Costa Mesa condo plan is not OK

Rutter Development plans to build 161 stacked condominiums at 1901

Plaza Newport. Some say this is OK, since “we have to do something

with the land.” Well, we are. It’s the required parking lot for the

offices, special events facility, and proposed nightclub at 1901

Newport. Now, instead, a five-story parking structure will be needed.

Even so, shouldn’t we look at spaces like this for much-needed

housing? Maybe it’s OK to build on sites like parking lots in

built-out areas so we can save pristine land elsewhere. But at more

than 44 units per acre? That’s even higher than the general plan

maximum by South Coast Plaza and many times the four to six units per

acre in most single-family neighborhoods. If such high density is

deemed OK in the middle of Costa Mesa, shouldn’t that be part of a

larger discussion about our city’s future?

We, the residents, may decide that even densities approaching 50

units per acre are OK in certain areas, considering long term needs.

But without standards?

The proposed condos will be 50 feet tall, casting shadows over the

surrounding area. City studies show that, during winter, the fronts

of the single family homes along Bernard Street will be completely

shaded by the condos in the morning. By noon, shadows will recede

just barely to the curb, then move back across the front yards so

that they are completely shaded again by mid-afternoon. That’s not

OK, and it violates general plan policies prohibiting buildings over

30 feet if surrounding properties suffer impacts.

Further, the project won’t provide the normally required parking

in an area already short of parking. Residents of the houses across

Bernard Street will probably end up with cars parking in their

neighborhood. That’s not OK, either.

Some have said this doesn’t matter. It’s OK to degrade the

neighborhood this way, since just a few people are affected.

Well, it’s not OK. If it’s OK to wreck the Bernard Street

neighborhood today, it will be OK to wreck another neighborhood

tomorrow -- maybe even yours.

* EDITOR’S NOTE: Sandra Genis is a former mayor of Costa Mesa.