City leaders stunned by bridge plan

Lolita Harper

City leaders were reeling Monday after learning through the

grapevine that Fountain Valley wants to study a contentious plan for

a bridge at Gisler Avenue, despite a previous agreement between the

cities to work together on an entirely different solution to traffic

problems.

“What?” was the first word uttered by most city leaders and

various resident advocates Monday afternoon when they heard news of

the plan by Fountain Valley to obtain $500,000 for the study of a

bridge at Gisler Avenue and Garfield Street that would cross the

Santa Ana River and connect Costa Mesa to Huntington Beach and

Fountain Valley.

Silence followed while each community leader, in turn, tried to

temper their comments before speaking.

“I am surprised that the city of Fountain Valley would [place the

item on the agenda] without giving the city of Costa Mesa some sort

of heads-up,” Mayor Karen Robinson said. “While I haven’t spoken to

anybody at the city to confirm we were not contacted ... I would

believe that anyone who caught wind of this would have let the

council know.”

Councilman Gary Monahan was a little less diplomatic in his

response.

“So much for the cities working together,” Monahan said.

Councilwoman Libby Cowan echoed his disgust.

“I am appalled,” she said flatly.

Fountain Valley officials are requesting $500,000 from the Orange

County Transportation Authority for “preliminary engineering,

environmental review and design funds spanning the Santa Ana River

from Garfield Avenue to Gisler Avenue.” according to a city staff

report.

The Fountain Valley City Council is expected to make a decision on

the item tonight because the grant funding deadline is Dec. 20.

Bridges at Gisler Avenue and 19th Street that would cross the

Santa Ana River are included in county transportation plans, but

various regional cities have been working for years to get them

removed.

Costa Mesa officials have largely led that fight, contending that

either bridge would simply create a “cut-through” for drivers looking

for a shortcut to the Costa Mesa Freeway.

Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach

commissioned a study -- named the Santa Ana River Crossing Study --

to research the effects of removing the bridges from the county

master plan.

A consensus among Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley

would be required to remove the Gisler bridge, while Newport Beach,

Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa would have to agree to delete the

19th Street bridge.

No agreements have been made on either bridge.

Fountain Valley’s surprise move to retain grant funding for the

Gisler bridge undermines the accord the three cities were trying to

create, city officials said.

Peter Naghavi, the city’s manager of transportation services, said

he did not hear about Fountain Valley’s request until Monday

afternoon. He added he was deeply disappointed in the lack of

communication.

“In a time like this, when we are all trying to work very hard to

resolve the issue, this news is very disappointing,” Naghavi said.

“This flies right in the face of the effort that all four cities are

working so hard to agree on.”

Fountain Valley City Manager Raymond Kromer said he talked to his

Costa Mesa counterpart, Alan Roeder, Monday afternoon, but Roeder had

caught news of it before he had a chance to call. Kromer said he

believed a day’s advance was ample time to notify Costa Mesa

officials.

“We put the agenda out Friday night, and I had it on my calendar

to call [Roeder] today,” Kromer said.

John Collins, mayor of Fountain Valley, said Costa Mesa officials

and residents were overstating his city’s move. The Santa Ana River

Crossing Study was a component of the consensus building between the

three cities, but was not conclusive.

Collins said Fountain Valley officials want to study the

possibility of the bridge for the same reason Costa Mesa officials

are opposed to it: cut-through traffic.

“The traffic going on our streets continues to mount, and the

increased number of cars going through our city are doing just that

-- going through it between Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa,” Collins

said.

Mesa Verde resident Cindy Brenneman, the president for the area’s

homeowners’ association, said she would work diligently to oppose

Fountain Valley’s effort. The Mesa Verde Community Inc. homeowners’

association has historically opposed a bridge at Gisler because it

would bring a flood of traffic to the area.

* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.