Here are some items the council will...

Here are some items the council will consider tonight:

IKEA AND SEGERSTROM DONATIONS

This is a good problem to have: The council must decide how to

spend a $350,000 donation from IKEA and a $200,000 contribution from

C.J. Segerstrom & Sons. The city had asked IKEA to fund a public art

installation but accepted the money instead. The Segerstrom donation

was to go to renovating the historic Huscroft House, but the house is

no longer owned by the city.

A resident has suggested that the money go toward the $1 million

the council recently promised to Costa Mesa United, a citizens’ group

raising money for athletic facilities at the city’s two high schools.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Since the last council meeting, when this item was continued, not

much discussion has taken place about where the money should go.

Because the funds were promised to the city in written agreements,

the donors would have to agree on any new uses for the money.

PLANNING COMMISSION STUDY SESSIONS

The city’s Planning Commission may hold fewer study sessions if

the council approves changes to the commission bylaws. The proposed

changes, recommended by the city attorney, would bring the commission

more into line with the council’s practice.

Right now, the council holds study sessions once a month on topics

of general community interest or that apply to an entire area of the

city. The Planning Commission, on the other hand, has study sessions

twice a month to review its agenda for the next meeting.

If the commission’s study sessions are restricted to include only

items of broader interest, the commission may not need to hold as

many sessions.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The change to the commission’s bylaws was drawn up at the request

of council members, so they’re likely to approve it.

ELDER CARE FACILITY

The council will decide whether to override the Planning

Commission’s decision not to allow a 16-bed assisted living home for

the elderly on East 23rd Street. After hearing testimony from

neighbors, the commission decided on April 11 that the facility

wouldn’t be compatible in a residential neighborhood.

James Sutherland, who planned to buy the property and build the

assisted living home, appealed the commission’s decision.

WHAT TO EXPECT

It’s hard to say how the council will go on this. While council

members have supported senior housing in the past, they may classify

this facility as a group home, which some residents complain are too

plentiful in the city already.

-- Compiled by Alicia Robinson