Buying center for park not a solution

The suggestion by some that Costa Mesa property owners assess

themselves a parcel tax to purchase a portion of Mesa Verde Center

for park and recreational uses has many shortcomings, but two in

particular stand out: (1) in terms of broad community policies, it is

a misplaced priority; (2) regardless of priority, Mesa Verde Center

is now the wrong place for a recreational center.

If the City Council wants to ask taxpayers of Costa Mesa to assess

themselves in order to further public improvements, there are many

other unmet needs that would rank higher on the list of community

concerns. Why hasn’t this solution been suggested for Vista Center or

other underutilized sites on the Westside? Because it’s bad public

policy. I personally would never vote to raise my property taxes for

another Mesa Verde park or recreational facility when greater

problems -- unmet social obligations and long-needed Westside and

North Costa Mesa improvements, for example -- need immediate

attention.

Even though there appears to be overwhelming community demand for

a new park/recreational complex, this is not the right place.

Residents of the new homes adjacent to Mesa Verde Center would be

unreasonably affected by the adjacent recreational facilities --

facilities that would require active use to warrant the enormous

investment proposed by those who want the city to buy the center.

The Planning Commission approved the Kohl’s for several reasons,

one of which was the significantly reduced effect to the closest

neighbors when compared to the recreational uses that some wish to

see on the site.

If new recreational sites are to be established, there are better

and higher demand for locations in other parts of the city not

thriving with commercial vitality. For example, on Bristol Street in

the vicinity of the Lab and the Camp, near two retail complexes that

already attract a youthful and energetic clientele. Several sites in

the area are ripe for redevelopment, including a parcel owned by the

county, and there are no immediately adjacent neighborhoods whose

residents could be affected. Other possibilities include conversion

from industrial to recreation of older, underutilized and dilapidated

industrially zoned parcels on the Westside, a perfect complement to

the Westside’s thriving skate and surf industries. In addition, the

cost of developing a recreational facility in these areas would be

less costly because the land is less expensive and the possibility of

public-private partnerships exist.

A reactive parcel tax penalizes both residents and business

property owners. Instead, a better solution is for the city to

approve the Planning Commission’s unanimous recommendation to

proactively plan for and recruit business developers to create much

needed “family fun zones” in Costa Mesa.

* KATRINA FOLEY is a Costa Mesa Planning Commissioner.