“My priorities are straightforward: keep Costa Mesa safe, maintain our streets and parks, fix the permitting process, and support local businesses and protect taxpayers,” said District 3 candidate Daniel Morgan.
This November, residents of Costa Mesa’s 3rd District will decide who replaces City Councilwoman Andrea Marr, who is termed out. The two candidates in the running are Daniel Morgan and Cara Stewart. We asked both about their backgrounds, priorities and positions on the major issues facing Costa Mesa.
What follows is our conversation with Daniel Morgan. At the time of writing, Cara Stewart has yet to respond to our questions submitted September 2, 2026 to an email address she provided us, but we intend to publish her full candidate profile if we receive a response.
Some may already recognize Morgan’s name as he serves on Costa Mesa’s Finance and Pension Advisory Committee. Beyond that, he owns and operates real estate, property management and investment businesses and previously served on the Orange County Planning Commission.
“I see firsthand why some projects move forward and others do not, and how delays and uncertainty at City Hall affect whether someone decides to invest in a property or take their money somewhere else,” said Morgan.
In particular, he took aim at the glacial pace of Costa Mesa’s permitting process as it stands presently, citing examples such as the Jump Start Adventure Park which has been waiting on the City for six months to complete a conditional use permit (CUP)—which itself is a prerequisite for the actual permit process. Morgan points out that other cities can complete the entire process, from CUP to permit, in only four months.
Another business, Harper Barbecue, took seven and a half years to open largely due to issues surrounding permitting, zoning, and health department approvals.
“I view permits as a leading economic indicator for a city. You cannot open a new restaurant, renovate a shopping center, build housing or substantially reinvest in a property without going through the permitting process. When that process is slow, unpredictable or unnecessarily expensive, investment goes somewhere else,” said Morgan. “If we make Costa Mesa one of the easiest cities in Orange County to reinvest in, we can unlock an enormous amount of value along corridors like Harbor Boulevard and Newport Boulevard.”
Morgan believes permitting reform can bring new restaurants, retail and other amenities residents want while spurring reinvestment in properties and neighborhoods that have not seen meaningful improvements in decades. He also sees an opportunity to strengthen Costa Mesa’s property tax base over time as underutilized commercial properties change ownership or undergo substantial new construction.
That’s just one way Costa Mesa can unlock a stable source of new revenue and improve its financial position without raising taxes on residents or cutting services. And that will address what Morgan believes is the city’s biggest challenge: its budget.
Indeed, Costa Mesa is facing structural fiscal challenges, with forecasted expenditures rising at roughly 4% annually while revenues are only projected to grow by 3%. That structural gap creates an immediate shortfall that is expected to widen, with annual deficits approaching $5 million by the 2030-31 fiscal year. On top of that, the projections also do not fully account for major long-term expenses involving facilities, parks, pavement and technology.
“A more efficient permitting system can encourage private investment. Private investment can improve our commercial corridors and neighborhoods. That, in turn, can strengthen the sales and property tax base that funds the services residents expect,” said Morgan.
For Morgan, permitting reform starts with establishing measurable permitting standards, automating simple permits where possible and publishing performance data so residents can see whether City Hall is actually improving.
Instead (and perhaps alarmingly for the business community), the current City Council is now toying with the idea of business license fee hikes.
When asked if the last decade of leadership on the Costa Mesa City Council has moved the city in the right or wrong direction, Morgan provided a measured response and said they can’t be fairly described as “entirely good or entirely bad.” Evidently, there are areas of both significant agreement and disagreement.
“One decision I strongly supported was Costa Mesa declining to join the Orange County Power Authority,” said Morgan. “I served on the Finance and Pension Advisory Committee when we reviewed the proposal, made the motion recommending that the city not join, and that recommendation passed 3-2. Given the financial and governance concerns that later emerged around OCPA, I believe Costa Mesa made the right call.”
“On the other hand,” he continued, “I think the city has increasingly drifted toward policies that add cost and regulation without enough consideration of the consequences. The proposed rental registry and additional landlord regulations were a recent example. Costa Mesa already has substantial state regulation governing rental housing. Adding another local layer would have increased costs that ultimately get passed through to housing providers and tenants.”
The subject of housing naturally segues into a discussion on the fate of the Fairview Development Center, which is located in District 3. To summarize a years-long, evolving debate, the City Council is just days away from holding a vote on whether or not it will proceed with a controversial recommendation from the City’s Planning Commission to develop a staggering 4,000 total housing units in the space.
All prior iterations of this rezoning plan included some housing, but the most recent proposal would entail a shocking degree of density that comes with obvious traffic and safety concerns. The community response has been overwhelmingly apprehensive to say the least.
“I oppose the current proposal to place roughly 4,000 or more units on the property. The City’s Housing Element identifies 2,300 units for the site. I believe we should start there,” said Morgan.
“I am also concerned about concentrating such a large percentage of the project’s affordable housing on one site,” he continued. “Very aggressive inclusionary housing requirements can make the remaining market-rate housing more expensive because the cost of subsidized units does not simply disappear. It is generally absorbed by the rest of the project.”
Morgan detailed other ways to produce affordable housing, including acquiring existing units and deed-restricting them, using tax-credit financing and distributing affordable housing opportunities throughout the city rather than concentrating them in one enormous development.
“Fairview is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. We should build housing there, but we should also protect surrounding neighborhoods, address traffic and emergency access, provide parks and public amenities and make sure the project fits Costa Mesa.”
We concluded by asking Morgan if there was anything else he’d like Costa Mesa residents to know about his priorities.
“I’m running because I believe Costa Mesa needs practical leadership focused on the core responsibilities of local government and a much stronger focus on the city’s long-term financial health,” said Morgan. “My priorities are straightforward: keep Costa Mesa safe, maintain our streets and parks, fix the permitting process, support local businesses and protect taxpayers.”
