EDITORIAL

Throughout the past year, Costa Mesa planners and code enforcement

officials have placed the city on a road less taken, and one that Newport

Beach residents know quite well. And it’s no secret that many Costa Mesa

residents would have it no other way. In fact, it’s the best path for

Costa Mesa -- certainly much better than changing the city’s name.

But with changes come just that -- changes -- and sacrifices. If Costa

Mesa wants to conform more with Newport Beach, that’s exactly what it’ll

take.

However, with that said, the latest sacrifice the city staff hopes to

make into law goes a bit too far. It would prohibit residents from

parking inoperative vehicles in public view, including backyards. The

Planning Commission has already recommended the City Council adopt the

amendment to the property maintenance code.

Like previous arguments to place restrictions on recreational vehicles

and to rid the streets of abandoned shopping carts, code enforcement

officials say such clunkers add blight to the city and residents often

complain about them.

But while much of these changes and recommendations represent common

sense, one councilman suggests there’s a line to draw.

Councilman Gary Monahan argues that backyards are out of the public

view and thus residents should maintain their property rights and be able

to park their clunkers there.

“Where does the city get off telling people what they can keep in

their backyards, as long as it doesn’t pose a considerable health or

safety risk?”

Monahan has a point. Homeowners should be able to do what they want in

their backyards so long as it doesn’t cause harm to others or break the

law.

But the city also goes too far in saying that residents cannot park

their cars on their driveways to work on them. Cars do have problems and

sometimes need repairs. Is the city going to shell out money for

residents to take their cars to auto mechanics? We doubt it. People have

the right to work on their own cars as needed.

However, we, just like most residents, don’t want to see the same car

on blocks over long periods of time. So the city, if it really wants to

pursue this law, should rewrite it to provide a time restriction for

residents to leave inoperable cars in driveways. Maybe a week, or two.

Finally, before the city further dictates what residents should be

doing, it needs to take a good look at itself.

There are certainly many streets that need sprucing up, gutters to

clean and cracks to repair. From landscaping to pavement resurfacing, the

city doesn’t have a lot of room to criticize others.

Beautifying Costa Mesa is a lofty and worthy goal, but let’s make sure

the effort is united between government and residents and doesn’t come at

the expense of personal property rights.