City has 3 choices for 1901 Newport

Deirdre Newman

Negotiations to resolve the 1901 Newport Blvd. lawsuit have inspired

three alternatives to the high-density condominium project, which

city leaders will consider Tuesday.

But the opposing parties have not agreed on one of those

alternatives.

The project, which calls for four four-story buildings in the

parking lot of the Spanish mission-style property, has been in limbo

since August. Rutter Development sued the City Council and Costa Mesa

Citizens for Responsible Growth last summer, claiming that a

rehearing on the downtown condominium project was granted illegally,

without the required presentation of new evidence.

Rutter Development favors an alternative that drops the number of

units from 161 to 145, and drops the number of parking spaces from

415 to 375. If the council approves this alternative, a condition

would require Rutter to drop its lawsuit.

But the citizens’ group does not support this alternative,

spokeswoman Robin Leffler said. It doesn’t support any of the three

alternatives the way they are written, she added. So the group will

present its own alternative that better reflects its position.

Leffler would not provide specifics on that alternative.

“We would like to see a lower density than either of these

alternatives. ... At this point, it appears that [Rutter] and Costa

Mesa Citizens for Responsible Growth are still not at a place where

we can agree,” Leffler said.

Mayor Gary Monahan was frustrated that after five months of

negotiation, an agreement had not been reached.

“The city and the developer laid all their cards on the table, and

[the citizens’ group] is still not satisfied,” Monahan said. “I don’t

know who they’re representing.”

The original project calls for 161 units and 415 parking spaces.

The three alternatives call for less density in the number of

condominiums, in the number of parking spaces or in both. They also

differ in the amount of financial assistance offered by the

Redevelopment Agency to Rutter in exchange for lowering the project’s

density. That assistance could only be used for the construction of

affordable units that are required since the project is in a

redevelopment zone, City Manager Allan Roeder said.

The first alternative calls for 145 units and 415 parking spaces,

with a subsidy of $4.31 million. The Costa Mesa Citizens for

Responsible Growth support the concept of this plan, but not the

subsidy, Leffler said.

The second alternative calls for 150 units, 388 parking spaces and

a $964,000 subsidy. the third option calls for 145 units, 375 parking

spaces and a $1.36-million subsidy.

The citizens’ group opposes the second and third alternatives

because it feels they don’t have the requisite amount of parking

needed for such a large project, Leffler said.

Development Services Department staff members recommend that the

council -- acting as the Redevelopment Agency -- approve either the

original project or the third alternative. These are financially

feasible to both the city and the developer, staff members say. The

alternative with the $4.31-million subsidy is not practical because

the large subsidy amount would trigger a condition that Rutter adhere

to the prevailing wage for the rest of the project, which would

increase the cost significantly, Roeder said.

“It makes the financial deal unfeasible for the developer to build

the project, because in our estimates, the minimum that would trigger

is an increase of 10% in his overall cost,” Roeder said.

David Eadie, chief executive of Rutter Development, was not

available for comment.

Monahan said the citizens’ group has not budged since the

negotiations started and has threatened to sue the city. Leffler

denied those accusations.

“We have moved very far from where we started,” Leffler said.

“That is not accurate at all. Costa Mesa Citizens for Responsible

Growth has been more than willing to compromise and has worked in

very good faith to resolve this and find something that all parties

could agree to.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at [email protected].