HomeMy WebLinkAbout03 - - Public Comments - 2/23/2021Costa Mesa Affordable Housing Coalition
March 23, 2021
Mayor John Stephens and City Council Members
City of Costa Mesa
77 Fair Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Re: Our Public Comments for the Housing Element Study Session
Dear Mayor Stephens and City Council Members:
The Costa Mesa Affordable Housing Coalition (the Coalition) applauds the extensive
outreach efforts of city planning staff and the consultant in attempting to involve the
community in the 2021-2029 Housing Element update. The Coalition has been glad to
participate in many of these efforts and we appreciate the open minds and skillful listening
displayed on the part of the city's agents.
Given the huge RHNA numbers assigned to Costa Mesa in the new planning period, and our
community's desperate need for affordable housing, we urge the city to adopt in its Housing
Element Update bold policies aimed at ensuring affordable housing actually gets built
here. These are our major policy suggestions:
1. Adopt a highly effective inclusionary housing ordinance. The affordability requirement
must hit the sweet spot: It should be high enough that it will help the city meet its RHNA
numbers for low and very low income households, but not too high as to discourage
development. We believe an excellent model is the inclusionary ordinance which works so
well in Irvine. We note it is imperative the ordinance's in lieu fee is high enough to
encourage developers to include affordable units in their project, rather than opt for paying
the fee.
2. Amend Measure Y so it does not constrain the building of affordable housing.
Additionally, we urge the city to interpret Measure Y as written as exempting from the
"voter approval" requirement all developments which make at least 20% of their units
affordable to low and very low income households.
3. Create a specific plan for the 100-acre Fairview Developmental Center site. The plan
should allow densities of at least 60 units to the acre, with at least 20 percent of all units
affordable to low and very low income households. Also, lobby the Governor's office to
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get the state to either donate the property to the city for affordable housing development or
sell the property at a discount to nonprofit developers for that purpose.
4. Create new overlay zones with along major thoroughfares like Harbor Blvd. where
mixed use development can replace failing strip malls with vibrant new communities of
apartments, restaurants and small businesses, incorporating walking and bike trails. These
overlays should require at least 20% of the housing to be affordable for low and very low
income households.
5. Review and amend all specific plans and overlays in the city to include increased
densities of 60 units/acre and a requirement of at least 20% affordable units.
6. Create a housing trust fund to hold the in -lieu fees generated by our new inclusionary
ordinance, and prioritize in -lieu fees for use at the Fairview Developmental Center site/city-
owned sites/affordable housing in overlay zones.
7. Create a land trust to hold donated land.
Thank you for considering our input on this crucial planning document. We look forward to
partnering with you to increase affordable housing in Costa Mesa. Please let us know if you
have any questions.
Sincerely,
Kathy Esfahani, on behalf of the Costa Mesa Affordable Housing Coalition
cc: Mayor John Stephens and City Council Members
Cesar Covarrubias, Kennedy Commission
Richard Walker, Public Law Center
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From: GREEN, BRENDA
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2021 12:53 PM
To: BENNETT, STACY
Subject: FW: Comments for Tonight's Housing Study Session
Brenda Green
City Clerk
City of Costa Mesa
714/754-5221
Until further notice, Costa Mesa City Hall is closed to the public in keeping with Governor Newsom's direction regarding
COVID-19. The City leadership team is committed to continuing to provide essential city services and will be providing
services to the public online, via telephone and through our website in order to follow the Governor's guidance and
reduce the potential spread of COVID-19. In the interim, please call or email if you have any further questions.
E-mail correspondence with the City of Costa Mesa (and attachments, if any) may be subject to the California Public Records Act, and
as such may, therefore, be subject to public disclosure unless otherwise exempt under the act.
From: TOLER, RUSSELL
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2021 10:18 AM
To: GREEN, BRENDA <brenda.green@costamesaca.gov>
Subject: Comments for Tonight's Housing Study Session
Madam Mayor and Members of the
City Council,
Forgive
me - this letter is a little hurried and sloppy, but I wanted to get something in before the study session.
Also
- these are all my personal opinions and do not represent those of the Planning Commission.
r_�
we move forward with this Housing Element Update, I want to keep bringing up the topics for which there is no
outside pressure on us to think through. The State wants to make sure that we figure out where 11,700 units
could practically be built, but they are
not interested that buildout looks good or functions well. And that is not their job - it's ours. It will be easy for us
to get bogged down with only the required steps of this very technical process.
IMP
need to get ahead of this game and think hard about our vision for the city - what should it look, feel, and
function like in 30 years?
On
Open Space
The
idea of a TDR/PDR program is admittedly a far-fetched and half-baked idea. But the
point
is that we shouldn't be
looking at every last bit of unbuilt/unpaved land in the city with hungry eyes, trying to figure out how many
condos we can get carpeted onto it.
As
we grow, the more important it becomes that we all have access to open space - real open space. As we
urbanize, the more important it becomes that we all have easy access to
wildness.
https:Hwildcities.org/
Looking
though books on Costa Mesa's history, I've come across two passing mentions of a once -envisioned
"greenbelt" that arced from Banning Ranch across to the Back Bay. I love that idea. Maybe it's too late for the
greenbelt(?) But I hope that we can be doing everything
we can to at least the spirit
of that idea alive.
When
the countryside is far away, the city becomes a prison.
-Christopher Alexander
On
Housing Variety
A
mix of housing types is what makes neighborhoods interesting aesthetically, but also facilitates diversity. A
healthy neighborhood has a lot of old people, a lot of kids, and our vulnerable groups. It has a mix of building
types and unit sizes so that people
can start out, or upgrade, or downsize without having to move to a new neighborhood or city. These principles
are true across the spectrum, regardless of the density or intensity of neighborhoods - because they all
can be
beautiful and comfortable places. Antithetical to these ideas are the Taylor Morrisson and Meritage projects
we've allowed on W. 17th, which are virtually sealed -off oceans of driveways, sameness, and HOA fees (no
public open space either).
On
Compatibility.
We
need to figure out how to achieve better densities in contextually -sensitive ways so that we don't have to
"protect" (read: exempt) our less -intense neighborhoods from taking some of this on. We
can
figure out ways to make
missing middle housing and gentle density work well in the these places, and we can
figure out how to make
these transition well to streets that are a click up in intensity where you might see a few sixplexes or a some
neighborhood -scale services like a coffee shop or market. Charles Marohn has a two -fold principle that I think
we would be wise to keep in mind
as we move forward:
1. No neighborhood can be exempt
from change.
2. No neighborhood should experience
sudden, radical change.
Housing
our Commercial Corridors
Our
city currently lacks decent design controls that would ensure that this is done well. For example, see the two
most recent housing projects on Harbor Blvd: the NW corner of Harbor and Merrimac, and the SW corner of
Harbor and Hamilton. Both contain single-family
homes (already a problem!) behind sound walls. They are fortressed in from the bleak streets that they sit on
and contribute nothing to the quality of the public realm. While our arterials have true potential to be great
places, we seem fixed on lining them
with walls, imitating our north Orange County neighbors. When you wall off a street, it becomes bleak: no sign
of life, no beauty, no activity, and faster driving. This creates a positive feedback look where walls go up to seal
off residents from the grim
street, and then the street gets that much grimmer. It's no way to build a city. We need to get our development
code right before we start making a bigger mess of things. (See also 580 Anton with the first two stories
dedicated to parking, creating a dead
ground floor and contributing nothing to the public realm).
On
our Vision for Housing
Generally,
I hope that we can prioritize the densification of what we've already got, rather than sprawling into the
remaining open spaces. We are lucky to have many "centers" in town: W 19th, E 17th, SoBeca, Harbor and
Adams, Harbor & 19th (see figure CD-4 in the General
Plan). We should focus on concentrating our growth around these amenity -rich, walkable centers while also
allowing context -sensitive inf ill into our existing neighborhoods. Lastly, with all new housing, the street matters
most — front doors, big windows, small
gardens, transitional space that fosters comfortable interaction within the community and a sense of ownership
of the public realm. Trees are everywhere.
Thanks for reading!
Russell Toler
From: George Atalla <george.atalla@outlook.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2021 11:19 AM
To: CITY CLERK
Subject: Public Comment - March 23rd Study Session, Housing Element
Council,
As the City is in the process of updating its housing element, I urge you to put an end to Measure Y once and
for all. Costa Mesa's housing supply is frustratingly slim and whatever stock is left is falling into
shambles. Entry-level homes are nowhere to be found and young professionals (25-40 years old) are forced to
rent until they are able to leave the City for better housing opportunities, new construction, and higher value
homes elsewhere. Costa Mesa's location and amenities are extremely attractive to young professionals. We
would love to stay and grow our families here, but we simply cannot.
This policy has given far too much power to NIMBYists and ignorant neighbors who simply do not understand
the development process or the core reasons behind the housing crisis. Measure Y is a complete slap in the
face to the private development community, development consultants, City planning staff, City engineering
staff, City economic development staff, the Planning Commission, and City Council who are all properly
educated and work tirelessly together in public -private partnerships to bring forth valuable development
projects. Home construction of all types equalizes the market and provides for human flourishing at all scales.
End Measure Y.
Thank you for your consideration.
George Atalla
2250 Vanguard Way, Apt. G141
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
From: Gina Piazza <gpiazza3@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2021 11:04 AM
To: CITY CLERK
Subject: Costa Mesa Housing Element meeting 3/23/2021
Dear Costa Mesa City Council Members,
As a 20 year resident of Costa Mesa, I've always been a renter. And in these 20 years my family has lived in
only two rentals- one for 14 years and our current detached bungalow for 6- both homes have the same type of
landlord- piece together fixes and never once has the quality of living in either of these homes improved. Yet,
the rent increases. In 2014 our rent was $1795- it's now $2400 for 900sq. feet with zero added value
improvements. ZERO. That's an increase of $1200 a year.
Our rent was raised even during Covid-19 by 5% and will be raised again in August 2021 by 5% to a staggering
increase of $1440 a year.
Why don't we move? We have eyes peeled on the situation on a daily basis and there are no lateral moves in this
city- it's always more for less. Solving the long term housing needs of Costa Mesa's families is obviously
important to us but so is the ever expanding issue of living and working in a city that continues to build small
communities of expensive living spaces. I encourage our City Council to find a workaround to Measure Y
through the housing element update so affordable, safe, long term- stable housing solutions for families can be
seen as tangible, added value for everyone.
Sincerely,
Gina Piazza
Costa Mesa, District 2