Here are some items the council will...

Here are some items the council will consider tonight:

EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE SUBSCRIPTION

Residents could face a yearly fee of about $36 or a much higher

bill each time they call the paramedics if the council backs a

proposal for an emergency-medical-service subscription program. Most

other Orange County cities have similar programs. The subscription

program would bring in money for the city’s general fund by offering

Costa Mesa residents voluntary subscriptions that would cover them

whenever they use the city’s emergency medical services.

Those who don’t subscribe or don’t live in Costa Mesa would be

charged a fee -- likely $300 -- each time they use the services; the

current charge for nonresidents using Costa Mesa’s medical aid is

either $185 or $295, depending on the services used.

The council is considering the program to offset the practice of

spending more money than the city takes in, but a decision was

delayed in January because of unanswered questions about the program.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Costa Mesa Fire Chief Jim Ellis supports the program, but it’s

unclear what the council will decide. One earlier concern was how to

prevent unduly burdening senior citizens with the fees, and Mayor

Allan Mansoor has said he prefers looking at budget cuts before

considering new taxes and fees.

PARKLAND IMPACT FEES

When new residential subdivisions are proposed, the city requires

developers to either set aside land for parks or pay a fee. The last

update to fees in 1998 set them at $5,481 for single-family homes and

$4,829 for multi-family homes. Since then, the area’s median home

prices have gone from $289,000 to $635,000.

If new parkland impact fees are calculated by the city’s existing

formula, the new fees would be $13,574 for single-family homes and

$13,829 for multi-family homes. While increasing the fees would help

the city acquire more parkland, a staff report on the fees points out

that because developers would likely pass the fees on to home buyers,

the fees could make home ownership harder to afford for some.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The fees are up for discussion, but the council has several

options and could decide to retain the current fees, increase the

fees at a lower rate or even reduce the required amount of parkland

per resident, which would also move the fees slightly higher.

WESTSIDE REVITALIZATION

City officials have worked for the last 30 years or so to spruce

up the Westside, and that effort has finally crystallized into a

redevelopment plan that most businesses and residents seem able to

live with.

The council tonight will decide whether to adopt the plan, which

includes zoning modifications to allow new homes and artists’ lofts;

beautification, such as landscaped medians and streetlights; and

police bicycle or foot patrols to increase safety.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The plan was passed on to the City Council by the city’s

Redevelopment Agency, which is the council acing under another name,

and Mansoor has said he likes many of the plan’s elements. The

council is likely to approve the redevelopment plan, though it may

get a few modifications.

-- Compiled by Alicia Robinson