Council members overrule planners

Lolita Harper

The City Council approved a large remodeling project on the

Westside Monday night, saying it was a beautifully designed home that

would improve a distinctively-zoned area.

Council members reversed the Planning Commission’s denial by a 3

to 2 vote, with Councilmen Allan Mansoor and Chris Steel dissenting

because they said the house was too massive.

“The [former transitional zone] is where this property is and

businesses were permitted there until we changed it recently,” Mayor

Karen Robinson said. “That makes this project very different from

Mesa north or College Park or other traditional [low density]

residential neighborhoods in this city.”

Homeowner Alex Hernandez proposed a second-story addition to his

Westside home, which is one of 10 homes on 19th Street that is

allowed to house a business, according to city code. Recent changes

to this small area, once called the “19th Street Transitional Overlay

Zone,” have turned a normally routine home remodel into a test of a

contentious council zoning decision.

Under the new zoning -- which reverts the area back to its low

density zoning in an attempt to revive the residential feel --

expansion of any home-operated business in that specific area is

prohibited. However, a purely residential home addition would be

permitted, according to city codes.

The second-story addition is not for his business, Hernandez said,

but to make more space for his family. Under his proposal, the space

designated for his business was actually decreased to make room for

more livable space, he said. Hernandez said he simply wanted to

maintain the current size of his business, while improving his home

and the surrounding neighborhood.

In the same light, he was unbending in the fact that his business

is an integral, and legal, part of the project and he refused to

delete a separate entrance to the office area from his plans. He also

refused to change the title to designate a purely residential use of

his home, saying he bought the property because of its dual

functionality.

“I am not going to sign off on anything that will... effectively

take my business out of the house,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez’s initial proposal was denied by city Zoning

Administrator Perry Valantine and then appealed to the Planning

Commission at the request of Councilman Gary Monahan.

Planning Commission Chair Katrina Foley, who was characterized

during election season by Monahan as being opposed to second-story

additions, was the lone supporter of the two-story remodeling project

and said she viewed it as an attempt by Hernandez to build his dream

house.

Her colleagues did not agree and Hernandez was denied his request.

Monahan appealed the decision again and brought it before the City

Council, which enacted the zoning change that has muddied the waters.

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 in early June 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.

Since the council’s unanimous vote to return the former “19th

Street Transitional Overlay 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 have said.

City Manager Alan 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 remodel his 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,

officials said.

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

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