OCC Information Meeting Not So Informative

 DR. HARKINS TOOK THE LEAD
Thursday evening Orange Coast College President Dr. Dennis Harkins and his staff held an informational meeting on campus to attempt to bring interested parties up to speed on the progress of the planned more than $600 million expansion as presented in their original plan, Vision 2020, HERE, and now being fleshed out in preparation of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

FAIR REPRESENTATIVES PRESENT
There were around 50 people in the room, including OCC staffers and members of the Orange County Fair and Event Center Board.  New OCFEC CEO Kathy Kramer, former interim CEO Doug Lofstrom and board member Stan Tkaczyk sat off to the side, observing and participating when asked.  Costa Mesa Councilwoman Sandra Genis attended and lent her expertise as a land planner and EIR expert.  Coast Community College District Trustee Mary Hornbuckle and former Costa Mesa Councilman Jay Humphrey were among us in the small crowd.

  MEDIA, TOO
The real media was represented by Nicole Shine of the Daily Pilot and Jordan Graham of the Orange County Register.

PROCESS DELAYED BY COMPLICATIONS
Harkins kicked off this third community meeting - the previous two were held last summer - by telling the assembled group that he had expected to be finished with this process by now and had hoped to have the completed EIR and his staff recommendations to the Coast Community College District Trustees by now, but there were complications, including the identification of certain historical buildings that may occupy up to 40 acres of the 160 acre campus site.  That may cause a change in plans.  He explained that the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires significant study of projects such as the one proposed.

SOME OF THE ISSUES
Rich Pagel then took over for a short time and outlined some of the issues brought up at previous meetings and by correspondence from the community which are now being studied in depth:

• Traffic Problems - A consultant has been hired and a report is due in mid-March
• Parking Structure - There is an issue with an $8 million pedestrian bridge proposed by the City of Costa Mesa, which includes complications with Edison power lines.
• State Funding - No statewide funding measures were on the November ballot - a rarity, and one that complicates the fulfillment of this project.
• Historic Buildings - Certain buildings on campus - those designed by Master Architect Richard Neutra -  have been identified as having historical significance.  They may take up a quarter of the campus footprint, which will cause some serious re-thinking of the plan.
• The OCC Village - A consultant has been retained to assist with this segment of the plan.

LOOKING FOR AN APRIL DATE
Pagel told us that the studies are on-going and it is hoped to get the CEQA document to the Board of Trustees by April.  That will be preceded by yet another community meeting at which time many questions will have been answered and more community input will be gathered.

TWO "SHOVEL READY" PROJECTS
Harkins then took back the microphone and expanded on some of the issues.  He told us that there are two projects virtually "shovel ready".  Those are the expansion of the Recycling Center - the last remaining such facility in the City - and a new Planetarium.

LOTS OF QUESTIONS, NOT ENOUGH ANSWERS
He then fielded questions, but many of those were unfulfilled.  We were told this was not a CEQA meeting, and that that process is ongoing so many of the questions could not yet be answered.  A good deal of frustration was expressed by many attendees, as they attempted to pin down Harkins and the staff on issues important to them.

HORNBUCKLE CALMS THE CROWD
At one point Hornbuckle made her way to the front of the room, took the microphone and calmed things down.  In her own special way she explained the process and that this is a very long range plan so it's taking time to get it right.  She emphasized that what we see in the plan now may not be the final version.  As the CEQA document is completed and the staff assesses the information it's likely that some elements currently in the plan will be either modified significantly or dropped altogether.

STUDENT INPUT, TOO
There was a point where the issue of student input was brought up, at which time Lisa Meyer - who identified herself as a student and a "regional delegate" - stepped up to explain her views on things like the proposed 145 room hotel on the plan.  She explained that it would be used as a training ground as part of the renowned Hospitality program, with students learning by doing.  Although Harkins, Hornbuckle and the staff seemed uneasy with her stepping up to speak - citing that she had not been "prepped" - Meyer did a fine job and received a round of applause from the crowd.

PROCESS CONTINUES
So, the upshot of this meeting was that not too much new was learned about this enormous project, particularly by those who had attended the previous meetings.  Several studies are currently underway which will, hopefully, provide some answers.  We learned that we get another shot at this issue in April, before the CEQA document is presented to the Board of Trustees.  In the meantime, Harkins and his staff encouraged members of the public to be in touch with them with their concerns/input.  At one point someone mentioned that 28 letters had been received by concerned individuals.  We now mark time until the April meeting.