Special election scheduled for One Metro West development of Costa Mesa – Orange County Register

No date has been set yet, but developer of 1,057-units One Metro West asked Costa Mesa to schedule a special election so voters could weigh in on the project.

The mixed-use development, which includes several low-income apartments as well as shops and office space, is planned on 15.23 acres between Sunflower Avenue and Highway 405. just east of the Santa Ana River.

A vote must be held on Measure Y, a 2016 initiative that requires voter approval for developments that meet certain criteria such as square feet, housing units, or number of car trips it will add.

A special election can cost between $350,000 and $500,000, and the developer Rose Equities will pay for it, said Leonard Glickman, a principal at Rose. The company informed the city in December that it would rather go that route than piggyback into the statewide elections in March and November.

Rose officials have yet to decide when the election will be held, Glickman said, but One Metro West will be “a huge asset to the city – I think everyone wants it moving.”

Meanwhile, city leaders have opened up a community conversation about how Measure Y has worked and whether Measure may need changes so the city can help address the housing shortage. housing and meet the state’s requirement for approval of more housing developments.

Six years after voters passed the bill, no vote took place. Any potential projects mentioned in its terms “will not proceed after the developer has determined that they will be required to participate in a vote on Measure Y,” said Mayor John Stephens.

State officials recently told the city that the ballot initiative will likely be an obstacle to Costa Mesa reaching its goal of allowing more than 11,000 new homes by 2029.