COSTA MESA

Five businesses have declined to share in $7,400 of maintenance costs for a parking lot, leading one council member to question whether the businesses should be allowed to use it. The City Council voted 4 to 0 on Monday to approve a $228,000 improvement project on the lot, which some call a run-down eyesore. City staff members asked five property owners who own land on a commercial strip on Newport Boulevard to pay $3,700 to help maintain the parking lot, but they declined. City staff said they would continue to negotiate with the business owners in an attempt to persuade them to share in the maintenance costs.