Mailbag: Banning Ranch development would increase Costa Mesa traffic

Re. “Commentary: Fine-tuned Banning Ranch project fulfills needs of all,” (May 8): By reading the recent commentary concerning the Banning Ranch project, you would think that this project has zero drawbacks and is a 100% win for everyone.

This is far from the actual impact of the project for these reasons:

• The article touts that the project “fulfills the needs of all.” What about the citizens in Westside Costa Mesa and West Newport having to deal with the enormous traffic and infrastructure impact? This will also affect Eastside Costa Mesa, as people look for drive-through alternatives to get around traffic.

• The article did not mention the “T” word, traffic. Most of this traffic will be looking for a way to get to the 55 Freeway. Their route will be 15th or 17th streets. When they find these to be slow, they will bleed out to 19th and Victoria streets. The pressure to connect the project with a road to 19th Street will be strong. Has anyone noticed the increased traffic on 19th Street already? How about the very unusual intersection at 17th and Superior Avenue/Newport Boulevard? Can you imagine thousands of additional cars going through that intersection?

• I have asked the developers about the traffic issue. They minimize the effect because there is no solution. I have talked to the city of Costa Mesa transportation department and it has no solution. They have basically said they will handle this as best they can when the project happens.

• The project is in Newport Beach but most of the traffic will affect Costa Mesa. Per the environmental impact report, a minimum of seven intersections will be impacted severely and only one in Newport Beach.

• This project is massive. The project will have 1,375 homes, plus a hotel and retail on 412 acres. By comparison, Bolsa Chica has 349 homes on 2,000 acres, Crystal Cove has 635 homes on 980 acres.

Why has the Costa Mesa City Council been so accepting of the project? They are very pro-development, which can be good in some cases, by the way, at the extremely high cost to the residents of Westside Costa Mesa. Let’s face it, the article was written by someone who stands to profit from the project.

Ron Frankiewicz

Costa Mesa

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I called for an independent audit

On April 30, the Daily Pilot published an article that stated that Mayor Ed Selich has not been asked by any resident to do an outside audit of the City Hall (“2 Newport council members want audit of Civic Center project”).

In fact, I have asked this in several different City Council sessions, including in one just one month prior to this articles publication, on March 25.

In that session I very clearly stated that I did not trust the city’s internal audit, and said, “I would highly encourage us to have an outside audit.”

It seems that our elected officials and city staff regularly forget the countless times that I and other members of the community have asked them for an audit. I am glad public records exist so that they can be used to refresh the memories of those who have repeated memory loss when it comes to this subject.

Michael Glenn

Newport Beach

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