plans got shot down by the City Council, there is a two-story home on

that very street. Indeed the entire neighborhood is filled with

two-story homes.

Still, the Planning Commission just did the same thing Tuesday to

a homeowner from Mesa Verde, another neighborhood with many a

two-story home.

How can the council or Planning Commission arbitrarily decide any

homeowner can’t add another story to a home? How can these officials

deny this homeowner the very rights enjoyed by their fellow property

owners in Costa Mesa and countless other cities?

We suspect they can’t.

Families grow and families need space. To accommodate that lack of

space, they either build up or build out. Lacking a lot of square

footage on a property means in many cases going up is the best

option.

Now, we are in no way saying that architectural guidelines and

neighborhood character should be thrown out the two-story window.

In fact, we are strong advocates of that consistency and

preserving a neighborhood look and feel that all Costa Mesans can be

proud of. But those regulations need to be reasonable.

In Laguna Beach, that city has created a Design Review Board,

whose members are charged with approving plans submitted by

homeowners. With all the changes happening in Costa Mesa, with the

questions about the Eastside and losing that character, maybe a

Design Review Board for this town is long overdue.

In voting against the Aviemore Terrace addition, Councilman Gary

Monahan urged the homeowners to sue the city and test the laws

forbidding them to make these changes to their home.

We really think it shouldn’t have to go that far.

We urge city leaders to reverse these foggy decisions and, with

strict guidelines in place, grant this homeowner the same rights

enjoyed by others in this town.