Home Ranch project mailer raises eyebrows

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- The grass roots are always greener on the other side,

members of the anti-Home Ranch camp claim -- especially if the “green”

refers to money.

Thanks to financial backing from C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, supporters of

the Home Ranch project were able to send a mass mailing over the weekend,

urging people to inform themselves before signing any referendum

petition.

The mailer marks the first counterattack by project supporters Costa

Mesa United in the post-council chambers war to overturn the city’s

decision.

Since the City Council overwhelmingly approved the project last month,

a different community group, Costa Mesa Citizens for Responsible Growth,

has pounded the streets, trying to gather enough signatures to put the

project to a vote.

The letter touted the benefits of the project -- which calls for a

flagship Ikea, 192 homes and a mix of commercial and industrial land use

-- and warned residents of possible scare tactics that could be used in

an effort to gather signatures.

“Like all citizens of Costa Mesa, we cherish the [referendum] process

and respect each of our votes. If you are asked to sign a petition to

place Home Ranch on the ballot, please make sure, as you do with all your

decisions, that you carefully review the facts,” the mailer read.

The element that has some residents up in arms is not found in the

body of the letter but on the envelope it came in.

The return address is C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, the company that wishes

to develop its 93 acres of former lima bean farm just north of the San

Diego Freeway.

Forrest Werner, the chairman of Costa Mesa United, insisted the group

operates independently from the Segerstroms and approached them for

financial support with the mailer.

“It’s pretty straightforward. We wanted to do a mailer to explain the

merits of the Home Ranch project. We didn’t have any funding, so we asked

the Segerstroms,” Werner said.

Jay Humphrey, a former mayor and leader of the opposition to Home

Ranch, said the mailer is just another example of the Segerstroms’

considerable advantage in the process. He went as far as to question the

legitimacy of Costa Mesa United, suggesting its members were concerned

more about business connections to the Segerstroms than the quality of

life for Costa Mesa residents.

“Politically, it’s a brilliant move,” said Humphrey, a member of Costa

Mesa Citizens for Responsible Growth. “Fight a grass-roots campaign with

what appears to be a grass-roots organization.”

But Paul Freeman, spokesman for C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, said

speculations such as Humphrey’s are unfounded and flat-out wrong. Freeman

said the Segerstroms partially funded the mailer because they agree

voters should be informed about the facts of the development before

agreeing to sign anything.

“They have a message, and we support it because it is getting out the

facts,” Freeman said.

Had Costa Mesa United not approached the developers, C.J. Segerstrom &

Sons would not have circulated its own mailer, Freeman said.

“We feared it could be construed as heavy-handed or trying to

influence people,” Freeman said.