Costa Mesa should welcome new residents The...

Costa Mesa should welcome new residents

The logic applied by Martin Millard, Mike Berry and Councilman

Allan Mansoor to the housing selection process by Habitat for

Humanity of Orange County disturbs me greatly. Where do my fellow

Costa Mesa residents draw the line?

Would they even have allowed me to purchase my Costa Mesa home?

After all, I was raised in neighboring Fountain Valley. Millard, am I

therefore one of the “social problems” that has been dumped upon

Costa Mesa by virtue of my city of origin, or am I acceptable to you

because I was above the Orange County poverty line when I moved here?

The Habitat for Humanity homes in Costa Mesa represent a small

percentage of all homes built by Habitat for Humanity Orange County

to date. If a Costa Mesa family wants to apply for one of the 45

existing homes in Rancho Santa Margarita, should Habitat for Humanity

turn them away? Regardless of where they’re originally from, Habitat

for Humanity homeowners contribute to Costa Mesa’s tax base and

patronize its businesses just like those gentlemen who were

interviewed for Deirdre Newman’s article.

How about other ways to apply “Costa Mesa first”? If a woman in

Placentia loses her hair while being treated for breast cancer,

should the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, located in Costa

Mesa, refuse to loan her a wig? Should the shops and restaurants of

South Coast Plaza be prohibited from providing their services to

anyone without a Costa Mesa address? What about Costa Mesa churches?

Should they begin reserving Costa Mesa-only pews?

This same type of thinking can then easily be used against Costa

Mesa residents. Should Orangewood Children’s Home turn away abused

children from Costa Mesa? Will Costa Mesa high schoolers be denied

admission to USC? And please, don’t take your kids to Disneyland

without a valid Anaheim ID -- they won’t be admitted.

Yes, these examples are ridiculous, but so is the rationale for

castigating Habitat for Humanity Orange County for following the

regulations by which they are bound. Costa Mesa already has a program

in place that is restricted to its residents. If the Homebuyer

Assistance Program is not adequate to meet the needs of the citizens

of Costa Mesa, Mansoor is in an excellent position to improve it. If

he is truly committed to this goal, then I’m sure we will soon hear

about his constructive recommendations. In the meantime, let’s all

thank Habitat for Humanity for its 15 years of service to Orange

County and the hundreds of families it has helped during that time,

including those now living in our beautiful city.

URSULA BOHEN

Costa Mesa

* EDITOR’S NOTE: Ursula Bohen is a volunteer at Habitat for

Humanity Orange County.

Bell has found his voice in matters of horse manure

Congratulations to Joseph Bell for the dramatic improvement in the

quality of content in his column, “No monopoly on horse manure.” The

horse issue in Santa Ana Heights sure beats the liberal political

views of Barbara Boxer. Although I do sense some commonality.

THOMAS E. KOLANOSKI

Costa Mesa