What makes your city special to businesses and residents?
Costa Mesa’s motto, “City of the Arts,” visually describes our city. For commuters, we are very close to several freeways. For families, we offer 29 parks, including a 210-acre “natural” park. We have a great Mediterranean climate and are within 1 mile of the ocean. We have a fantastic municipal golf course, 19 public schools, several colleges of higher learning and two libraries, one of which we just opened to great fanfare.
What advantages does your city offer businesses that other cities don’t?
We are business friendly with low-cost business license fees and permits, some of the lowest in Orange County. We have a great relationship with our local chamber of commerce and support many of its programs. Our local TV station features and promotes businesses. Our city staff offers seminars to business owners on how to deal with the issues that arise from the homeless population. Also, our fire department offers preparedness training to our South Coast Metro businesses.
What are things that aren’t well known about your city that should be?
We are home to the Los Angeles Chargers. We also have world-class restaurants, including two with Michelin star rankings. Costa Mesa is the action sports capital with Vans, RVCA and Hurley making their home here. One fun fact is that Kobe Bryant has his business headquartered in Costa Mesa. Olympians such as beach volleyball player April Ross live here and we are home to Strut and Tin Lizzy, two of the four premier gay bars in Orange County.
If an outsider asks you for the most popular places for business executives to meet for a meal, what are your choices?
My favorites are Old Vine Kitchen & Bar at The Camp, the Silver Trumpet at the Avenue of the Arts Hotel, and Quattro Caffé in South Coast Plaza.
What’s a fun thing to do in your city?
Summertime. Going to the OC Fair, of course. But we also offer Concerts in the Park, the Pacific Symphony plays at the Pacific Amphitheater, and it’s also really fun to just hang out at the Argyros Plaza for dance nights, outdoor music and movies. On the weekends, I recommend going to Memphis Café and Social Kitchen, which are also a lot of fun.
What makes you the most proud about your city?
Costa Mesa has a very diverse population, which makes me extremely proud. I’m also proud of our creative culture that extends beyond the thriving arts community and into our retail and dining establishments.
What’s the best thing you’ve done as Mayor?
Just this year, we opened a world-class library with a 1-acre park designed by the renowned architectural firm Johnson Favaro. And during that same time, we opened a homeless shelter that to date has served more than 130 individuals and helped nearly 25 people move to permanent housing.
What is the biggest issue to resolve to make your city more business friendly?
We are currently creating a plan to expedite the approval process for locally owned restaurants and small businesses in our 19th Street/Newport Boulevard corridor. We are resolving ongoing parking dilemmas and reimagining our strip mall centers.
