Affordable Housing

Over the years, my chief issue with our school board has been the lack of any meaningful progress in several Costa Mesa schools. It seems to me that shuffling people around and coming up with another study was all they seemed to be able to muster. As I have in the past, I will seize almost any opportunity to praise the school board when I see progress. This is one of those opportunities. After much debate and a lot of input, the board voted 5-2 last Tuesday to give parents the choice to send their children to the fourth grade at College Park, Paularino and Sonora elementary schools, each of which has classes from kindergarten through third grade.

Would you support a citywide program that requires developers to provide affordable housing? No, I would not support such a program. The middle-class home buyer pays the price of programs such as this in higher housing prices. It is ironic that some demand that we increase the price of housing with a $19,000-per-unit, low-cost-housing tax — all in the name of affordability. ERIC BEVER Costa Mesa city councilman Did not respond. LINDA DIXON Costa Mesa city councilwoman Did not respond.

With disagreement the norm for the current Costa Mesa City Council, we are happy to applaud the unanimity and the decision to go forward with five high-rise residential and commercial units in the South Coast Metro area. It would be hard to find a more upscale and successful few blocks of property than the South Coast Metro area, and we are glad to see the council is in lock step on this plan. Largely thanks to the vision of Henry Segerstrom and his family, the area boasts one of the most successful shopping centers in the nation, two world-class performing arts venues, a cutting edge repertory theater, fine dining, elegant lodging and public art. Adding the high-rise venues, which will include more than 200,000 square feet of commercial space and 1,200 residential units, and the future location of the Orange County Museum of Art, will help propel and elevate this area into a true downtown.

The shock and awe you may have witnessed last week was the sound of all five people on the Costa Mesa City Council agreeing on a major issue. In this case, it was approval of a slew of high-rise condominiums in what is trying to be known as South Coast Metro. Call it what you want, it's still Costa Mesa. That is unless you are the management of some buildings over by Main Street and Macarthur Boulevard that are technically in Santa Ana. Those people tried several years ago to make South Coast Metro their ZIP Code city, but the post office wouldn't budge.

COSTA MESA — More than 1,200 new residential units and 241,000 square feet of office and retail space along with the Orange County Museum of Art may be coming to town, but the swath of new developments planned for the northern part of the city won't include affordable housing. The museum and homes are part of plans for five high-rise projects in North Costa Mesa that cleared a major hurdle Tuesday when the City Council unanimously approved them. The developers still must bring back final plans for four of the projects.

A plan for five high-rise condominium buildings in Costa Mesa will have to wait at least until January after the City Council voted unanimously to table the matter. City Council members on Tuesday planned to hold a lengthy public hearing on the condos, which would be the biggest residential project in the city's history. But after John Wayne Airport's Airport Land Use Commission took a dim view of the project, council members opted temporarily to override the commission's report and take up the matter again in January, after the commission has had time to respond.

The election is over, the ballots are cast, the people of Costa Mesa have taken back their future. While the people of Costa Mesa will continue to welcome outside investors, these projects will have to pass muster and lend themselves to the benefit of all affected parties. The residents of Costa Mesa have defeated the union financed coup. The days of our planning commissioners granting conditional-use permits for projects that would never see the light of day in another community are gone.

COSTA MESA — Ten years ago, when Hugh Siler was looking to purchase a home on Costa Mesa's east side where he grew up, he wished there were more affordable entry-level houses and condos on the market. Now he's trying to make his one-time dream into a reality for other potential homeowners with a condo conversion project — the Bungalows at Elden. The Costa Mesa Planning Commission will review the project today Siler wants to convert seven rentals at 2550 Elden Ave. into condominiums to create an alternative to the high-priced homes in the area.

Construction has begun for a 145-unit condominium project, the first in Costa Mesa's downtown redevelopment area to combine upscale units with affordable housing. The project at 1901 Newport Blvd. is expected to help revitalize downtown near Triangle Square. The Pacifica at Newport Plaza development will include two-bedroom condominiums estimated to start at $500,000, said Michael Eadie, vice president of Rutter Development Corp., the company building the project. Seven affordable housing units will be built by Rutter and five will be built by the city at a different site.