ON THE TOWN:Landed in a mire of property fights

What is it about land that makes people crazy? We can’t eat land, many times we can’t build on it, and all of the time we are willing to say and do outrageous things to get it.

Wars are fought over land, and fortunes are won and lost over land, perhaps because it is one of the few things left in the world in which we have some sense of being the master of our own destiny.

If we have land, we can build on it, provided it meets local rules and regulations, or not build on it, if that is our desire.

The best local case of not building on land is the still-vacant, still valuable land that used to hold a movie theater, bowling alley and ice skating rink in the Mesa Verde section of Costa Mesa.

There, some decision-makers rolled the dice and bet on the City Council’s approval of a Kohl’s department store, a proposal that got defeated. I’m still wondering why the tenants of all of those nice family activity centers were chased out and their businesses razed if the plans for development were not certified.

When the world is running down and the case could be made that that time is now, the only land worth having will be land with good soil for growing fruits and vegetables and/or a stream with fresh water.

But in the meantime, we’re all going ga-ga over any type of land.

A little while ago, one of the Three Scrooges on the Costa Mesa City Council decided to say something irresponsible and floated the notion of using eminent domain for the land that is Triangle Square.

Now, if ever there was something that needed a change, it was Triangle Square. But the city was not desperate for money, so it was a mystery as to why this subject came up.

In Newport Beach, no one can decide which plot of land to use to erect a new city hall.

And in an issue that involves and divides both cities, there is haggling over the land that is West Santa Ana Heights and Newport Terrace.

There, poor Costa Mesa is feeling like the civic stepchild, as the folks in the Heights want to be in Newport and the residents of Newport Terrace don’t want to be known as Costa Mesa Terrace.

Are there terraces in Costa Mesa? Perhaps when Newport Beach has given up the Terrace to get the Heights, they’ll change the name to Costa Mesa Patio.

A few years ago, some folks in Costa Mesa, whose homes backed up against the very public Fairview Park, decided that the park was not public at all.

So in a sort of reverse eminent domain, taking public land and making it private, a few of them annexed a few hundred square feet.

Some built fences around their stolen property, planted gardens or otherwise staked their claims.

No, there was no gold or oil under the ground, just more dirt, but the thought of having more dirt compelled them to break the law by taking what was not theirs.

Now it’s happening in Newport Beach, but with a twist.

In Newport, it seems as though a few homeowners on the beach have taken over the sand in front of their homes, or behind them, depending on your point of view.

Not all of them are scofflaws. Newport Beach has actually encouraged this behavior by charging homeowners a paltry few hundred dollars for the privilege. The problem there is that even that small plot of undeveloped beach property is worth far more.

A few hundred dollars to extend a patio, put up a portable barbecue or establish a kid’s play area on one of the best swimming beaches in the state is not just a steal, it’s bad business by the city, which could raise far more money for each permit they issue.

But paying for a permit to take over the beach is not the issue. The issue is fairness to all residents and the bad precedent that is established by the loose rules.

Yes, it’s true: The city needs to draw a line in the sand.