Officials find no pollution in community garden

Preliminary tests at Costa Mesa’s Hamilton Community Garden found no pollution in the soil, according to an announcement from the city Wednesday.

Orange County health officials closed the garden earlier this month to perform tests after contaminated soil was discovered at an adjacent property that had been the site of an auto repair shop. Twenty-eight homes are scheduled to be built on that property.

The developer was required to pay for the monitoring before building any homes, but officials said the tests on the garden plot, at 523 Hamilton St., were mostly a precaution.

In an email to the city Friday, geologist Kelly Brown said four wells were installed to take water and soil samples and then removed.

A fifth well will remain so officials can continue to take quarterly samples.

Brown wrote that she will keep forwarding test results to the city as she receives them.

— Jeremiah Dobruck

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck