Costa Mesa drafting affordable housing law for new projects
When the Costa Mesa City Council met in 2016 to consider requiring developers to include a percentage of affordable units in new housing projects a...
When the Costa Mesa City Council met in 2016 to consider requiring developers to include a percentage of affordable units in new housing projects as a means of securing shelter for lower income residents, the discussion met a dead end. Then-Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer said an inclusionary housing ordinance constituted 'socialized housing' and amounted to theft by depriving developers of their right to sell homes at fair market value. 'If you cannot afford to live here and your kids can't have decent housing, you should look at where you can afford,' Righeimer said before the council agreed not to advance such a policy.