Councilman’s appeal raises tempers

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- What started as a request to clarify the authority of

the Planning Commission on Monday turned into a chaotic discussion in

which motives were questioned, feelings were hurt and confused residents

waged an all-out campaign in favor of a law that was not even under

consideration.

Councilman Gary Monahan appealed a motion made at a previous Planning

Commission meeting because he said the commission may have overstepped

its authority by asking city staffers to research a possible ordinance

pertaining to views.

In his written appeal, Monahan argued the Planning Commission’s

function is to provide advice to the City Council and should submit a

request for a view ordinance as a recommendation for council

consideration.

The possibility of a view law stemmed from a second-story proposal

from Westside resident John Clark, the owner of a home in the 1100 block

of Aviemore Terrace.

Residents of Aviemore and Glen Eagle terraces flooded City Hall when

the Planning Commission reviewed the request and pleaded with the

commissioners to protect their views. Commissioners approved the

second-story addition by a 4-1 vote, with Planning Commission Chairwoman

Katrina Foley dissenting.

The commission “directed city planning staff to commence preparation

of a zoning code amendment to regulate view preservation,” according to a

staff report.

But as the discussion of the issue progressed, it seemed it would have

been better suited for the big top than council chambers.

Monahan began his presentation by expressing his concern that staffers

were spending valuable time and resources on projects that have not

garnered the blessing of the City Council. He reiterated that no more

than four hours of staffers’ time is to be spent on something that does

not have council endorsement.

“The general idea is that we need to get a rein on what our staff is

pursuing,” Monahan said. “If the Planning Commission has an idea, I

welcome it, but I welcome it as a recommendation.”

Monahan argued that city employees are already charged with various --

and at times daunting -- projects, and additional assignments were

causing friction and resentment among department heads. The councilman

said he would have rather the commission submitted a recommendation for

the City Council to research the issue.

Not all of his council colleagues agreed. Mayor Linda Dixon and

Councilwoman Libby Cowan defended the commission’s motion and harshly

criticized Monahan for raising the issue.

“I think this is a big to-do about something because someone didn’t

like the idea of a view ordinance,” Cowan said. Cowan also questioned how

the commission could possibly recommend an idea to the council without

any information from staff.

Planning Commission Chairwoman Katrina Foley and Planning Commissioner

Bill Perkins, who are both running for City Council seats in November,

were on hand to offer their take of the alleged infraction.

Foley defended the commission’s actions, saying she made a motion to

have planning staff consider a possible view ordinance and come back to

the commission at a study session. Commissioners unanimously supported

the motion, Foley said.

She and her fellow commissioners were not trying to usurp authority

from the council members but rather trying to “reduce a layer of

bureaucracy” by filtering out the minutia often found at the preliminary

levels of some city issues.

“Once it gets up to you, you will have a more clean and compact

package,” Foley said.

Perkins had a different view. He complimented Foley on her leadership

but argued the commission has gotten itself involved with too many

ordinances and lost its planning focus. The commission and staffers are

well aware of the four-hour limit, Perkins said, but commissioners often

push that boundary.

While city officials passed the blame, confused Aviemore and Glen

Eagle terrace residents -- who stayed past midnight -- lined up to

convince the council of the importance of a view ordinance.

Dixon repeatedly reminded speakers that the actual law was not on the

agenda for the evening, but some residents could not hold back their

support for one.

Resident Sonya Ables endorsed a view ordinance but used most of her

time to condemn the council.

“This is an internal issue, not a public issue,” she said. “This was

not an appropriate forum to have this discussion. There is a lot of

internal stuff going on, and I just hope you will be able to hear us

[when the issue does come back to the council].”

Monahan conceded defeat and apologized for addressing the issue,

calling it a misunderstanding.

“I was just trying to address policy and get some uniformity,” he

said.

Councilman Chris Steel has also appealed the Planning Commission’s

approval of the second-story addition on Aviemore Terrace. That appeal

will be heard July 1.

* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .