Can Anyone Count on a Partnership with Costa Mesa?

We Are Costa Mesa

June 30, 2026

~4 min read

Newport Beach is officially moving its shelter partnership out of Costa Mesa. (Article Here) After years of relying on Costa Mesa's Bridge Shelter, Newport Beach is now contracting with Huntington Beach for shelter bed space, and leaders there say the move will save roughly $1 million per year.

That should concern every Costa Mesa taxpayer. But it should also sound familiar, because it fits a pattern.

One by one, the city's working relationships keep dissolving, and rarely does anyone in city leadership pause to ask why.

The Tennis Center relationship blew up, with the operator walking off the courts in January and the city scrambling to keep the lights on through an interim fill-in. The animal shelter contract ended, pushing that service to WAGS in Westminster, which means residents now pay for care that sits outside the city, farther away and harder to reach. The city parted ways with Mercy House, a long term shelter operator. Even the janitorial and custodial contract changed hands, with the incumbent shown the door.

Each of these may have an explanation. Taken together, they tell a story about a city that struggles to hold onto the partners it depends on.

Now look at the shelter numbers, because this is where the cost of that instability becomes clear.

Costa Mesa's Bridge Shelter has grown into an increasingly expensive regional operation. In 2023, Newport Beach expanded its guaranteed access to 25 beds at a cost of $1.275 million per year, plus per-day charges for overflow beds. Costa Mesa, at the same time, raised its agreement with Mercy House to more than $2.18 million annually to run the expanded shelter. The City Council staff report is here: Costa Mesa Staff Report on Bridge Shelter Expansion.

The spending kept climbing. Costa Mesa also approved a food service contract for the shelter worth up to $492,750 per year through 2030. That agreement is here: Bridge Shelter Kitchen Services Contract.

According to the City's Housing Authority budget, Costa Mesa expects roughly $5.8 million in annual expenditures while taking in only about $4.3 million in revenue, leaving the city to cover the gap with about $1.7 million in subsidy to fund homeless programs and rental assistance. That budget is here: Costa Mesa Housing Authority Budget.

While the bill grew, Newport Beach quietly headed for the exit. It first cut its guaranteed beds from 25 to 20, then eliminated them entirely. According to the Daily Pilot, Newport Beach's withdrawal was expected to cost Costa Mesa about $170,000 in lost annual revenue, even after per-bed costs had risen. That article is here: Daily Pilot Coverage.

Rather than reexamining the program, Costa Mesa went looking for someone to backfill the empty beds. Earlier this year the city approved an agreement letting Irvine buy shelter beds at $163 per bed per day. Around the same time, reporting by Voice of OC found that the Bridge Shelter averaged 28 vacant beds every night during the final months of 2025. That reporting is here: Voice of OC Article on Irvine Partnership.

This is the pattern in miniature. A partner leaves, the city finds a replacement, and no one stops to ask whether the underlying model still makes sense.

So the questions write themselves.

Why is Costa Mesa still running one of the region's most expensive shelter systems while neighboring cities trim their commitments?

Why did Newport Beach conclude it could get comparable service elsewhere and save taxpayers roughly $1 million a year?

If the Bridge Shelter routinely sits with dozens of empty beds, why are Costa Mesa taxpayers still subsidizing millions in operating costs?

And the bigger question behind all of it: when partner after partner walks away, why does the city keep searching for the next one instead of asking what it is doing to drive them off?

There is also the matter of what comes next. The Tennis Center still has no RFP on the table. If that is the pace, how long before the animal shelter situation is sorted out, and will any serious operator even bother to bid on a city with this track record?

Newport Beach reports that homelessness on its streets has dropped sharply. Instead of expanding a costly regional shelter model, it strengthened enforcement, scaled back its shelter commitments, and found a cheaper partnership.

Costa Mesa residents deserve that same fiscal discipline and accountability.

We Are Costa Mesa will keep demanding transparency, responsible spending, and a serious review of whether taxpayers are getting the results they were promised, and whether this city can be trusted to keep the partnerships it makes.