REVITALIZATION OF WESTSIDE GETTING OFF TRACK? (An open letter to the Planning Commission)
Dear Costa Mesa Planning Commissioners:
As a member of CRAC and WROC and as a long time advocate for the revitalization of the Westside in general, and the Westside Bluffs in particular, I have noted that some of our efforts to revitalize the Westside appear to be going off track.
It seems to me that some are now incorrectly and narrowly defining "revitalization" to mean the upgrading of the appearance of existing tilt-up industrial buildings on the Westside Bluffs by changing their landscaping or paint schemes or other minor things.
This is not a revitalization, in any sense of the word. The root of "revitalization" is "vital" and "vital" means "life." It is life that is needed on the Westside Bluffs, and this means that people need to be brought into the area to live on the Bluffs and shop on the Westside.
GUIDING PRINCIPLE
The guiding principle for many of us who began this effort to revitalize the Westside is the belief that:
Due to their closeness to the ocean and upscale beach communities, the Westside Bluffs will find their highest and best use for residences and such residences will trigger a revitalization of the entire Westside.
In other words, the transition of the Westside Bluffs to residential uses is absolutely key to the revitalization of the entire Westside. It is the only practical way that we can bring in enough new residents with disposable incomes to attract quality retailers to the area and begin the cascade of changes that will make the Westside the vibrant part of Costa Mesa that, given its highly desirable location close to the ocean, it should be.
That Guiding Principle remains the same today, and all the rest of our rules, regulations, meetings, developments, conversions, etc. are seen by most activists as minutiae and details that should conform to that guiding principle and help it become a reality.
However, we are now seeing that some of the minutiae and details seem to be shifting the focus away from a true revitalization a little at a time. This shift is frustrating and impeding a true revitalization.
Specifically, and by way of example, at your Study Session this week you will receive a document from Staff entitled "Zoning Code Amendment C-07-01 (hereafter, "Report").
On page 2 of the Report, in the second paragraph, we read, in relevant part:
"The urban plan encourages the development of residential uses, live-work units, and mixed-use developments, while allowing the provisions of the 'base' zoning to remain in place. The base zoning districts in the Mesa West Bluffs area are industrial and commercial zones. Therefore, the urban plan provides flexibility to property owners to consider either a [residential] development or [industrial] use option, but it does not favor one use over another." (emphasis added)
On page 3 of the Report we read:
"However, staff believes the core objective of the plan is to revitalize the Westside. Non-residential [industrial] condominium conversions which involve structural, landscaping, or facade upgrades are substantial improvements to the property which further the plan vision's [sic] for revitalization."
Contrary to the assertions in the Report indicated in black italics above, and as I wrote earlier, the intent of those truly working to revitalize the Westside has always been to bring life, in the form of people in housing units, to an area that has been almost exclusively used for industrial units. The intent has never been to simply cause cosmetic changes to industrial buildings and keep the Bluffs as a lifeless industrial zone.
The intent is also to avoid using the heavy hand of eminent domain to accomplish the revitalization, but it has never been to keep local government from actively encouraging, in all ways possible, a market driven evolution of the area to more residential uses.
Again, behind the Guiding Principle is the belief that land closer to the ocean generally finds its highest and best use for residences, but that the Bluffs have not evolved mainly because local government has protected and prevented the Bluffs from evolving to residential uses via zoning and other regulations and has shown a lack of will to encourage the evolution to housing.
Because the Westside Bluffs have been used for industrial uses for so many years, there is an interest by some, including many who don't live in Costa Mesa, to keep the Bluffs dedicated to industrial uses.
Most revitalization activists agree that the City, which has protected the industrial uses for many years, must now do more than simply give lip service to allowing residences, and must actively work to bring in such residences. Simply putting in dual zoning and saying that residences are allowed is not enough to overcome the inertia and special interests that are keeping the Bluffs from being revitalized.
With the above in mind, I respectfully request that the Planning Commission move, as a matter of public policy, to clearly annunciate its own guiding principles for the revitalization of the Westside Bluffs and that the Commission take such action as it deems necessary to keep this process on track for the benefit of all of Costa Mesa and particularly of the Westside which, as you know, is generally considered the worst part of Costa Mesa when in fact it should probably, due to its geographic location, be the best part of our city.
Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully,
M. H. Millard
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.
