Complex sentence: During public hearings on the future of the site, members of Costa Mesa's planning commission originally approved a proposal to build a department store; following public outcry, those plans were scrapped in favor of "senior housing and commercial use".
Split into simpler sentences: During public hearings on the future of the site, members of Costa Mesa's planning commission originally approved a proposal to build a department store. Following public outcry, those plans were scrapped in favor of "senior housing and commercial use".