Huscroft House gets stay from council

Lolita Harper

Its pulse may have weakened considerably in the past year, but the

Huscroft House remains on life support after the City Council voted

Monday to consider one last option for the decaying structure.

Council members unanimously decided to give staff the opportunity

to negotiate a deal between the city and Westside property owner John

Morehart to move the dilapidated craftsman-style house from a spot at

TeWinkle Park to a large property on Bernard Street, where Morehart

plans to revive it.

The proposal, which was a last ditch effort by the city to save

the arguably historic house from demolition, gives Morehart the

structure, $30,000 to move it and waives any permit and building fees

normally associated with relocation and restoration projects such as

this one.

At the meeting, Eastside resident Beth Refakus said she was leery

of the deal because it would force a blighted house on the Bernard

Street neighborhood. As a taxpayer, Refakus said she was also opposed

to all the concessions the city was making to get rid of the house.

“We are paying this person to take it and then waiving all these

fees?” Refakus asked incredulously.

Councilman Allan Mansoor said that he too was opposed to spending

any more public funds on the house, but that this proposal falls

within the anticipated costs of about $35,000 for its demolition.

“I have no problem supporting this if someone in the community

wants to make a good effort at restoring it,” Mansoor said.

Council members also placed a timeline on the restoration project,

saying they didn’t want neighbors to be subjected to the blighted

home for any longer than was necessary. Morehart will have six months

from final approval of his designs for the property to begin

construction and a year to complete the project once he pulls the

permits.

Plans for the 12,000-square-foot Bernard Street property, on which

sit two single-family homes and two townhomes, would require a

city-issued zoning change and are still subject to review by the

Planning Commission and the public. Morehart has said that he wants

to demolish the front home and replace it with the Huscroft House.

If, for any reason, plans to move the Huscroft House fall through,

the council said the money allocated to negotiate with Morehart would

be used to demolish it.

* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at [email protected].