INTERESTING ITEM TO BE CONSIDERED AT THE NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEETING
At its regularly scheduled meeting on 6/17, the Costa Mesa City Council will consider a screening request to add a residential loft above an existing industrial unit at 872 W. 18th Street. LINK
The CM PRESS supports just about any attempt to put in living units of any type in the Westside industrial area.
We see this as the logical way to begin the evolution of the industrial area into a vibrant, slightly bohemian/artsy area of the city.
Even though the proposal in this screening request isn't specifically for an "artist's loft," but for a loft above an industrial/automotive unit, we think this is a step in the right direction for the Westside industrial area.
Thus, we support this proposal even though it may need some tweaking.
But, that's what screening requests are about. They're inexpensive ways for property owners to present their ideas to the Council before any real money is invested in formal blueprints and the like. The Council members then give their suggestions on the project.
It'll be interesting to look into the souls of the individual City Council members as they consider this request.
Will Linda Dixon, for example, try to throw cold water on this request because she is a big proponent for various artsy interests along Bristol Street, on the other side of town from the Westside, and may not want a rival to her favored interests?
Most urban artists colonies don't look like suburbs. They are generally a hodge podge of living units, industrial buildings, small stores, cafes, store front theaters and art galleries.
The viability of such areas requires that they not be over planned or be held to design standards that we would expect in single family residential neighborhoods.
Such areas are special cases and require a less anal-retentive and a more relaxed approval process.
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ANOTHER $48,000 OF YOUR TAX MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN
Also at the 6/17 City Council meeting, the Council is expected to renew the shopping cart pickup contract with a firm that picks up shopping carts and returns them to the stores that continue to snub Costa Mesa citizens by allowing customers to take the carts off site. LINK
A couple of merchants in the city are good neighbors. The 99 Cent Store on Harbor and Smart and Final on W. 19th Street both use carts that can't be removed from their parking lots.
So, why can't the Council lean on Stater Bros and some other merchants to have them do the same thing? Hmmmmmm? Why the hell are we paying so that Stater Bros et al. can provide a service to their customers and increase their profits?
It's as though some of these bad neighbor markets have signs reading: COME ON IN. BUY A CART FULL OF GROCERIES AND TAKE THE CART HOME WITH YOU. THEN, JUST LEAVE IT ON THE SIDEWALK AND THE CITIZENS OF COSTA MESA WILL PICK IT UP AND BRING IT BACK TO THE MARKET.
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UPDATE ON EL CAMINO CENTER
The buildings are all gone and the workers are now tearing up the parking lot. The question will now become: When will homes be built on this site? One year, two years, three years, more?
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.
