Final tract map approved for El Camino project

Plans for a 24-lot housing development where the closed El Camino Shopping Center now stands can finally move ahead, with the Costa Mesa City Council’s approval Tuesday of the final tract map for the project.

The center closed in 2006, after years of complaints about its condition and a shooting death at a bar there in late 2005. It’s taken about a year and a half to finalize the housing plans because the map is a legal document that has to be very precise, Costa Mesa public services director Bill Morris said.

Residents in nearby Mesa del Mar will be happy to see progress, because the closed shopping center attracted loiterers, trash and graffiti.

— Alicia Robinson