Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: When can I see the full text of the ballot measure?
A: Right Now! Just go to our Measure K page and click on the document near the bottom of the page. You can also view the map of applicable properties and the Housing Element sites inventory map.
Q: Is Measure K necessary to comply with the requirements of the California Department of Housing and Community Development ("HCD")?
A: No. The HCD has not instructed the City to repeal Measure Y.
Q: Will the City be fined by HCD or will State funding be withheld if Measure K does not pass?
A: Only if the City causes the Housing Element in our General Plan to not be in compliance. Jennifer Le, the City’s Director of Economic and Development Services, explained the reasoning behind the Housing Element like this: “We are demonstrating for State compliance purposes that the City has the capacity to plan for housing.” The City could get fined or have funding withheld if it does not show it can plan for housing. One of the ways it does that is by completing the many plans laid out in Chapter 4 of the Housing Element update, which can be found at: Housing Element Chapter 4. Some of the programs have been estimated to take three years to complete.
Q: Why the hurry to pass Measure K? Why didn't the City give the residents more notice and more involvement in the process?
A: We'd like the answer to that too! Those are questions to ask each Council member who voted in favor of the measure after the very rushed process.
Q: Why is the City targeting one of its own fire stations for redevelopment?
A: Again, we'd like the answer to that. Please ask the Council member who represents your district why public safety isn't a priority.
Q: Will Measure K make rents more affordable?
A: No. Measure K is not rent control. The City would have to allow many, many tens or hundreds of thousands of housing units to be built in order to drive down the cost of housing.
Q: Won't developers build affordable housing for seniors and vets if Measure K passes?
A: Measure Y allows for affordable housing to be built without a vote of the people, so long as that project is 100% affordable. An example is the 60 units of senior housing that the City entered into an agreement with Jamboree Housing Corp. for a feasibility study on a project on the Costa Mesa Senior Center property. However, since the City has not adopted an inclusionary housing ordinance that requires each housing project contain an affordable component, developers have not built any affordable units in Costa Mesa, with the exception of the project on the old Costa Mesa Motor Inn property, which will have 4.5% of the units offered at below market rates.