Getting straight on mixed-use

Deirdre Newman

Someday, residents may have the option of living in artist lofts in

former industrial warehouse spaces.

This scenario moved a step closer to reality on Monday when the

City Council unanimously approved a final concept for the Bristol

Street mixed-use overlay zone.

The decision means a city committee will continue working on

fleshing out the details for a mixed-use overlay zone, a designation

for a district that includes commercial, office and residential uses

in either a single structure or at a single site.

The approval of the concept plan underscores council members’

belief that mixed use will be a viable development tool.

“It’s a zoning and a product that probably will be popular in the

future and fits in with more than one area of town,” Mayor Gary

Monahan said.

Committee member Shaheen Sadeghi, who owns the Lab Anti Mall and

the Camp, said he was thrilled that the committee will be continuing

with its mandate.

“I’m very pleased,” Sadeghi said. “I certainly understand the

sensitivity and responsibility of making sure that everybody is on

board, and these things take time, but I’m very excited about the

fact that after the year of work we’ve done, we now have the ability

to continue forward.”

In the past year, the committee has narrowed down the study area

to a triangular shaped parcel bounded by Baker Street, the Corona del

Mar Freeway and east side of Bristol Street. The committee felt this

area provided the best opportunity for a successful mixed-use

development for reasons including its central location and having the

Lab and the Camp as major anchors.

Although the committee is focusing on Bristol Street, its main

goal is to create a framework for a mixed-use overlay zone that could

be applied anywhere in the city.

“The key is not the area, it’s the type,” Monahan said. “And once

we have the zoning in place, even if it’s not for that particular

area, a [developer] can apply for a zoning change.”

Byron de Arakal, a Parks and Recreation commissioner who serves as

a liaison to the committee, said a mixed-use overlay zone is the only

tool the city has to revitalize some parts of the city.

“We have to do something because redevelopment is not there

politically and no developer in his right mind is going to go into

the Westside and take an acre or two and build single-family detached

residences,” de Arakal said. “I don’t know of anyone who would buy a

$750,000 house at Pomona Avenue and 19th Street.”

During talks, the committee has leaned toward preserving the scale

and massing of existing industrial buildings instead of creating

high-density projects. Resident Robin Leffler, who is part of a group

that successfully convinced the developer of the 1901 Newport Blvd.

condominium project to lower its density, said she is not sure yet

what to make of the idea of a mixed-use overlay zone.

“I’m still thinking about it,” Leffler said. “I don’t know what it

means. I’m very apprehensive of increased density overall in Costa

Mesa.”

The next steps in the process are for planning staff members to

request $25,000 in the 2004-05 budget for a consultant’s help in

preparing the rules for an overlay zone and for staff and committee

members to complete an environmental report, a zoning ordinance and a

general plan amendment application.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at [email protected].