City gets shorted in 1901 Newport deal

Let’s slow down a minute here.

Before the Costa Mesa City Council hands over $1.5 million and its

blessing to Rutter Development for its proposed 1901 Newport Blvd.

project we have to stop and ask: Why again?

Last week the council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, OKd a

modified proposal for the site that is slightly less dense than the

original plans -- which was twice what the city’s general plan allows

for. In exchange for this lower density the city has agreed to pay

the developer $1.5 million.

We’re wondering how this is best answer. It’s more the worst of

both worlds.

Now, perhaps the city has become a bit lawsuit shy after recent

troubles, but is handing over this amount of taxpayer money the

answer?

The city might be better off going with another developer.

Rutter appears to have little regard for Costa Mesa, apparently

satisfied asking residents to help pay for their project out of their

own pockets.

When planning the Home Ranch project, the Segerstrom family

offered $2 million to Costa Mesa schools and fronted millions in

roadwork projects not required by city development ordinances. They

bent over backward to get their projects approved, but did so in a

manner that made their respect for the city evident.

The Segerstroms’ attention to forming a symbiotic relationship

with the city is absent with Rutter Development.The 1901 Newport

project itself is far from a slam-dunk, as evidenced by the throng of

residents coming out against it at council meetings. A $1.5-million

subsidy is a lot to throw at a developer for a project that residents

don’t approve of even after modifications, and especially when the

developers are taking such an unneighborly, litigious approach.

We’ll likely find out this week, after 1901 Newport’s second

reading, whether the modified project is a go. Lawsuits are

expensive, especially when you lose, but making a $1.5 million deal at this stage sounds like too high of a price.