Keeping an open mind on fairgrounds

Geoff West

I’ve given the whole “Will we lose the Orange County Fair to the

Great Park?” issue a good deal of thought. I’ve read the articles,

listened to the politicians renounce the plan and fair officials such

as General Manager Becky Bailey-Findley describe with great eloquence

the contributions of the fair and other ancillary activities at that

venue.

I find no fault with anything any of them said. The fair would be

missed. I don’t take idea of lost sales tax revenue and lost jobs

lightly. In these precarious financial times, any loss of revenue to

our city could mean big trouble for those trying to balance the

budget. It is the state’s budget woes that brings the whole thing up

in the first place.

I’m still really ticked off at master manipulator Larry Agran and

the South County whiners for the loss of the El Toro Airport.

However, a point can certainly be made that Emperor Agran’s Great

Park, if it ever does materialize, would be the perfect place for a

new, more grandiose fairgrounds.

There are nearly 5,000 acres down there from which to carve out a

couple hundred for just such a place. All the facilities presently in

place in Costa Mesa could be replicated on a grander scale where the

constraints of space is less a problem. If you’ll stop screaming at

me we can now proceed.

It seems to me that, even though there is certainly a very

significant economic element to consider, this whole fair issue is

more one of emotion and supposed loss of municipal identity than how

many dollars would be lost to the city coffers. I listened to speaker

after speaker bemoan the loss of “our fair,” and how much the

children would lose if the opportunity for close interaction with

farm critters was no longer available to them within our city

borders. These, of course, are very real considerations -- important

to many people. Maybe we should think about that a little. Over the

past three decades -- since South Coast Plaza evolved and the

Performing Arts Center was created -- our leaders have touted Costa

Mesa as “the City of the Arts.” At the same time, I’ve heard

municipal leaders complain about the lack of space for parks and

development within our borders. Well, I suspect you will not find a

more easily developed plot of land anywhere in Orange County than

those 150 acres bordered by Fair, Arlington, Fairview and the Costa

Mesa Freeway.

The word “development” is one that drives most residents and

activists nuts. That may be because they only see the negative side

of any use other than the current hundred or so acres of asphalt. The

city needs housing in the worst way, so couldn’t a hunk of that

property be used for that purpose? Couldn’t part of it be used for

the much-needed senior housing? Why couldn’t proposals for the

upscale homes some activists so vocally lobby for on the Westside

also be considered where the fairgrounds is located? Those seem like

reasonable questions.

If you don’t like those ideas, there are many potential uses for

that land. For example -- you’re going to begin screaming at me again

here -- it could even be used for a nice, fancy, upscale auto mall,

akin to those in Tustin and Irvine. Dealerships on the Harbor

Boulevard of Cars could slide right over into nice new facilities in

a venue much easier for the car shopper to use. Talk about a sales

tax generator! Should that happen, the opportunities for

redevelopment of most of Harbor Boulevard, which might include some

of the much-needed housing units, would be obvious. I don’t for a

minute think anyone presently on the City Council would consider that

kind of use, but it’s possible. Or, the whole fair venue could be

developed into a huge athletic complex, with sufficient playing

fields and other amenities, which could be used for a wide range of

entertainment activities. Perhaps a new municipal aquatic complex

could be included.

If it’s revenue enhancement we’re after, how about a nice Indian

Casino at that site? That would fill the city coffers with so much

money that we could pave our deteriorating streets with gold!

What has disappointed me in this whole debate is the knee-jerk

reaction of our city leaders, who have threatened to zone the space

to make it absolutely undesirable for almost any potential use. All

is not lost, though. If they choose to zone it for uses more in tune

with our history, it might be possible for us to attract one of those

big, aromatic hog farms -- a pork factory -- which would also

generate sales tax and still provide the opportunity for our kids to

interact with farm critters. I lost all you Mesa Del Mar readers with

that one, didn’t I?

So, why do I risk angry mobs with pitchforks and burning torches

chasing me down the street? My point here is that we need to keep a

more open mind about this whole thing. If, in some people’s view, the

worst happens and the fair does move south, our leaders need to stop

pouting and plan for that eventuality. In my opinion, as long as we

continue to live in the past, as so many residents seem determined to

do, we will continue to view ourselves as Goat Hill or Harper or

Fairview.

Perhaps, if the fairgrounds were gone, replaced by some grand new

amenity, we could begin looking forward and actually think of

ourselves as something other than an agricultural community. I am not

for one minute suggesting that we turn our backs on Costa Mesa’s

agricultural heritage, but let’s face it, the last bean field will

soon be gone and all we will have left of that heritage will be two

community vegetable gardens and the Segerstroms’ family home. I

suspect it would be much easier to march off into the future if we

didn’t have one foot stuck in manure.

It may be a moot point if the state doesn’t go through with it’s

plan to unload this “underutilized” property. That means I’ve gotten

you all riled up for nothing. Oh, well. I will now hit the “send”

button and duck for cover.

* GEOFF WEST is a Costa Mesa resident.