A Great Park boondoggle closer to home

Costa Mesa has it’s own $10-million Great Park -- Fairview Park.

On Nov. 18 at 6:30 p.m., our City Council will review the project

plans for this park. I have discovered by attending a variety of

meetings that this project is out of control and is being shaped by

some people who do not even live in our city.

Back in 1985, the city bought Fairview Park to prevent it from

being over-developed, to maintain a passive-use park so there would

be minimal impact to the adjacent Talbert Preserve. Well,

over-development is exactly what the current City Council is planning

to do.

Since 1985, the county has spent millions of dollars returning the

Talbert Preserve to its natural state. It is one of the few remaining

California coastal planes.

We are quite good at running developers through various studies;

we seem to overlook the same for the council’s favorite project. I

recently attended a Parks and Recreation Commission meeting and

endured listening to people talk about how model glider planes were

scaring the birds. What seems to be avoided is how many human

visitors to a preserve are too many?

How many users are appropriate for a passive park, which is next

to a preserve? How do we prevent turning the preserve into another

“homeless jungle” like the section of park that is just south of

Victoria?

The problems of Costa Mesa’s “great park” are best symbolized by

the failed move of the Huscroft House to the park, because most

consider it a rotting eyesore of no historic value.

Unfortunately, our problems only start here. Due to the sensitive

nature of vernal pools, the state Department of Fish and Game may

restrict when the lights at a new stadium at the local high school

may be turned on. This is when we found out that Fish and Game has

not approved the current plans for the park. The dog park may require

the removal of plants that could be harmful to the dogs. Again, we do

not have approvals to remove plants from this sensitive area. BMX

bike riders will no longer be permitted, but when it is was pointed

out that the county allows BMX riders, we decided to change our mind.

My favorite is the 60-car lot in the lower portion of the park. I

personally believe this could have the greatest negative effect on

the Talbert Preserve. The excuses for the car lot range from

providing better coastal access to disabled access to the restroom in

Talbert Park. Closer inspection shows that the lot will not be set up

to be used by people that live north of the park, and the whole

Americans with Disabilities Act excuse is highly suspect. It is

unclear whether the city will provide the proper slope for

wheelchairs to get to this restroom, which is three football fields

away.

By the way, the county does not provide wheelchair paths to the

restroom once you get to county property. The hidden reason maybe the

county is looking for an access route for horses and their horse

trailers. I find it very ill-conceived to have a large parking lot

with no associated restroom facilities.

Some things were never meant to be developed, and I hope the City

Council will see the errors of its ways and leave Fairview Park

alone. I have lived in Mesa Verde for almost 20 years; maybe, the

city leaders could focus their efforts on why we never been able to

landscape Adams Avenue.

JAMES JONES

Costa Mesa