Parks to push a plan for land

Marisa O’Neil

Today’s National Guard Armory could become tomorrow’s soccer pitch if

the city follows through on a recommendation from this week’s Parks

and Recreation Commission meeting.

The commission unanimously agreed to recommend that the City

Council investigate eight parcels of land in the city to see if the

acres could be parks, providing land for the local sports teams and

residents.

“Clearly, the city -- given where it’s at and the population

upswing, especially in youngsters -- has a significant shortage of

parks and playing fields,” parks and recreation commissioner Byron de

Arakal said. “I wanted to begin proactively taking steps to remedy

the problem.”

Ten parcels of land in Costa Mesa are owned by other agencies,

including the county, Newport-Mesa Unified School District and the

state. Of those, eight would be appropriate sites for parks, de

Arakal said.

The commission wants the City Council to invest time and resources

to develop site plans for each of the eight locations. That way, when

the land becomes available for purchase, the city will be in place to

buy it, he said.

“It sends a message to the citizens of Costa Mesa that: ‘We hear

you, we don’t have enough parks in the city, and we’re taking

steps,’” he said. “When the time comes, we may have to come to you

and say, ‘Are you ready to pay for these parcels?’”

If the City Council decides to go ahead with the plan, parks could

still be two or three years off, he said.

Councilwoman Libby Cowen said it sounds like a good plan.

New parks would help ease overcrowding on local sports fields in

the city, American Youth Soccer Organization regional commissioner

Chris Sarris said. In the past 10 years, twice as many children in

Costa Mesa have signed up to play soccer through AYSO, he said.

“It’s a great idea and sorely needed,” Sarris said of the plan.

“Youth sports and adult sports have just exploded. There’s no place

to play. People are tripping over themselves, trying to find a place

to play.”

Some of the sites under consideration are the National Guard

Armory on Newport Boulevard, former Lindbergh and Mesa Verde

elementary schools and Coast Community College District land on Adams

Avenue. The Orange County Fairgrounds and land in an industrial area

near the airport are not under consideration.

Creating new parks is a good long-term goal, but the city also

needs to come up with some short-term solutions, said Mark Gleason,

president of the Estancia High School girls’ soccer boosters. Gleason

filed a complaint in September with the U.S. Department of Education

Office of Civil Rights, claiming that school playing fields in

Newport Beach are better maintained than those in Costa Mesa.

Under Costa Mesa’s joint-use agreement with the district, the city

maintains and monitors the school district fields. The city should

investigate putting more money into those existing fields first, he

said.

“If you’re going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on new

land, you have to ask, ‘Is that long-term benefit greater than the

land we already have access to?’” Gleason said.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.