Redevelopment will create positive domino effect

Fellow citizens, you are only kidding yourselves if you think the

Westside of Costa Mesa will ever be redeveloped without the use of

eminent domain. It is the only way that we can clean up the Westside

and improve our city and our schools.

It is always the “anti-redevelopment” scare tactic to make people

think that they are going to lose their homes and/or businesses. Take

a good look around you. You know what properties will be targeted,

and it’s probably not you. Even if you were, the government protects

you with appraisals, relocation benefits, and plenty of time to find

another suitable location.

Why we have industrial properties on ocean view bluffs have

confused me for years. A mile south, they are million-dollar homes.

I’d rather have those in Costa Mesa than our existing storage

facilities or polluting industrial uses.

Upscale residential brings upscale retail projects and more sales

tax revenue for our city. These new homes will bring more

“high-achieving” students that will help increase our schools’ test

scores. Better test scores bring more families who want to live here.

The more families that want to live here, the more demand for

single-family housing. To make room for these homes, we’ll need to

replace our shabby apartment buildings with single family homes.

The city’s Redevelopment Agency then picks up more dollars from

the increase in taxes. Then, without the shabby apartments that house

multiple families, we won’t have a need for the abundance of

charities in the area. Without the magnet charities, less of the

downtrodden masses will come to Costa Mesa looking to be rescued.

Yikes, what have we done? We’re now more like Newport and

Huntington Beach.

It’s time to stop being Newport Beach’s ugly step sister and

dumping ground. Let’s clean up Costa Mesa.

This process has been done successfully all over California. Why

not here?

When are we going to wake up and do something about it?

TIM CROMWELL

Costa Mesa