Fillips may be costly, effective

Alicia Robinson

A pilot program encouraging homeowners to remodel could mean that the

city of Costa Mesa will sacrifice more than $58,000 in fees over

three months. But officials expect it to significantly boost the

city’s real estate values.

After agreeing in March to an ambitious slate of plans to remake

the city’s largely industrial Westside, the Costa Mesa City Council

is turning its attention to residential neighborhoods. The council on

Tuesday will consider a program that would waive various construction

permit fees, accelerate the remodeling plan approval process, and

exempt illegally built improvements from a penalty.

The program, modeled on one the city of Anaheim offered in 2004,

would run from Memorial Day to Labor Day in 2006. Councilman Eric

Bever, a longtime proponent of Westside improvements, suggested the

remodeling incentives because the council has addressed commercial

and industrial areas and apartments but not single-family homes, he

said.

Anaheim’s program, which offered no-cost building permits for 100

days, was a big success, Bever said.

“It inspired a lot of people to put in that new fence they’ve been

wanting to do or add a room,” Bever said. “It’s just a way of giving

people a little bit more opportunity than they have right now to take

advantage of low interest rates.”

It will be the first time Costa Mesa has tried a program of this

type. On additions, the city wouldn’t receive fees of about $870 to

$1,200 per house, with a total of at least $58,000 if residential

improvements stay at current levels.

But forgoing that, income could reap the city a bushel of new

investment into residential real estate. In Anaheim during the

100-day program, the city waived about $770,000 in fees, and

residents made improvements to the tune of more than $28 million,

said John Nicoletti, a spokesman for the city of Anaheim.

Bever said he’ll factor in the potential revenue loss when he

considers the program.

But to Costa Mesa Councilman Gary Monahan, the money isn’t what’s

important. The purpose of the building code is safety, and waiving

remodeling fees could encourage people to bring their homes up to

current standards, he said.

Monahan had spearheaded efforts to streamline the permit process

for home remodeling and began remodeling his own house in 2004. An

incentive program to encourage homeowners to upgrade will work in

concert with the city’s other improvement efforts, he said.

“I think it’s just one more small piece of the big puzzle,” he

said.

Council members will discuss the program Tuesday. If they like it,

they’ll vote in August on whether to launch it in 2006 with a

possible shorter trial period this year.