Voters in Costa Mesa, in 2016, approved by nearly 70 percent Measure Y, requiring a public vote for certain development projects exceeding criteria related to traffic, square footage, and number of units.
Jorge Miron, a local activist and unit coordinator at UCI medical center, remembers being at the city council advocating for the measure’s approval.
“I was there petitioning for Measure Y six years ago,” he told The Epoch Times.
Now Costa Mesa voters are being asked Nov. 8 to approve Measure K, which will allow for housing development in commercial and industrial areas.
The issue of more development unilaterally approved by the city concerned Miron, he said, enough so he is running in the same election for a seat representing the city’s District 3 on the Costa Mesa City Council.
“We can find ways to be able to build [new developments] with the community’s input, we need to have it because that’s the only way Costa Mesa is going to survive,” Miron said.
Increased traffic and large expensive luxury buildings are a couple of concerns he said he has if Measure K is approved saying, he wants to prevent the dynamic of Costa Mesa from being changed by what he calls profit-seeking “corrupt developers.”
He said if elected he would work with local developers to promote affordable housing, with residents’ approval.
“Nobody wants to be living in a building where you have to fight for parking or be stuck in traffic like LA,” he said.
The city’s approach to homelessness is something else he said he would change if elected.
“A lot of the homeless in Costa Mesa are coming from other places,” he said.
Miron said the city has done a good job providing solutions for the homeless, like building what’s known as a bridge shelter with 72 beds, but more can be done, including from adjacent areas.
He said neighboring cities are not doing enough to shoulder the burden, and Costa Mesa has become what he calls a “homeless haven.”
“We don’t want to be the one giving the most incentives,” he said.
Residential parking is also a key concern for the candidate. Miron said he would support modifying current restrictions to increase availability, through shared user agreements with commercial properties.
Miron holds a Bachelor’s Degree in criminal justice from Cal State Fullerton and has lived in Mesa del Mar for eight years.
“I love my city, I want to keep it the way it is,” he said.
His opponents for District 3, which encompasses part of the city’s eastside, are incumbent Andrea Marr and financial advisor John Thomas Patton.
