Costa Mesa drops one battle over Motor Inn redevelopment
The Costa Mesa City Council decided this week to drop the appeal of a preliminary injunction that suspends efforts to redevelop the Costa Mesa Motor Inn as a high-end apartment complex.
But the city is still preparing to head to court to fight a lawsuit filed to stop the project.
Tuesday’s unanimous vote, taken in closed session because of ongoing litigation, means a judge’s order effectively preventing Motor Inn owner Miracle Mile Properties from moving ahead with plans to build 224 apartments on the motel property will remain in place.
Supporters of the project say it would rid the city of a blighted motel that has long housed long-term tenants and attracted a good share of illegal activity and police attention.
But the Kennedy Commission, an Irvine-based affordable-housing advocacy group, and some former Motor Inn residents allege the city approved the project without providing relocation plans or appropriate assistance for the low-income residents who would be displaced.
The redevelopment proposal is the subject of a lawsuit filed by the Kennedy Commission.
The 236-room motel, located at 2277 Harbor Blvd., is now officially closed. The last residents there moved out in November.
The council’s decision this week is a separate issue from the lawsuit, according to city spokesman Tony Dodero.
“We know this is going to trial in May, and we’d prefer to just await what we hope will be a favorable outcome,” he said Thursday.
The injunction from Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert O’Brien did not prevent Miracle Mile from relocating or vacating tenants ahead of the possible demolishing of the Motor Inn, only from proceeding with the project as proposed.
Ellia Thompson, a lawyer who represents the motel’s owner, told the Daily Pilot last month that a timeline for the teardown hasn’t yet been determined.
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
