Residents fear development of beloved park

Danette Goulet

COSTA MESA -- Dozens of children may lose their stomping grounds if the

school district goes ahead with the planned sale of a neighborhood park,

residents fear.

For more than 22 years, the city of Costa Mesa’s recreation department

has run a community and day-care center in Balearic Park.

Now, as the school district prepares to sell the 9.25-acre property to

the highest bidder, community members are banding together to fight the

sale.

Residents are worried about potentially losing that open space to a

developer, said resident Fran Hill, one of several neighbors opposed to

the sale.

“My personal goal would be to leave it as it is,” Hill said. “It’s

serving its purpose as a park, a playground and a community center. I

think it’s being used to its full advantage.”

Although the concept of selling the property is not a new one, residents

mobilized when the district received a recommendation Tuesday night to

sell the land.That recommendation was part of the facilities committee’s

final report. The committee, responsible for examining Newport-Mesa’s

crumbling schools and finding a way to fund the needed repairs, suggested

selling the park and another district-owned property to fund future

upkeep and maintenance of the improved schools.

The city leases the Balearic Park land from the district and will have

the first opportunity to buy the property, which would ensure it remains

a park. But residents fear the city may not be able to afford the land.

“The city wants it,” said Glen Stroud, recreation supervisor for the

city. “You can’t afford not to take open park land, but it’s expensive

property.”

Costa Mesa pays the district $42,142 a year for the land. The city has

been on a year-to-year lease since April, when its five-year lease

expired.

Meanwhile, upset residents are distributing hundreds of fliers throughout

the neighborhood to raise awareness, Hill said. The fliers read “Sell

Balearic? No! No! No!”

Those fliers are being followed by a petition to fight the sale.

Beatriz Smith and Consulo Salazar, two nannies in Costa Mesa who bring

their three small charges to the park every day, are not concerned with

funding school maintenance. They’re wondering where neighborhood children

will play without the park.

“It would be bad for the kids,” Smith said. “It’s the only place they

have to go.”

A community meeting is planned for Thursday Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the

Balearic Center, 1975 Balearic Drive. David Brooks, vice president of the

school board, will speak and answer questions.