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?
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 did the City targetone 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.
Q: What is next now that Measure K has passed?
A: According to the draft Sixth Cycle Housing Element that is currently pending certification by the State of California, the City plans to put another measure on the ballot by no later than 2025. That measure will: “Minimize the constraint of a city‐wide vote requirement on creation of housing including affordable housing through the modification of existing City overlays, urban plan areas, and specific plans to rezone candidate housing sites that can accommodate affordable housing and a variety of mixed use/housing options near jobs and transit. By 2025, initiate a ballot measure, or other alternative option, to provide City Council greater discretion in approving affordable housing and mixed use/housing options in appropriate locations.”
The City Council promised that Measure K would not any residential neighborhoods, but this new ballot measure certainly will! We won’t know all the impacts until we see the ballot measure language.
Q: What about Fairview Developmental Center?
A: Both Measure K and Appendix B of the draft Sixth Cycle Housing Element show that FDC is a site that the City plans rezone for housing. The City intends to allow 2,100 units to be built on the site, which would be 51-60 dwelling units per acre. However, the State of California recently revealed plans for an emergency operations center for 15 acres of the site, which means if the City still intends to allow 2,100 units, then the development will have to be much denser. We are keeping a close eye on this and submitted a request to the State that certain information be contained in the environmental impact report it is preparing for the EOC project. A brief description of the EOC project is that the State proposes a 35,000 sq. ft. office building, 20,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space, 120 ft. radio tower and a helipad, along with solar panels, batteries and generators be built on a portion of FDC. For more information, see our letter here: