We agree: half-acre doesn’t fit 5 homes

We took a lot of heat from Costa Mesa planning commissioners after

our Aug. 15 editorial criticized the commission and the City Council

for rejecting, respectively, a couple of two-story home projects

within a one-week span. Despite taking our lumps, we’re standing our

ground on that position.

But we do applaud the council’s latest decision -- one the

Planning Commission and city planners also made -- to reject a

resident’s request to build five single-family homes on a half-acre

Eastside lot. Why? One just can’t squeeze five homes onto that small

of a space.

The city’s leaders and planners also had new zoning requirements

passed July 1 to support their decisions. The tightened zoning allows

developers with special circumstances, such as an unusual lot shape

or size, to be exempted and to be able to create such a project on a

one-acre lot. The lot at 258 Santa Isabel Ave. fell nowhere near that

category.

The project also failed to meet another requirement: The

individual portions must be built on a minimum of 5,000 square feet

for small-lot divisions. The Santa Isabel owner proposed

3,410-square-feet parcels.

“We need to send a strong message that we are committed to

upholding the integrity of [low-density] residential neighborhoods,”

Mayor Linda Dixon said.

We agree, but only when the city’s laws support such decisions.

When a new proposal for the Santa Isabel property comes before the

Planning Commission and City Council, we hope the property owner

arrives with a project that abides by the city’s guidelines it failed

to meet this month. We also hope those five-member panels will

recognize the effort and support the project if it warrants approval.

For, while the council and commission members have the right to their

own opinions, property owners also have rights, and they should be

respected.