City approves two-story plan in Mesa North

Lolita Harper

Mayor Linda Dixon arguably would have been better suited to

preside over Monday night’s appeal of a proposed two-story addition

to a Mesa North home if she were issued a whistle instead of a gavel.

The issue at hand -- a request for a second-story addition to an

existing seven-bedroom house that is home to several adopted disabled

children -- brought various emotions to the forefront, none of which

were relevant to a land-use discussion, Dixon constantly reminded

people.

The proposed development, which called for a 950-square-foot

second-story addition to a Madison Avenue home, was ultimately

approved but not before Dixon received sufficient referee training.

Dixon was forced to curb, and at times bluntly cut off, those who

insisted on speaking about the fact that the homeowner, Greta

Anderson-Davis, runs a “family care” business out of her Mesa North

home and boards two developmentally disabled children under that

license. Seven other children in the home are the adopted children of

Anderson-Davis and her husband.

Most of the mayor’s umpiring efforts were spent on fellow

Councilman Chris Steel, who appealed the Planning Commission’s

approval of the project and subsequently brought the issue before the

council on Monday.

Steel argued that his council colleagues would be misadvised to

vote with their heartstrings instead of logic. He spoke briefly about

the size of the resulting home and the character of the neighborhood,

but then began down a path that Dixon was determined to keep him off.

“The issue here is not about large families or adoption,” Steel

said of the home. “It’s not about disabled or retarded children ...

but in essence, this is a group home.”

He went on to say that while Anderson-Davis is clearly in

compliance with all applicable state laws regarding her business, he

said the fact that nine, non-biological children are housed there

violates “the spirit of the law.”

Dixon abruptly stopped him and reminded him the council was there

only to hear facts regarding applicable city building codes and

whether the proposed construction adheres to them.

“We are here to talk about land use, not day care,” Dixon said,

just before being interrupted with applause.

Dixon then had to halt her own speech to let audience members know

that clapping, whistling or hooting was inappropriate. Then her

attention was diverted back to Steel, who had already began a

discussion focusing on the First Amendment.

“I understand that you are trying to restrict freedom of speech,

but there is more at stake here than just land use,” he said.

“Let’s just stick to the land use,” Dixon countered and proceeded

with public comment.

And so the council heard the pros and cons of a project that

proposed the addition of a master bedroom suite and a bonus room,

resulting in a 3,982-square-foot home. A project that garnered the

approval of City Zoning Administrator Perry Valantine, but was

appealed by residents and sent to the Planning Commission. Planning

commissioners heard the issue and unanimously approved the

construction, though Steel appealed their decision.

That brought the matter to Monday’s City Council meeting where

about 20 people spoke, with those opposed outnumbering supporters by

four.

Neighbor Christina Christiansen said the proposed development was

out of character with the neighborhood because the resulting house

would practically double the square footage and total bedrooms of the

average Mesa North home. She compared Anderson-Davis’ proposed

addition to recent projects that were ultimately denied by either the

council or the Planning Commission. She argued that the same issues

with compatibility and harmony applied in this case.

Like Christiansen, most speakers stayed on the “land-use” path and

avoided comments about the children or the business.

But many voiced disapproval about being hushed on issues they felt

were entirely relevant to the discussion.

Anderson-Davis was happy to leave her children out of it and ran

down a laundry list of facts about her proposed construction that she

said were perfectly in line with city codes. The simple fact of the

matter is that her proposed plans are compatible with the area, are

non-intrusive and have garnered the approval of six city officials,

ranging from a high-ranking city planner to all five planning

commissioners, she said.

The final council vote was 3 to 1, with Steel dissenting.

Councilwoman Karen Robinson was absent from the first half of the

meeting.

Councilman Gary Monahan said he was happy with Dixon’s leadership

at the meeting and thanked her for “keeping it on track.”

What Anderson-Davis does for developmentally disabled children is

wonderful but when it boils down to it, the requested addition falls

perfectly in line with all applicable city development requirements,

he said.

* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

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