Plotting a course for the Westside

He lives there. That was enough for Ralph Ronquillo to get involved

with trying to come up with ideas to make life better in Costa Mesa.

He and 27 of his peers are part of the Westside Revitalization

Oversight Committee, known as WROC.

Over the past year, the group -- a clustering-together of

homeowners and commercial and industrial interests -- has come

together to try to create common ground for what the Westside of

Costa Mesa will someday look like. That area is roughly west of

Harbor Boulevard and south of Fairview Park.

Ronquillo, 46, a longtime resident of the city, is chairman of the

committee, which released recommendations last week for revamping the

Westside by combining elements such as the rezoning of the Westside

Bluffs, mixed-used development, regulation and code enforcement,

revitalization incentives, and infrastructure improvements. Those

long-awaited recommendations included zoning that would allow for

more homes to be developed in areas that have been zoned commercial

and industrial.

Ronquillo became involved with the efforts to improve the Westside

a few years ago when community forums were being organized to discuss

the issues facing the Westside area.

At first, he was hesitant about being the committee’s chairman.

But becoming chairman came at a pivotal time. The committee’s

predecessor, the Community Redevelopment Action Committee, had made

general suggestions, but those ideas needed refinement. That would be

the job of Ronquillo’s group. Now, he confidently speaks of the

recommendations’ future, which includes city staff preparing a plan

to put the committee’s ideas into action.

Ronquillo answered some questions from the Pilot’s Ryan Carter.

What are the main tenets/recommendations of the Westside

Revitalization Oversight Committee’s recently released report? How,

in your opinion, will they help revitalize the Westside?

The committee’s report is a comprehensive plan to revitalize the

Westside starting with the area in and around the 19th street

commercial corridor. The report includes some very specific

recommendations in the areas of zoning, code enforcement, improved

infrastructure and incentives that could be implemented with the goal

of attracting interest from private residential and commercial land

development firms. One of the goals of the report is to smooth the

path that would make it economically feasible for these private firms

to work with city leaders in allowing free market economics to

motivate the changes we’re hoping to see on the Westside. We feel

this is a better option than creating a huge financial burden for the

city in order to fund the revitalization.

Was it difficult to reach consensus among the various interests on

the committee to achieve this report? What were the challenges on

agreeing on the recommendations?

Despite the fact that we started with more than 30 members, the

process of actually gaining consensus on the report recommendations

was not as difficult as one might think. One of the biggest

challenges was in building trust. Part of that process meant clearing

away preconceived notions and letting committee members unload their

baggage from previous Westside-related efforts or committees they’ve

been involved with. This process actually became a rallying point and

created a bond among the group. So, even though there were different

points of view within the committee, I think in many ways, we felt

that we were all on the same team.

What are the various interests on the committee, and how many

people are on it?

The committee started with close to 40 members and I believe we

ended up with approximately 27 active members at the end. The

interests on the committee run the gamut of the interests that exist

on the Westside, such as industrial, commercial, and residential

property owners, retail business people, and many individuals who

have been vocal and sometimes quite critical over the years regarding

issues facing Costa Mesa in general and specifically the Westside.

Going back to 1998, there have been various attempts to create

plans to revitalize the Westside, but they haven’t gotten far? Are

you confident these plans will not be shelved?

I am extremely confident that these plans will not be shelved,

primarily because the report reached unanimous consensus approval by

a committee with so many diverse viewpoints. Another reason is that

the Redevelopment Agency membership recently voted unanimously to

approve the report, as well.

For perhaps the first time, there is a simultaneous channeling of

momentum behind this effort both from the community and from city

leadership. In addition, the property we are talking about is

extremely valuable and is only a little more than a mile away from

one of the world’s greatest natural resources -- the Pacific Ocean.

Why was Westside Revitalization Oversight Committee important? Why

did you get involved with it?

The committee was important because we had the right people on the

committee. These are not people who are used to agreeing with one

another. These are people who understand the history of the Westside,

the history of earlier efforts and earlier disappointments and there

was a real feeling that, for the good of our community, it was time

to set aside our differences and work it out face to face. I got

involved because this is where I live.

Describe your ideal vision of the Westside? Why is it important to

revitalize it, and do you have a sense of how much it will cost the

city to implement the changes recommended?

My ideal vision of the Westside is pretty simple. I see a place

that is safe, clean, vibrant and fun -- the kind of place where you’d

want to be any time, day or night. There are several reasons why it

is important to revitalize this part of the city. Number one is

because at present it does not fit with many residents’ ideal visions

of what the Westside should be -- not just mine.

At this point I have no real concept of how much thecommittee’s

recommendations would cost the city to implement -- again one of our

goals was to make it attractive for private industry to get involved

and carry a good portion of the load. One thing I do know is what it

could cost the city if a strong effort is not made to implement these

recommendations. The cost will be in longtime Westside and other

Costa Mesa residents who will throw up their hands and finally

convince themselves that it’s not worth the effort any longer. They

will continue to pull their kids out of our local public schools, to

send them to schools in other cites or private schools, and they may

even move their families to other cities entirely. This trend is

already costing the city by weakening our school sports programs and

creating a fragmented community that is not diverse but divided.

In what time frame do you see revitalization happening?

That’s the beauty of it. It’s already happening. Our city leaders

have already begun the ground-level improvements in terms of

undergrounding utilities and improving streets and landscaping. These

steps are just the beginning -- implementing the WROC’s

recommendations is the next step. It’s going to take time to

revitalize this area. We’re talking years, not months.

What happens to WROC now that a report has been completed? Does it

disband or keep going? If it keeps going, what’s next?

The WROC is not ready to disband just yet. The committee in some

form or another has been invited to be involved in the city’s

implementation planning phase according to our committee liaison,

Council Member Libby Cowan.

Anything I didn’t ask that you’d like to add?

I’d like to invite all the Daily Pilot readers to download a copy

of the report from the city’s website or go down to City Hall and get

a printout. The report is easy to follow and it makes a lot of sense

for our community.

* EDITOR’S NOTE: The city’s website is at

https://www.ci.costa-mesa.ca.us. The Westside Revitalization Oversight

Committee members are Michael Berry, Fred Bockmiller, Mirna Burciaga,

James(Jim)W. Clough, Campbell Davidson, Donald Elmore, Christian

Eric, Kathleen Eric, Chris Fewel, Mary Fewel, Hildegard Gonzales,

Robert Graham, Dan Gribble, Frank Gutierrez, Mike Harrison, Alexander

Hernandez, Lisa Lawrence, Alma Marquez, Steve Marx, Martin Millard,

Ralph Ronquillo, David Salcido, Michael Steiner, Vernon K. Taylor,

Roberto Torres, Edilia Torres, Bill Turpit, Cathy Waters.