Some cry foul over Fairview Park plans

Deirdre Newman

A group of environmentalists feels snubbed by city officials because

they were invited to see the final designs for a portion of Fairview

Park, but were not asked for their input.

The group -- which includes former Mayor Sandra Genis, Judith

Gielow and Newport Beach resident Jan Vandersloot -- met with staff

on Thursday to discuss improvements to three areas of the park that

the City Council has already approved. The drawings for these areas

have to be submitted to the Coastal Conservancy by today to qualify

for a $194,000 grant that will fund half of the design costs.

The group’s concerns include how much land the Harbor Soaring

Society, which flies radio-controlled planes, has requested; the

design for turf in that area; and the placement of a bus turnout over

an existing area of grass.

Public Services Director Bill Morris said that because staff was

working under the council’s direction, there was no need to take the

environmentalists’ opinions into consideration.

But that isn’t stopping group members from being frustrated that

their thoughts were not taken into account.

“These drawings are OK to send to the Coastal Conservancy right

now, but [they] still need to be tweaked,” Vandersloot said. “We

think the public ought to be able to look at them and comment on

them.”

In late January, the Parks and Recreation Commission approved the

final design of three areas at Fairview Park with the deletion of any

landscaping north of the Fairview Channel. Councilwoman Libby Cowan

appealed the decision to the City Council based partially on some

residents’ concerns about parking and access.

The council ended up approving the final design 4 to 1 without a

lower parking lot and a connector road. It also discussed working

with the Harbor Soaring Society to meet its needs while preserving

the environmental integrity of the area.

Some of the environmentalists accuse the society of a land grab

and blame city officials for acquiescing to the society’s requests

instead of negotiating with it.

“What has been indicated is that they have not needed as much land

as they apparently say they need,” Vandersloot said. “The staff was

under the impression that whatever the soaring society wants, it

should get.”

Others are not pleased that the design in this area calls for

turf.

“Turf is not compatible with that particular area,” Gielow said.

“It requires a lot of water, incredible amounts of water, much more

than people really want to put in that area of the park.”

Roger MacGregor, the city contact for the society, said the

designated area for the society has been on the Fairview Park Master

Plan for three years. MacGregor said the society does not have its

own area now and its new area, which is about 600 feet long and 200

to 300 feet wide, is in a sparsely populated area of the park.

“We never had a defined area before,” MacGregor said. “It’s not

like we had anything. We’re not really asking for anymore. They just

moved it.”

Some members of the environmental group also suggested changing

the location of a bus turnaround so it doesn’t take away from the

lawn area for picnics that is already there and so it is closer to

the restrooms.

Morris said staff will not take any more public comment since they

were following council direction.

“I think the plans look good, and hopefully, the Coastal

Conservancy will also think they look good and will go ahead and

formally bless them, as well,” Morris said.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.