Costa Mesa invites residents to rezoning open house, but it's mostly the usual suspects
An open house at the Norma Hertzog Community Center invited residents and city stakeholders to participate in the massive planning overhaul required for Costa Mesa to comply with a state mandate that it zone for an additional 11,760 residential units by 2029.
Because many of the city's residential parcels are built out, accommodating that growth will require lots throughout the city to be rezoned for housing. Measure K, an initiative narrowly passed by voters in 2022, allows that to be done without triggering a popular vote.
Although the measure passed more than two years ago, the city is just now beginning to drill down into the details of what development standards might be within those Measure K corridors, primarily along the city's Harbor and Newport boulevards and north of the 405 Freeway.
'Housing is one of the, if not the most important things in our lives. So, I'm glad you are all interested in housing and the future of housing here in Costa Mesa,' said Carrie Tai, the city's director of economic and development services, welcoming the crowd.
After a brief introduction to the rezoning process and timeline (officials estimate they will be refining the zoning code updates by summer or fall of 2026) attendees were encouraged to circulate among and interact with a series of informational displays.
The event drew about 70 participants, including many city planning staff and consultants with communications firm Kearns & West and planning firm Dudek. A dozen or more were current and former planning commissioners and council members, leaving just a handful of residents in the crowd, most of them not strangers to city meetings.
Stations asked participants, in English and Spanish, to indicate what type of housing scenarios they've lived in, while another asked them to place stickers on their three top priorities for creating a good neighborhood, with options ranging from diverse housing types and outdoor space to mobility and having access to amenities.
The format did not impress Costa Mesa resident Jay Humphrey, a senior and regular city council and planning commission meeting attendee who said a town hall forum with questions from and discussion among citizens would have been more informative.
'With this, I only know what I know — I don't know what he knows or she knows,' he said. ''The more you can get the community to be connected to the project, the more they participate, and the more they participate, the better we have it.'
Cynthia McDonald, a local activist who campaigned against Measure K for precluding major rezoning efforts from a vote, agreed the city's consultant-driven process cuts out residents who may have professional backgrounds in legal or planning matters. She said she'd like to see a citizen's advisory committee contribute to the rezoning effort.
City officials, however, contend they will seek to involve the public in a series of multiple meetings and discussions scheduled to take place throughout the community before the zoning code update is brought before the Costa Mesa Planning Commission and City Council for final approval.
An Aug. 21 workshop at Costa Mesa City Hall, from 6 to 8 p.m. will focus on Harbor and Newport boulevards, and residents may attend an informational walking tour of the city's westside on Aug. 23, convening at the city's Senior Center at 10 a.m. A third meeting on Sept. 10 will tackle zoning issues in the city's north end, including SoBECA.
One of Wednesday's interactive exhibits prompted visitors to write Post-it notes envisioning their ideal community.
Suggestions in Spanish and English included more accessible bus stops, trees and mixed use developments as well as better walkability and bikeability.
Those are all priorities for resident Marc Vukcevich, who campaigned for Measure K and has eagerly awaited the rezoning it allowed.
'The biggest thing for me is an abundance of housing with walkable amenities. That is, to me, what makes an amazing community,' he said. 'This is a mandate the state has on the city, and it has to be done within some reasonable timeline. It's the law, at the end of the day.'
The meeting's end found Costa Mesa resident Andrew Kenny scrawling down his thoughts on a comment card. The 29-year-old, a college graduate attending Coastline College to study data science, came with girlfriend Christina Chyi, 26.
The couple live in the city's South Pointe Apartments on Baker Street and believe something must be done to make housing more affordable for all.
'So many people have become accustomed to the idea that costs are just going up — it doesn't have to be that way,' said Kenny. 'With rezoning, more aggressive development and higher density development, a lot of those things could be alleviated.'
Chyi, who worked in Newport Beach, said 'Costa Mesa was the closest place I could live that was 'more affordable,'' adding her own air quotes, given the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment hovers at $2,400 per month.
'We're just people who live in an apartment and figure it would be nice if apartments didn't have to be so expensive,' she said.
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