Fairview owl has friends in high places
Lolita Harper
One small owl, which has chosen Fairview Park as its winter
get-a-way, has ruffled a few feathers at City Hall.
A lone burrowing owl -- a small bird native to the treeless, short
grass country of North America -- retreats to the east side of
Fairview Park from December to March and vacations in an abandoned
squirrel hole, environmental documents show.
Who gives a hoot? Plenty of people, including state environmental
officials, whose opinion carried considerable weight with the City
Council. Because of the bird’s part-time presence, the council erased
a proposed dog park, botanical garden and pond from the Fairview Park
master plan.
In a letter, state Department of Fish and Game officials warned
the city that the three proposed projects could be a detriment to the
burrowing owl. Instead of spending the money to evaluate and study
what kind of effect a pond, dog park and botanical garden might have,
the council deleted the items entirely.
Council members also brazenly denied consideration for a skate
park on the east end of the park, which had been circulated as a
possible venue.
The owl forced city leaders to take a decisive action on the
91.7-acre piece of land, which has been the topic of debate for
almost five years.
The Fairview Park master plan was adopted in Dec. 15, 1997. Since
then, numerous aspects of the plan, including proposals for paved
trails, parking structures, a cultural museum, botanical gardens and
the railroad, have been debated in City Hall.
City leaders have spent hours in the last few years reviewing
questionable items, holding public hearings and hiring experts to
conduct community workshops.
But all those hours of work, all the input gathered from residents
-- who overwhelmingly supported a skateboard park, a dog park and the
model railroad at Fairview-- failed to compete with one burrowing owl
that swayed the council.
Although it is not considered rare, the burrowing owl could become
endangered because of its preference for uncultivated land, which is
becoming increasingly rare in Southern California, fish and game
documents read. The owl also lives in “used” homes of other animals
and depends on the survival of squirrels, badgers, woodchucks, foxes,
skunks and armadillos.
Mayor Linda Dixon said the city needs to protect scarce species
and was pleased that some compromises could be worked out with the
Orange County Model Railroad engineers. Dixon voted against axing the
dog park, saying Thursday she would have rather seen it moved to
another part of the park.
The decision did not sit well with those wanting to see additions
to Fairview.
Terry Tyson, a member of the Bark Park Foundation, said the
council had a knee-jerk reaction to the not-so rare owl and was
disappointed that years of planning had gone to waste.
Jim Gray, who is leading the charge for a skate park in Costa
Mesa, said the owl gave the council another excuse to dispense with
skateboarders’ needs. Gray said he was pleased about the city’s plans
for a possible skate park at Davis Elementary, but said the city
needs more than one.
Fairview Park offers the perfect venue, with great access and
plenty of space, he said.
Gray motivated his group, the Skateboard Coalition, to attend the
various Fairview Park community outreach meetings and said he felt
ignored.
“Why did they even pay to have the meetings, when they knew they
were never going to listen to us?” Gray asked. “They might as well
have just saved the taxpayers some money, and forget the fancy
consultants.”
While a skate park was never on the master plan, Councilman Gary
Monahan floated a motion Monday to at least consider it, but none of
his council colleagues supported it.
Gray said council members lack the courage to stand up to a couple
of residents who are deeply opposed to any active use at the park and
enact a plan that is best for all Costa Mesa residents.
“The city should just spend zero money on Fairview Park, because
obviously they are too afraid to really tackle it,” Gray said. “So
just scrap the whole thing and leave it a dirt pit so the 50 people
on Canary Drive can walk their dogs.”
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