CM PRESS # 834

MANY VOTERS IN WAKE COUNTY, N.C. VOTING AGAINST SCHOOL DIVERSITY
Finally realizing that the Great God Diversity isn't doing much for their own kids despite all the propaganda about how wonderful it is. LINK
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CITY COUNCIL FAILED TO SEE FUTURE PARKING PROBLEMS
The Costa Mesa City Council screened the dense 44 unit detached home project proposed for 573-591 Victoria Street last night but failed to suggest to the developer that he should try to incorporate some proper guest parking in a common lot.

Instead, the Council sent a signal to the developer that his plan of putting one guest parking space right next to each of the 44 units was adequate.

Think about it. If you buy one of the units and you have a small party with ten quests, one of those guests will get to park next to your home, and nine others will have to park right next to homes owned by nine other people or find on-street parking on Maple or some other street.

And, when we wrote that the guest parking spaces were right next to each home, we meant it. They are so close that they look a little like the many drive-ways we have in Costa Mesa that extend to the side of a garage.

Imagine coming home from work every day and finding a different strange car parked right next to your garage. Will you wonder if there's a burglar in your home? Will you find people doing illegal things in their cars? Will people be sitting in those cars with their radios blaring?

See any problems? Well, the Council didn't. Once this project is built, get ready to see homeowners showing up at City Council meetings complaining about the parking problems that the Council should have addressed.

And, get ready for reports from the CMPD about frequent visits to the project because of neighbor conflicts over parking.

Once again, it seems that the Councilmembers were unable to think things through to their logical conclusions.

LINK to dwgs of project. For more details see CM PRESS # 833.

Solar panels on the roof? Gosh golly, Mabel.

We think the Council may have failed to see the parking problem because the developer pushed certain trendy buttons in their minds about solar panels on the roofs and green construction. He sold them the sizzle, not the steak.

While these things are nice, it'd be a little like having a car salesman tell you about how fuel efficient a new car is, and then when you buy it you discover that you never want to drive it because the ride is poor and the seats are uncomfortable.

The point we're trying to make is that actual living human beings have to buy these homes and they have to feel comfortable there and not have constant parking problems. Form should follow function, and the functionality of parking is important.

Notwithstanding anything that seems to the contrary that we've written above, we think this is a good project and we look forward to it being built and to seeing more like this on the Westside--but, please City Council, start tweaking these a little to put in proper parking.

Just to be clear; this development has the proper number of parking spaces to meet our current parking codes. The main problem, in our opinion, is that the guest parking spaces are in the wrong place.

Oh, and just to take this a step further, our parking codes should probably require more spaces based on various other factors including some that are extrinsic to the the developments themselves. For example, in this case there is no on-street parking on Victoria where guests can park.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.