ATTACHMENT 4
Resolution No. PC-2026-xx Page 1 of 6
RESOLUTION NO. 2026-XX
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA
MESA, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING THE LAND USE, CIRCULATION,
COMMUNITY DESIGN, HOUSING, NOISE, AND OPEN SPACE AND
RECREATION ELEMENTS OF THE GENERAL PLAN, AMENDING THE
NEWPORT BOULEVARD SPECIFIC PLAN, NORTH COSTA MESA
SPECIFIC PLAN, AND ONE METRO WEST SPECIFIC PLAN, AND READOPTING THE HOUSING ELEMENT (PREVIOUSLY ADOPTED ON SEPTEMBER 1, 2026)
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA FINDS AND DECLARES AS FOLLOWS:
WHEREAS, in November 2022, the Costa Mesa community voted in support of Measure K, which enacted Costa Mesa Municipal Code (CMMC) section 13-200.106(g) and exempted requirement for future voter initiatives for specific parcels; and WHEREAS, the implementation of Measure K rezoning and City of Costa Mesa Sixth Cycle (2021-2029) Housing Element require amendments to the Newport Boulevard, North Costa Mesa, and One Metro West Specific Plans and the Land Use, Circulation, Community Design, Housing, Noise, and Open Space and Recreation Elements of the General Plan for consistency; and
WHEREAS, California law requires every city to adopt a general plan, which must include specified mandatory elements, and may include additional optional elements, in furtherance of State policy to provide a comprehensive, long-term plan for the physical development and use of property within the City’s jurisdiction; and WHEREAS, on October 22, 2024, the City released the solicitation of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the NWWAB effort was released via PlanetBids, the City’s web-based procurement system, where five proposals were received and evaluated by City staff based on the selection criteria identified in the RFP, and of the five proposals, Dudek was selected as the qualified consultant to complete the NWWAB scope of work; and
WHEREAS, on February 18, 2025, the City Council approved an agreement between the City and Dudek pursuant to the RFP; and
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WHEREAS, the NWWAB project was prepared following Housing Element Program 3G, Measure K, and City Council direction all calling for the effort to engage the community in the visioning and planning process; and
WHEREAS, July through October 2025, the first round of community visioning was conducted, which included a communitywide open house and three separate workshops at locations throughout the community, one including a walking tour and another including a design charette, an online survey, three focus group discussions with local stakeholders, as well as a dozen pop-up outreach activities at City events, local businesses, local organizations, and the preparation of a community visioning summary; and WHEREAS, March through April 2026, the second round of community visioning took place and included two in-person workshops, one virtual workshop, and two focus group discussions with local stakeholders, and the preparation of a community visioning summary; and
WHEREAS, May through August 2026, the third round of community visioning took place and included a communitywide open house, two focus group discussions with local stakeholders; and several public review comment periods (Zoning Code, Specific Plan, and General Plan updates, two comment periods specific to the Housing Element, and one specific to the Draft Program Environmental Impact Report), the preparation of a community visioning summary, and separate responses to comments on the Draft Program Environmental Impact Report; and
WHEREAS, the community open houses, workshops, survey, and pop-up events were advertised through various means, including social media posts, postcard mailers to over 44,000 residential units (three times), email notifications to interested parties, flyer distribution, City Hall Snapshot articles emailed to approximately 10,000 email addresses, and A-frame signs placed outside of City facilities, announcements made at Planning Commission and City Council meetings, and newspaper advertisements; and WHEREAS, on May 18, 2026, drafts of the General Plan and specific plan amendments and other documents were made available for public review and comment, and notifications regarding the availability of the draft documents were completed in compliance with State law; and
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WHEREAS, at a special meeting on August 17, 2026, the Planning Commission held a study session to receive a presentation on NWWAB including General Plan and Specific Plan amendments and after public comment the Planning Commission received and filed the report and provided feedback on the documents; and WHEREAS, California Government Code section 65580 et sec. (State Housing Element Law) requires each city and county to adopt a housing element that identifies and analyzes existing and projected housing needs within their jurisdiction and prepare goals, policies, programs, quantified objectives, and sites to further the development, improvement, and preservation of housing; and
WHEREAS, nonvacant sites in the City continue to be redeveloped for housing, Housing Element Sites have been analyzed for redevelopment potential, and therefore existing development is not presumed to impede additional residential development; and WHEREAS, the City’s Sixth Cycle (2021-2029) Housing Element was adopted by the Costa Mesa City Council on February 1, 2022, by Resolution No. 2022-06 and amendments adopted on November 15, 2022, by Resolution No. 2022-67, and was revised March 1, 2023, to incorporate non-substantive changes as directed by the City Council, and amended on March 17, 2026, by Resolution No. 2026-07 to remove 17 Housing Element Opportunity Sites and add two sites—both within the boundary of Measure K—to the Housing Element Candidates Sites Analysis at the request of the respective property owners, and most recently amended on September 1, 2026, by adopting Resolution No. 2026-38 to maintain adequate sites capacity and comply with State Housing Law; and
WHEREAS, on September 1, 2026, the City Council: 1) adopted the amended Sixth Cycle (2021-2029) Housing Element, adopting Resolution No. 2026-38 to maintain adequate sites capacity and comply with State Housing Law; and 2) took action to notify the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) of the City’s intent to overrule ALUC’s Determination of Inconsistency for the NWWAB planning effort, including the Housing Element amendment; and
WHEREAS, the City must re-adopt the same Housing Element, in the same form that was adopted by the City Council on September 1, 2026, following City Council action to complete the overrule of ALUC’s determination; and
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WHEREAS, on September 14, 2026, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing at which all interested persons had the opportunity to speak for and against the proposed amendments, and voted 4-3, to continue the item to a date certain to allow more time to review the drafts; and
WHEREAS, on September 28, 2026, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing at which the Chair reopened the public hearing and all interested persons had the opportunity to speak for and against the proposed amendments, and voted 3-1, to recommend that the City Council certify the NWWAB Final PEIR and adopt the proposed amendments and documents; and
WHEREAS, on October 20, 2026, the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing at which all interested persons had the opportunity to speak for and against the proposed amendments; and
WHEREAS, the proposed amendments implement a schedule of actions contained in the approved Housing Element pursuant to Government Code section 65583 and do not allow the construction of a distribution center, or oil and gas infrastructure, accordingly, the proposed amendments are statutorily exempt from CEQA pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21080.085(a) (an exemption also known as SB 131), however the City of Costa Mesa determined that a Program Environmental Impact Report would be appropriate to study the potential environmental impacts of NWWAB and the City chose to evaluate the application of the Mixed-Use Overlay District to both non-Housing Element Measure K sites and Housing Element sites (except the Fairview Developmental Center Specific Plan site) in an effort to better understand the cumulative impacts, for transparency to the public, and for disclosure and mitigation; and WHEREAS, on October 20, 2026, the City Council Certified the Final PEIR for the NWWAB effort, adopted findings of fact, adopted the statement of overriding considerations, and adopted the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program; and WHEREAS, the City Council has duly considered the totality of the record and all evidence submitted into the record, including public testimony and the evaluation and recommendations by staff and Planning Commission, presented at said hearings; and WHEREAS, notices of said public hearings were made at the time and in the manner required by law; and
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NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA HEREBY RESOLVES as follows:
BE IT RESOLVED that based on the evidence in the record the Land Use, Circulation, Community Design, Noise, and Open Space and Recreation Elements are hereby amended as shown in Exhibit A, the Housing Element is hereby readopted in the form as approved on September 1, 2026 in Exhibit A for purposes of completing the overrule of ALUC’s determination, and the Newport Boulevard Specific Plan, North Costa Mesa Specific Plan, and One Metro West Specific Plan are hereby amended as shown in Exhibit B.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Costa Mesa City Council does hereby find and determine that adoption of this Resolution is expressly predicated upon the activity as described in the staff report, and compliance of all applicable federal, state, and local laws.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if any section, division, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this resolution, or the document in the record in support of this resolution, are for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 20th day of October, 2026.
John Stephens, Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
________________________ _____________________________
Brenda Green, City Clerk Kimberly Hall Barlow, City Attorney
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
Resolution No. 2026-xx Page 6 of 6
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss
CITY OF COSTA MESA )
I, BRENDA GREEN, City Clerk of the City of Costa Mesa, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the above and foregoing is the original of Resolution No. 2026-xx and was duly passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Costa Mesa at a regular meeting held on the 20th day of October, 2026, by the following roll call vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereby set my hand and affixed the seal of the City of Costa Mesa this xxth day of October, 2026.
___________________________
Brenda Green, City Clerk