Commission agrees to replace Fairview Park trail

Costa Mesa parks commissioners agreed Thursday that a paved trail in Fairview Park needs to be replaced but in a way that doesn’t harm a buried remnant of an ancient Native American settlement.

The 8-foot-wide asphalt trail, built in 1988, begins near the 208-acre park’s main parking lot off Placentia Avenue, heads north and continues west down a bluff and into county-owned Talbert Regional Park.

City staff says the downhill segment of the trail is cracked, too steep and the bluff itself is unstable.

Simply fixing the problems, however, would encroach upon the Fairview Indian Site, a buried remnant of a Native American settlement listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972.

The asphalt trail passes near the known archaeological core of the ancient settlement, officially known as CA-ORA-58.

Staff suggested that rather than refurbishing the existing trail, a new trail farther away from the core of the site should be constructed. The parks commissioners unanimously agreed and said they believe that the realigned trail would be consistent with Fairview Park’s master plan.

The realigned trail, also 8 feet wide, would require minimal grading, would not disturb any restored or protected areas and would better connect the southern end of Fairview to its northern wetland habitat, according to city staff.

It would essentially be constructed over a dirt trail formed by users over the years and would be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Instead of asphalt, the replacement trail would be made of colored concrete, which city officials say blends better with the landscape.

Public Services Director Ernesto Munoz said Friday that the city hopes to eventually remove the asphalt from the old trail and plant native vegetation there.

The City Council will take up the matter on Sept. 15.