Council rejects Eastside overlay

Deirdre Newman

The City Council on Monday voted against a zoning overlay that would

have restricted home remodels in an Eastside neighborhood.

That item was one of three the council planned to consider Monday

night that would affect the process and the time it takes for

residents to add on to their homes: The others were changes to the

residential design guidelines; and changes to the zoning code that

affect residential development standards and review procedures.

The goal is to make the process easier and faster.

As of press time, the council had not voted on the other items.

The council originally directed the Planning Commission to

simplify the standards and requirements homeowners must abide by in

building on their properties. The existing process has resulted in a

slew of appeals, and the council wanted to make it less subjective.

The council voted 3 to 2 against the overlay based on the

recommendation of the Planning Commission. Councilman Chris Steel and

Councilwoman Libby Cowan dissented.

“I do believe this area has a lot of character,” Mayor Gary

Monahan said. “But I believe the [overlay] will destroy it because it

will take out of the hands of architects and property owners the

ability to build the best house they can.”

The area that was considered for the overlay zone is roughly

bounded by East 19th Street to the north, Irvine Avenue to the east,

East 18th Street to the south and Tustin Avenue to the west. The

tract was established in the late 1940s with four 20-foot wide alleys

providing access to the rear of each lot. Historically, the model of

development is a single-story house in the front of the lot with a

single-story garage to the rear, off the alley.

A group of residents in the tract proposed limiting new

construction in the rear 40% of lots to only one-story structures

that are no taller than 14 feet with vertical walls that do not

exceed 9 feet in height. The intent was mainly to prevent the

“oppression” of neighboring properties. Staff suggested three other

options, two of them that would establish setback requirements

greater than what is now on the books.

Seventeen people spoke on the overlay issue. The majority of them

were against the overlay in this residential area.

“Our community is diverse in its homes and people,” Steven Dewan

said. “This [overlay proposal] is ill-conceived in limiting our

property and our rights.

“Let us keep the ability to reflect what we can do with our

dreams, not with someone else’s dreams,” he said.

Proponents of the overlay argued that their area deserved

protection.

“The city of Costa Mesa has recognized the importance of open

space and privacy,” Michael Hutchinson said. “Setbacks protect you

not only from the house to the rear, but from the second-story

additions of homes on the sides.”

The second issue involved changes to the residential design

guidelines. One of the most controversial aspects of the changes

involved establishing view preservation guidelines.

The Planning Commission suggested two components for view

preservation guidelines. The first includes three guidelines to

reduce the negative effects of new second-story construction on views

from nearby properties in areas that have been identified as having

views worth protecting. These areas include bluff homes within the

Marina Highlands, Marina View, California Seabreeze and Freedom Homes

neighborhoods. The guidelines would not completely prevent a view

from being blocked.

The second component develops a process to require review and

approval by the zoning administrator of any second-story construction

in the identified view preservation areas.

Changes to the zoning code include establishing new thresholds for

determining the appropriate level of review and approval for new

residential construction and additions.

One of the major changes is the elimination of the notification

requirement for neighbors for certain residential remodels. The new

process would establish a threshold for floor-area ratio and a

percentage of second story over the first story. If this threshold

was met, planning department staff could approve a project without

notifying neighbors within 500 feet, as is now required.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.