COME ON CITY COUNCIL--JUMP START THE REVITALIZATION OF THE WESTSIDE
Back when some of us were on CRAC and WROC--the two citizen committees started by the City of Costa Mesa to make recommendations on what to do about revitalizing the Westside--outside consultants prepared lengthy reports indicating that most of the area was economically blighted.
Immediately after the word "blight" was heard, the mostly out of town industrialists and their supporters pretended they didn't know that the term, in this context, was mainly being used to indicate "economic blight" or stagnation, and these industrialists then tried to confuse citizens by arguing that their buildings looked nice or that they were being painted or fixed up.
Of course, looking nice has very little to do with "economic blight." The area was, and is, blighted precisely because there is such a large industrial zone there.
Those professionally prepared reports of blight could have led to one of four major changes:
1. The entire Westside Bluffs could have been put into a Redevelopment Area and the City could have used eminent domain to scrape the Bluffs clean and start over with expensive ocean close homes in upscale neighborhoods.
2. Just part of the Bluffs could have been put into a Redevelopment Area, etc.
3. The Bluffs could have been rezoned from industrial to residential with some retail zoning mixed in for one or more shopping centers--think the bluffs in Huntington Beach by Golden West.
4. An overlay of residential zoning could be placed on top of the existing industrial zoning that would allow those who want to build homes on the Bluffs to be able to do so in the midst of the industrial properties. This was a market forces approach.
Number 4, above, is the choice that was selected.
And, while market forces will eventually help transform the Bluffs, some have taken that term "market forces" to mean that the City should do nothing to encourage the building of homes.
Folks, it doesn't work that way. The industrial uses on the Bluffs have actually been protected by the City for at least 50 years.
To think that just because a residential overlay is put on top of a 50 year old industrial zone that nothing else needs be done, is an error in thinking.
The economic engine has to be jump started. It doesn't start all by itself. Thinking that it will, would be a little like sitting in your car and expecting it to start and drive you to where you want to go all on its own.
That's not the way it works, folks. People have to take action. People have to make projects happen. People have to do something more than nothing.
To get people to take action, the City has to reach out and let everyone know that it wants homes on the Bluffs. And, the City has to listen to developers and others to see if the residential overlay is working.
If it isn't, then adjustments need to be made.
Remember, the goal has never been to just put in a residential overlay. That was just a means to an end.
The goal has always been to revitalize the Westside. Things that work, have to be done. If what is being tried doesn't work, then something else has to be tried.
If you hear someone constantly harping on how we should do nothing more than the residential overlay, you can be pretty sure you're dealing with an out of town industrialist or one of their shills.
Don't let their slight-of-hand fool you folks.
THE GOAL IS NOT TO HAVE AN OVERLAY, BUT TO FIX THE BROKEN WESTSIDE. THIS CAN'T BE DONE UNLESS HOMES ARE BUILT ON THE BLUFFS. IF THE OVERLAY IS NOT WORKING, THEN MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.
