Vociferous over fairness

At the end of a tense three-hour public meeting Monday in Costa Mesa on the proposed sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds, Assemblyman Van Tran surprised many by vowing to carry a bill to keep the 150-acre site zoned for fair use only should the state sell it off.

The meeting at City Council Chambers drew hundreds of people, from residents to horse-riding enthusiasts to politicians, who spoke out unanimously against the planned sale, which many claimed was decided without any input from the public.

Many in the crowd gave Tran a standing ovation.

Tran, who will term out of office in 2010 after serving three terms in the Assembly, is running for Congress next year.

He hopes to unseat Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a Democrat, in the 2010 mid-term elections.

During Monday’s meeting, Costa Mesa City Council members also said they were working to create a June ballot initiative in which residents could vote to keep the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa zoned as a fairground.

Councilwoman Katrina Foley said that she was very pleased to hear of Tran’s support, and that the city would work with Tran as he moves ahead with introducing the legislation in Sacramento.

Tran joined with Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim) to hold the informational hearing, at which dozens of people spoke about the property’s many assets, including the Orange County Fair, Equestrian Center, Centennial Farm and Pacific Amphitheatre.

Many speakers voiced their frustration that the 9 a.m. meeting was their first chance to speak out about the sale, and that it should have been in the evening so those with jobs could attend.

Others stated their concern that the property won’t be worth purported values of up to $140 million if it were sold, as the city plans to keep the area zoned for fairground use.

Bob McKinnon of the state Department of General Services, the agency tasked with selling the property, said the state has not yet done an appraisal of the fairgrounds, and offered no estimate of how much money the sale could bring in.

He also said the state had not established a minimum amount the property could be sold for, increasing fears in the audience of lowball offers that would negate the whole purpose of selling the property.

Several activists voiced beliefs that a new foundation — made up of the fairgrounds’ governing board members — encouraged the property’s sale through a lobbyist, so they could purchase it themselves.

Fair President and Chief Executive Steve Beazley responded by saying that the person hired, former state Sen. Dick Ackerman, was strictly asked to gather information from Sacramento.

The state legislators made no comment about the allegations; Kristina Dodge, the chairwoman of the fairground board and the foundation board, asked the community to rally behind “local control” of the fairgrounds.

“I think the fair can be so much more successful as a private enterprise,” she said.

“The fair receives no funding from the state, but is required to follow the same rules and regulations” as state-funded entities like the prison system, Beazley said.

The fairgrounds is the only such public-owned entity in the state to be put on the market officially out of more than 20 state-owned properties listed for potential sale, including the Cow Palace in San Francisco and the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego County.

“Why is it that no other county in the state has to give up their fairgrounds?” asked former Huntington Beach Mayor Connie Boardman. “What on Earth happened?”

One Costa Mesa resident likened the sale to suicide: “A permanent solution to a temporary problem.”

“If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. The state’s broke — not our fairgrounds,” longtime resident Robin Leffler said to raucous cheers from the crowd.

Jeff Teller, whose family operates the Orange County Marketplace outdoor swap meet on the fairgrounds, voiced concern that there is no guarantee of a “safe” sale under the current bid requirements.

McKinnon said a request for proposals was released in October; proposals are due to the state by Jan. 8, and an auction will take place Jan. 14 for those who met the requirements and made a $50,000 deposit.

“At this point, the person who could prevent the sale is Gov. Schwarzenegger,” Solorio said.

County Treasurer Chriss Street detailed estimated financing costs for every $10 million of borrowing, should a private or public entity try to purchase the fairgrounds.

With an estimated $2 million profit per year, financing costs would range from $655,000 per year for an AA General Obligation bond to $1.37 million annually for a private option with 50% equity, Street said.

He also gave a stark example of declining property values: the Heritage Fields property in Tustin, which went from a high appraisal of $365 million to $85 million in a year. Citicorp, which is funding development on the property, appraised it at just $42 million, he said.

Street did not offer an estimated property value for the fairgrounds, but emphasized the state’s need to sell the property.

“The state is in a very desperate financial situation,” he said. “It is not going to get better. It is going to get worse.”