Costa Mesa council adopts legislative platform, asks staff to update policy and return with bill matrix

The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday adopted a legislative platform to guide the city's state and federal advocacy and directed staff to update council policy and return with a finalized bill matrix after receiving additional council feedback.

City government-affairs staff and consultants from Townsend Public Affairs reviewed state and federal developments and presented the draft platform, which organizes principles under council goals such as public safety, housing and climate resiliency. Staff recommended the platform be used to identify measures for city engagement, to prioritize funding requests and to evaluate legislative proposals for alignment with city priorities.

Why it matters: A formal legislative platform signals to the city's lobbyists, legislative delegation and partner agencies what the council seeks to preserve or advance. The adopted platform emphasizes preserving local authority on land-use and public-safety matters, supporting continued funding for CDBG and HOME programs, opposing unfunded state or federal mandates that shift costs to local government, and supporting multi-year investments for climate resilience and charging infrastructure.

Staff presentations identified several bills of local interest: AB 476 (metal-theft dealer requirements), SB 346 (short-term rental facilitator reporting), bills in a sober-living oversight package (including AB 492 and SB 329), and SB 79 (transit-oriented housing) among others. Staff recommended support for a number of measures aligned with city goals and described where staff recommended neutrality or no position when a bill did not materially affect Costa Mesa.

Council direction and next steps: The council voted 7-0 to adopt the platform, directed staff to revise Council Policy No. 8 (legislative procedures) to reference the new platform (including editing out outdated staff titles such as "Chief of Staff"), and asked staff to bring back the legislative matrix and any proposed additions at the next council meeting so councilmembers may provide detailed input.

Public comment and follow-up: Speakers included a representative from the Costa Mesa Alliance for Better Streets, who urged support for SB 79 (transit-oriented housing) even though the bill would not upzone any Costa Mesa parcels; the speaker said supporting regional housing near transit benefits the broader area. Resilience Orange County asked the city to add explicit support for tenant protections and rental-stability measures; the council asked staff to accept further input and to return with a revised draft.

The council's action authorizes staff and the city's contract lobbyists to use the platform as the basis for advocacy and to bring back an updated bill matrix with positions for council review. Councilmembers said the platform should be treated as a living document and asked that staff incorporate additional council feedback before the matrix is finalized.