Condominium rules delayed until mid-August

The Costa Mesa planning commission will take a second pass at new, stricter rules for subdividing apartments and industrial parks in August. Earlier this year, the City Council put a moratorium on the subdivisions, which allow individual units to be sold as residential or industrial condominiums, because there aren’t any citywide standards.

The proposed standards would require residential condo subdivisions to meet the same standards as new construction, solving the problems of inadequate parking and open space. The commission decided to scrap a rule that would prevent subdivision of buildings more than 40 years old Monday, but it included a ban on industrial subdivisions on the city’s Westside.

After voting one by one on dozens of items, commissioners asked to have the whole list brought back Aug. 13 so they can check it over, chairman Donn Hall said.

“We did great in the past — the city grew wonderfully — but times change, so you have to update the standards,” Hall said.

— Alicia Robinson