Can it work on the Westside?

When Dee Burdett wants to get a cup of coffee, buy a pair of shoes or see a movie, she just has to walk out of her apartment and down the stairs.

Burdett lives in downtown Brea, an area that city officials had rebuilt and opened in 1999 as a mixed-use development that included stores and restaurants, two movie theaters, public parking, loft apartments and single-family homes.

Designed like a European village, the developments have sprung up all around Southern California in cities including Long Beach, Huntington Beach, and Anaheim, and they could be a model for the future of Costa Mesa’s Westside.

The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday will consider three plans that would encourage redevelopment of the Westside by allowing new kinds of living spaces such as artist lofts and “mixed-use” developments that combine commercial and residential uses.

While mixed-use projects in many cities have been driven by government through redevelopment agencies, Costa Mesa officials are proud of the fact that they’re not compelling any development, just offering new zoning and letting the private sector take over.

Costa Mesa has no specific projects on the table yet, but they’re likely to fit together to form a new Westside that caters to pedestrians, shoppers and families.

The businesses draw you in

In downtown Brea you can buy art, clothes, shoes and bath products. You can eat Chinese food, pizza and ice cream and grab a cup of coffee. You can catch a movie at one of two theaters, or see live entertainment at the Improv Comedy Club.

Businesses are the anchors of mixed use developments, drawing pedestrians to eat, shop and stroll, and offering amenities for people who live nearby.

On Birch Street in Brea, a row of shops is topped by two stories of loft apartments. Burdett lives in one of them and works down the street at the Improv.

“That’s absolutely a huge attraction,” she said of the businesses below her apartment. “I can easily run down and grab coffee in the morning. There’s two Starbucks to choose from?. I can spend a whole week at home and never drive once.”

The businesses in Brea are mainly chain stores ? Bath and Body Works, an Eddie Bauer outlet and Supercuts, for example ? but that’s not the case everywhere.

Plaza Almeria in downtown Huntington Beach houses only independent businesses, including several boutiques, a sushi restaurant and Jersey Joe’s, an Italian eatery known to be a favorite for political types on each side of the fence.

“We do a pretty strong business with the people who live here,” said restaurant owner Joe Carchio. “In a lot of ways, it’s their place.”

The second floor of Plaza Almeria contains 42 town homes, designed like a Mediterranean villa with earth-toned buildings, narrow walkways and a tiled common area with a fountain and ocean views.

The proximity to businesses is convenient for residents like Lisa Staggs, who shares one of the 1,800-square-foot units with her boyfriend and their 6-year-old son.

But Staggs said she’s seen a lot of businesses at the plaza come and go. Three sushi restaurants have gone through one Plaza Almeria space and the anchor restaurant Inka Grill recently closed its door after sales slowed.

There’s been some turnover of stores in the six years since Brea’s downtown development was built, but the spaces are almost always full, said Sylvia Bianchi, who works for an association of downtown property owners. At the moment only one store space out of about 40 is vacant.

Staggs said the most appealing part about living in downtown Huntington Beach was the number of community events that take place. Each year Staggs and her neighbors enjoy a balcony overlooking Main Street to watch the Fourth of July parade. The plaza’s proximity to the beach allow Staggs to walk to events like the U.S. Open of Surfing and Christmas on the Pier.

The Brea downtown owners’ association organizes live entertainment on weekends, including an annual jazz festival and car show. Weekends are quite busy ? Bianchi said about 100,000 people visit the movie theaters’ 22 screens each month.

“The goal was to have a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week downtown. That’s kind of the latest trend,” she said. “Having people live downtown and work downtown makes it lively.”

They have their ups and downs

Plenty of people come from elsewhere to sample the dining and entertainment in Brea and Huntington Beach. But living in the midst of a mixed use development has its own attractions ? and annoyances.

Pam Oborn loves it. She and her husband, Jim, live in one of the Ash Street Cottages, a development of 96 single-family homes that’s just a block away from Birch Street and was built at the same time as some of Brea’s downtown improvements.

The Oborns bought their 1,630-square-foot home, sight unseen, because they liked the city and the mixed-use project. That was about 10 years ago, and today they have no complaints.

“You don’t have to get in your car and fight the freeways,” said Jim Oborn, who recently retired.

“Even our friends come from other cities on the weekends and have dinner and go to the movies,” Pam added.

But living in an area that’s constantly active has its frustrations.

Parking can be tough, especially on weekends, and people learn to shut their windows.

“Instead of maybe the neighbor’s dog barking or a guy starting his motorcycle up at 5:30 in the morning, we live across from an alleyway and there’s Cost Plus trucks pulling up,” Burdett said.

“If you did fall asleep with your windows open, you will get up and close them, because it sounds like the truck just pulled into your living room.”

Grocery shopping can also be a pain, and it’s always a hassle to explain to the carpet cleaners or housekeepers how to get into the place.

“You take for granted what it’s like to have a house and a driveway and a front door,” Staggs said.

It also gets a little cramped in the space, especially with a boyfriend, a child and a puppy.

“I wouldn’t say this is a place to plan a big family,” she said.dpt.03-lofts-2-CPhotoInfoP41PIN9G20060403ix4bfjknJim and Pam Oborn sit in front of their home in the Brea Cottages. The couple moved to the development 10 years ago because they liked the convenience of having shops and restaurants nearby. PHOTOS BY KENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOTdpt.03-lofts-1-CPhotoInfoP41PIN9E20060403ix4bf2kn(LA)A large clock adorns apartments above shops on West Birch Street in Brea. The redeveloped area is an example of a mixed-use development that could be built on Costa Mesa’s Westside. dpt.03-lofts-3-BPhotoInfoP41PINQR20060403ix4bfzknFountains and palm trees grace a corner along West Birch Street in Brea. dpt.03-lofts-4-BPhotoInfoP41PINQO20060403ix4bghkn(LA)West Birch Street in Brea is an example of a mixed-use development that could be built on Costa Mesa’s Westside. Apartments rise above shops lining the street, while a clock from 1920 preserves some of the redeveloped area’s history.