Costa Mesa undoes the strings on a mask mandate that caused controversy but netted few citations A sign posted in November 2020 along Fair Drive warns residents and visitors that “no mask = $100 fine” in Costa Mesa. City lawmakers on Tuesday repealed the mandate. (File Photo) Print A mandate requiring facial coverings for all who enter Costa Mesa — in place for more than a year and fuel for frequent debates between pandemic rule followers and anti-maskers — was repealed Tuesday in favor of less strict state guidelines. City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison imposed the measure in April 2020 to help curtail the spread of the coronavirus after declaring a local state of emergency that March. In a social media campaign last summer, signs warning “No Mask = $100 Fine” inspired some residents to post bare-faces photos in a dare to local police.