Straight talk about the Westside

Ralph Ronquillo

As the Chairman of the Westside Revitalization Oversight Committee, I

felt compelled to comment on your recent article regarding the City

Council’s approval of the modified committee implementation plan as

presented by councilman Eric Bever.

The modified plan includes an expansion of the Westside

Revitalization Oversight Committee’s recommendations for a

residential overlay zoning designation for properties on the

Westside, including properties that are currently zoned for

industrial uses.

For those who are unfamiliar with it, the committee’s report is a

comprehensive list of recommendations submitted to the Redevelopment

Agency on how 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.

The membership of the Westside Revitalization Oversight Committee

reflected 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.

It is important to note that this was not a group of people who

were used to agreeing with each other with respect to the topic at

hand -- or most any topic for that matter.

Yet, in a spirit of cooperation and with a sense that we were

involved in something historic, the various factions of the committee

came together and created the report.

Each of the recommendations within the report reached a 70%

approval by the committee membership.

The most hotly debated topics within the committee involved the

currently industrial-zoned properties at the western-most end of the

city limits. Periodically in the past, it has been proposed that this

area be entirely rezoned as residential due to its proximity to the

Pacific Ocean and the perceived value that could potentially come

from infusing the Westside with upscale residential developments.

Historically, the owners of these industrial properties have been

quite organized and extremely vocal in their opposition to any zoning

changes regarding this area of the city.

I feel it is important to for the community to be aware that the

recommendations in the original Westside Revitalization Oversight

Committee report regarding this area reflect a series of compromises

that were worked out during the committee’s discovery process between

individuals who represented the two opposing viewpoints I have

described above.

The goal of these compromises was to streamline the approval

process for the committee recommendations and, hopefully, to

preemptively negate any opposition to the City Council in moving

forward with their implementation and, thereby, speeding up the start

of the positive changes to the Westside that so many of us have been

hoping to see.

As mentioned earlier, councilman Bever’s plan significantly

expands on the Westside Revitalization Oversight Committee’s

recommendations for a residential overlay zoning designation for

properties on the Westside, including those in the industrial zone.

And, while a certain segment of our city’s population will

certainly be applauding Bever’s modifications, there are certainly

others, including many who participated in the Westside

Revitalization Oversight Committee process that may feel slighted by

what they perceive as a disregard for the compromises that were

agreed to during that process and who, despite the unanimous vote of

approval of the City Council, may be preparing a unified response and

opposition to the plan’s implementation.

Once again, we are confronted with the question: Is the Westside

truly ready for change? I think we’re about to find out.

* RALPH RONQUILLO is a Costa Mesa resident.