UCI students to create demographic profile of West Side

Elise Gee

WEST SIDE -- UCI graduate students will work this fall to create a

demographic profile of the West Side that will be used to gauge how well

the city’s revitalization plan meets the needs of the people who live and

work there.

Professor Kristen Day of UCI’s School of Social Ecology gave a brief

presentation Wednesday to a group of Latino leaders and advocates who

gathered at Avila’s El Ranchito to try and increase participation in West

Side input meetings.

The city hired consultants EIP Associates late last summer to come up

with a West Side specific plan that would address the incompatible zoning

and dilapidated condition of the West Side.

El Ranchito owner Maria Elena Avila, who is spearheading the effort to

increase Latino participation, has also worked as a liaison between the

city of Costa Mesa and UCI on the demographics project.

City Manager Allan Roeder said demographic information would be

valuable, especially when examining housing and employment issues.

“From my own personal view, I’m not sure there’s anyone who has a real

clear view -- although a lot of people may have strong opinions -- of

what the makeup of the West Side is,” Roeder said.

According to a 1995 Cal State Fullerton study, 25.2% of Costa Mesa’s

residents are Latino. It is believed that the West Side is predominantly

Latino, although there have been no studies on that particular portion of

the city to determine precise numbers.

Day said her students will take the study beyond just numbers.

“What we’re really hoping to do is go beyond really simple

demographics,” Day said. “Sometimes it’s a little obscured if you look at

just the numbers. It doesn’t communicate the essence of what a community

is all about.”

Day’s students plan to create profiles of the different enclaves on

the West Side, including the types of neighborhoods and businesses.

The study will be completed the first week of December, shortly after

the draft specific plan is completed. City officials expect to hold

public hearings at the beginning of next year and adopt the specific plan

before June, when the city’s general plan update is due to the state.

“We want to make sure that whatever’s being planned reallymeshes with

the needs of the people on the West Side,” Day said.