Commentary: Measure Y would put a check on Eastside growth

In June of this year, by a 3-2 vote, the Costa Mesa City Council approved an update to the General Plan that created an overlay along Newport Boulevard that will allow 4- to 5-story apartment buildings with six-level parking structures.

These huge buildings, which may one day loom over nearby single-family homes and cottages, will greatly affect the Eastside by directing more vehicles into neighborhoods already impacted by traffic and parking problems.

How did we get here? In 2013, the city began a General Plan outreach to Costa Mesa residents. Surveys were conducted to determine what we value and what concerns us when it comes to the city’s planning.

Overwhelmingly we said our values were open space, maintaining neighborhood character, safe and efficient traffic circulation and home ownership. Our concerns were housing, preservation of open space, creation of a vibrant downtown gathering place, and keeping traffic safe and efficient, including bike-ability and walk-ability.

We didn’t ask that businesses, such as Newport Harbor Animal Hospital, Dick Church’s restaurant, the U-Haul place, auto mechanics, storage units, and blocks of cute cottages and homes on Church and Fullerton streets, be replaced by giant apartment buildings.

Twenty-four out of 160 intersections included in the traffic study for the General Plan update will have their levels of service downgraded at peak hours. This means more cut-through traffic for the Eastside. Certain arterial roads will need to be widened, including 17th Street, to six lanes from Orange to Tustin if the Orange County Transportation Authority determines traffic is causing gridlock.

Mayor Steve Mensinger has argued that we need to rid the city of problem motels. However, only four of the more than 70 properties that are the target of high-density development on the Newport Boulevard overlay are motels.

Costa Mesans are proud of our city, and we are not embarrassed to show that we care about its future. We know that success of a city isn’t measured by the number of building permits it issues, but by the preservation of the quality of life of the residents.

When citizens learned that the City Council majority was going to coldly ignore the concerns of the people, it was no surprise that the residents took action and wrote Measure Y, and qualified it for the November ballot by gathering nearly 7,000 signatures.

Measure Y gives the residents the right to vote on certain large projects. It isn’t a “no-growth” initiative because it permits development that is already allowed under the prior General Plan, and a developer can even exceed those limitations to a point before its project goes to a vote. It also gives citizens the right to vote on the updated General Plan.

This additional step in the planning approval process will provide a check to the influence of powerful development interests. If you, like me, have lost patience with this City Council majority that ignores the residents’ needs and isn’t concerned with our quality of life, please vote Yes for Measure Y before over-development in Costa Mesa reaches crisis proportions.

KATIE ARTHUR lives in Costa Mesa.