Other voices in the debate

PATY MADUENO

Community activities: Wedding coordinator, quinceanera coordinator,

Eucharist minister and co-chair of Spring Fair 2001 for St. Joachim

Church; member of Orange County Congregation Community Organization; and

member of the PICO California project

Age: 45

Favorite things about the Westside: The diversity, flavor, fantastic

weather and its accessibility to the bank, church, park, Triangle Square,

Courtyards, Target, schools, restaurants and the ocean

Things about the Westside that need improvement: I wish that there

were more pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and that Fairview Park were

expanded with shelters

Vision for the Westside: We need more access to community services,

such as community clinics, more affordable housing and a more

pedestrian-friendly sidewalk on 19th Street.

Reason she got involved: My family and I have lived here since 1980.

Costa Mesa is our home, and we have seen lots of changes. We want to be

part of the solution, not part of the problem. Our faith motivates us to

act and make a positive difference. Most importantly, the United States

is a country made by energetic, enthusiastic, dynamic and creative people

from all over the world, and I want to be part of that.

MIRNA BURCIAGA

Community activities: Chairwoman for the Latino Community Network,

president of Madres Costa Mesa, a member of the Newport-Mesa Unified

School District Community Oversight Committee, a Latino Business Council

board member, a TeWinkle Middle School Site Council member, a Parent

Connection coordinator and a member of the Leadership Tomorrow class of

2001

Favorite things about the Westside: The different flavors. It’s

amazing the variety of things that you can find here: cinemas, parks,

stores, eateries, churches, etc. You don’t need to go far away to find

what you need or to have fun.

Things about the Westside that need improvement: Street maintenance,

the facades of some businesses and apartments and the rundown buildings.

Some areas need beautification and the building codes need to be

enforced. We need to work together as a whole community and be informed.

Your vision for the Westside: A place where we can share our dreams

and work together to make those dreams a reality. Then, when an issue

comes to our table, the issue can create unity among us instead of divide

us. A community with no barriers to communication, a community that is

accepting of others who are different and sensitive to others’ needs.

Reason she got involved: I have been a resident of Costa Mesa for 20

years. I have my business in Costa Mesa, my husband works in Costa Mesa,

and my three children are attending Newport-Mesa Unified School District

schools. I believe these are my main reasons for getting involved. If we

want to promote positive changes and create a better environment, we have

to give to our community. Giving to others is a way of giving to

ourselves. I would like to see the Latino community become more involved,

to have a voice and to be more proactive. It takes time, but I believe we

are making progress.

CHRIS FEWEL

Community activities: A former city planning commissioner, a member of

the Surfrider Foundation and a former member of the Newport-Mesa Unified

School District Budget Advisory Committee

Age: 45

Favorite things about the Westside: Proximity to surf, nature

landscaping, large lots and cul-de-sac streets

Things about the Westside that need improvement: Infrastructure,

infrastructure and infrastructure

Vision for the Westside: The transition of the 19th Street and

Placentia Avenue intersection to a thriving retail destination and the

transition of industrial to residential along the bluffs.

Reason he got involved: The community needs an advocate so that

limited resources can be allocated equitably.

MARY FEWEL

Community activities: Founder of the Canyon Park neighborhood annual

Halloween Parade, co-leader of the parent group to reopen Victoria

Elementary School, founder of the Canyon Park Neighborhood Home and

Garden Walking Tours and the Paint-Plant Cleanup Day, former Victoria

Elementary School PTA president and a member of the Orange Coast Assn. of

Realtors Government and Political Affairs Committee

Age: 44

Favorite things about the Westside: The trails through Canyon Park. My

husband and I walk or jog almost every day through Canyon Park and out

through Talbert Park and to the Santa Ana River trail. It’s so quiet in

our neighborhood, it’s hard to believe we’re in the middle of 3 million

people in Orange County.

I also really like the people in the Westside. I’ve gotten a chance to

meet lots of different types of people in my neighborhood and in other

neighborhoods around Victoria School, which is an awesome school. There’s

a lot of diversity, and it seems that lots of younger, really creative

people are moving into the area.”

Things about the Westside that need improvement: The appearance of

19th Street from Harbor to Whittier and of Placentia Avenue from Joann to

16th streets -- the paving, landscaping, business facades and types of

businesses, as well as the utility lines, which should be underground.

Vision for the Westside: With the help of the current beefed-up and

much appreciated code enforcement, I foresee continued rapid improvement

in the Westside’s residential neighborhoods. I’ve seen a big change for

the better over the past year, and I’m really thankful to the City

Council for shifting more resources to code enforcement and creating

stronger penalties for noncompliance. The most exciting thing that’s

going on right now is the discussion the City Council is having about

redevelopment, especially of the commercial areas and the bluff area.

Reason she got involved: When we moved to West Costa Mesa in 1988 from

Newport Beach, I was amazed by its potential for improvement and

mystified by its many shortcomings. Over the past 11 years, I’ve led lots

of neighborhood activities that stress an attitude of “we can be

responsible for our own improvement” and also have lots of fun.

ROBERT GRAHAM

Community Activities: 19th to the Beach, former Costa Mesa Traffic

Commissioner

Age: 63

Favorite things about the Westside: Diversity, energy and uniqueness

of the residents and businesses, opportunity for changes that will bring

very positive results for all of Costa Mesa

Things about the Westside that need improvement: Eliminate the

isolation and stagnation.

Vision for the Westside: Continue 19th Street westward across the

Santa Ana River to connect with Brookhurst Street in Huntington Beach.

This will increase residential property values due to direct beach access

and the increased traffic on West 19th Street will provide opportunities

for businesses to expand and new businesses to succeed. The combination

of increased residential property values and increased commercial

opportunities on West 19th Street will be the economic engine that will

stimulate the entire area to change for the better.

Reason he got involved: The decisions by past and present Costa Mesa

city councils to call for the removal from the county master plan of

highways of Costa Mesa’s right to extend West 19th Street to Brookhurst

Street in Huntington Beach, is not now, nor has it ever been, based on

fact, study or logic.

It has instead been based on fear, hysteria and personal prejudice.

The issue of extending 19th Street to the Beach is the issue of the

Westside, without it the Westside will continue to be isolated and

stagnant, regardless of what artificial solutions like redevelopment

attempt to do.

Once this opportunity of extending 19th Street to the beach is

frivolously given away, regardless of future changes, it can never be

regained.

Let’s be all that we can be.