New compromise good for the city and homeowners

Costa Mesa residents have been given the runaround and forced to leap

hurdles for far too long because of the city’s generic home-expansion

rules.

But the City Council and city staff may have finally found a sound

solution that should appease those who want to expand their homes and

their neighbors who want to protect their privacy.

Put simply, the changes simplify the design standards so that

those who want to add a second-story addition that doesn’t exceed 50%

of the first-story floor area can do so without seeking permission

from the zoning administrator. They can instead gain permission from

the city’s planners. They also will only have to notify the immediate

neighbors of the plans.

Previously, many seeking the zoning administrator’s OK ended up

before the Planning Commission and, quite often, the City Council.

The new changes will make the process easier and quicker in many

cases.

Those projects that seek exceptions or are located in the Aviemore

Terrace/Glen Eagle Terrace neighborhood will have to notify more

homeowners in the neighborhood and, in many cases, will end up at a

Planning Commission meeting.

But all of these moves aid basic property rights. Homeowners who

wish to add onto their residences for either their growing families

or to send their home values upward should be able to do so. It’s

their right.

At the same time, if the homeowners ask for something beyond their

right -- an exception to the rules -- their neighbors’ rights, too,

are preserved.

The laws have been too friendly to the neighbors in the past and

have forced residents to reconsider expanding their homes for fear of

a drawn-out battle with their neighbors before the entire city at

public meetings. There’s no need for that.

All in all, the city, the Planning Commission and the City Council

have reached wise compromises that should appease many. At the very

least, even those who oppose the changes should applaud and welcome

their efforts to create a balance of rights on each side of the

fence.