Costa Mesa City Council to ponder future residential development projects
Three Westside residential development projects will be coming before the Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday, including a 176-unit project near the city’s southern border with Newport Beach.
The council will give preliminary feedback on the development, dubbed the Westside Gateway, on an industrially zoned, 9-acre site at 671 W. 17th St. The homes would replace an area occupied by Argo-Tech, an aerospace company.
Westside Gateway is proposed to contain three-story homes that start at 1,750 square feet and have roof decks. Forty-one of the 176 units are detached. The developer, Irvine-based Westport Properties, is proposing 506 available parking spaces — slightly less than the city-required 528.
On-site amenities include a community garden, two tot lots, passive open space and paseos, according to city documents.
The soil is undergoing various remediations before any houses can be built.
If approved, Westside Gateway would abut another recently approved residential development near West 17th Street and Superior Avenue, where 49 homes are slated.
Other projects coming before the council Tuesday are a 28-unit housing development near Hamilton Street and Harbor Boulevard and a 5-unit project at 752 and 756 W. 19th St.
The council will have to consider the Hamilton development’s impacts on the city-owned community garden nearby.
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Parcel annexation
The council will begin a process to annex a nearly 14-acre unincorporated county area in the Eastside officially known as Santa Ana/Colleen Island.
The area has 51 single-family homes, about 150 residents and an undeveloped 2.11-acre parcel. Though it also borders Newport Beach, it is within Costa Mesa’s sphere of influence.
Its residents use the Mesa Water District and Costa Mesa Sanitary District for water, sewer and trash services.
The Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission will have the final say on the annexation, but before then, Costa Mesa officials have to prepare several documents, including property tax agreements and zoning plans.
Because Santa Ana/Colleen Island is less than 150 acres, its residents won’t have a direct say in the annexation process. Earlier this year, however, the city hosted two meetings with Santa Ana/Colleen Island residents to receive their input.
“The fact is, they already have a Costa Mesa ZIP code,” Rick Francis, Costa Mesa’s assistant city CEO, told the Daily Pilot in April. “And we don’t expect there to be any change to their property values” whether the area is annexed by Costa Mesa or Newport.
Francis said Newport has not shown interest in incorporating the parcel.
