Harlan: Housing is the Key to Costa Mesa’s Continued Prosperity

After serving 4 years connected the City Council, and arsenic agelong connected the Planning Commission, I’ve heard a changeless refrain from Costa Mesa residents—housing has go scarce and acold excessively expensive.

In fact, my daughters (17 and 21 years old) person lamented however they’ll ne'er beryllium capable to spend a location here. The city’s median location terms is $1.3 million, and starter homes are often connected the marketplace for lone a fewer days owed to the precocious demand. The mean monthly rent for a 2-bedroom flat is implicit $3,200.

Rising lodging costs person importantly outpaced wages, not capable caller homes person been built, and we person a 3 percent vacancy rate. People who are fortunate capable to ain homes are staying put, which creates scarcity for caller homebuyers. It is an unstable situation, and a situation for galore successful our community.

In Costa Mesa, we person seen precise small lodging built implicit the past 8 years—fewer than 200 caller units from entitled projects. Because of a erstwhile no-growth initiative, which halted virtually each caller residential development, builders and developers recovered amended opportunities successful adjacent cities. As a result, our location prices and rental rates person skyrocketed.

But implicit the past 4 years, our City Council has made a concerted effort to close course:

• Initiating (and passing by Costa Mesa voters) Measure K, which preserved accepted neighborhoods portion creating opportunities to revitalize our large commercialized corridors and northbound of the 405 freeway, volition facilitate lodging for moving professionals, families, and seniors;
• Working with partners specified arsenic Jamboree Housing connected a 70-unit affordable elder lodging task adjacent our Senior Center;
• Approving the One Metro West task northbound of the 405 freeway, which volition supply 1,057 homes. This improvement volition see 106 affordable units, the largest single-site allocation of affordable lodging successful the past of Costa Mesa; and
• Preparing a community-driven Master Plan for reimagining the 100-acre Fairview Developmental Center arsenic a caller vicinity guided by astute maturation principles.

Most recently, aft months of survey and debate, the Council adopted an affordable lodging ordinance. Like 5 different cities successful Orange County, Costa Mesa present requires applicants of lodging projects of a definite size (50 units) to either physique a percent of deed-restricted affordable units connected site, oregon wage an in-lieu fee. Applicants offering for-sale homes are exempt. In addition, the Council approved $2.5 cardinal allocated to an Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which volition assistance summation lodging availability for families.

New, furnished workplace apartments volition beryllium complemented by tenant amenities specified arsenic a computer/business center, lounge/game room, and community. Credit: Community Development Partners

Importantly, we’ve besides focused connected making definite radical stay housed and bash not gaffe into homelessness. During the pandemic we adopted an eviction moratorium, provided $16 cardinal successful rent alleviation with State COVID funds, and made grants to section businesses to guarantee our system kept growing.

To code this analyzable and pervasive issue, the Council built our span structure adjacent the Airport successful 2020. Currently lodging 85 beds, the structure volition adhd 15 successful the coming months done a County assistance which besides provides supportive services to the residents. Since 2019, we’ve permanently housed implicit 383 people, getting them disconnected the streets and into clean, safe, and affordable homes.

The main obstacle to moving much radical retired of homelessness is the deficiency of disposable housing. But implicit the past 2 years, Costa Mesa has partnered with our authorities and region agencies to person motels to much-needed imperishable supportive housing. Through Project Homekey, the Motel 6 connected Newport Boulevard was transformed into 88 affordable rental units for at-risk seniors and veterans; and the Travelodge connected Bristol Street is slated to beryllium redeveloped with 76 homes.

Creating much lodging opportunities is captious to our economical and societal health. As we vie with our neighboring cities for caller investment, we request to guarantee everyone–seniors, young adults, increasing families, and individuals–has options to unrecorded adjacent wherever they enactment and play, and to physique a aboriginal successful Costa Mesa. Our maturation and prosperity depends connected it.

Jeffrey Harlan is the Costa Mesa City Councilmember representing District 6 (the Eastside), since 2020. A onshore usage lawyer and erstwhile municipality planner, Jeff’s argumentation absorption is connected housing, economical development, and nationalist safety.

Opinions expressed successful assemblage sentiment pieces beryllium to the authors and not Voice of OC.

Voice of OC is funny successful proceeding antithetic perspectives and voices. If you privation to measurement successful connected this contented oregon others please email [email protected].

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