A well-planned beginning

Young Chang

Somehow, in my last two years of writing about the first (fill in

the blank) -- the list has included mayors, city managers, fire

chiefs, police chiefs, doctors, city clerks, and even a few people to

have been the second of the aforementioned positions -- I’ve

overlooked the first planning director.

Costa Mesa’s first such leader was William L. Dunn, who still

lives in Costa Mesa today and is 78. The Minnesota native moved to

the city with his wife, Patricia, in 1951, after they were married in

1945.

Until then, he had served in the Marine Corps during World War II

and also spent 18 months serving overseas.

After returning to the States and moving to Costa Mesa with his

wife and two sons, Dunn went to Orange Coast College, Whittier

College and Cal State Long Beach.

In 1955, he was hired by the city as a planning technician.

“And then, Costa Mesa sent him to the Massachusetts Institute of

Technology to study planning,” said Bob Wilson, former mayor of the

city and a historian. “He was very methodical in everything he did.”

Robert Unger was city manager at the time, and Dunn’s

city-initiated scholarly pursuits also took him to the University of

Southern California.

In 1958, he was named planning director of Costa Mesa.

Dunn said last week that the accomplishment he is most proud of

while serving as planning director has to do with the city’s famous

shopping destination, South Coast Plaza.

“That was initiated and started on his watch,” said Patricia Dunn,

who was relaying her husband’s words to me over the phone. “And it

was the city’s rapport with the Segerstroms and the subsequent

development of South Coast Plaza and so on.”

Other city highlights during the 27 years Dunn worked for Costa

Mesa include the sprouting of the Harbor Boulevard of Cars, the

formation of a redevelopment agency in the city and the building of

Triangle Square, according to Wilson’s history “From Goat Hill to

City of the Arts: The History of Costa Mesa.”

Wilson remembers that William Dunn always did everything correctly

and never insincerely encouraged people.

“And he was very, very good with working with developers,” the

former mayor added.

Dunn retired in 1982.

He says his fondest memory of being the city’s first planning

director is “being real busy.”

* Do you know of a person, place or event that deserves a

historical LOOK BACK? Contact Young Chang by fax at (949) 646-4170 or

e-mail at young.chang@latimes.com.