FDC AGAIN - "ONCE MORE UNTO THE BREACH "

THE SHAKESPEARE QUOTE SEEMS APPROPRIATE - When considering the most recent Fairview Developmental Center Workshop, held on Thursday, July 23, 2026 at the Norma Hertzog Center, William Shakespeare's quote, "Once more onto the breach, dear friends, once more", seems perfectly appropriate. For those of us who have been following this drama since 2015 and have attended every meeting during which the future of this 100+ acres of prime Costa Mesa property is being considered, it certainly seems like one of those "We've been here before" issues.

THE ENTRANCE - When we arrived each of us signed in so we can receive future communications.  Then we wandered around the back wall of the room where display cards were available to help us get some context.  I've provided images of those cards here for your review.

BIG TURNOUT - This latest meeting, which started promptly at 6:10 p.m., stretched well beyond the anticipated stop time.  All speakers had spoken (I was last) and all questions/comments were responded to in real time by the time it wrapped up at 8:45.  I did not do a head count, but it certainly looked like there were at least 150 interested parties attending this one.

OFFICIALS IN ATTENDANCE - City Council members Andrea Marr, Arlis Reynolds, Mike Buley and Jeff Pettis were in the crowd, as was Planning Commissioner Jon Zich.  None of them spoke, but all seemed to pay close attention to the concerns of attendees.

GREAT STAFF MANAGEMENT - City Manager Cecelia Gallardo-Daly kicked things off and handed the baton to Carrie Tai, Director of Community Development, to run the show.  They were supported by Broc Coward, Community Relations Manager, Anna McGill, Planning Manager and Paul Martin, Transportation Services Manager.  Other staffers were there for support, too.

THE FORMAT - The staff presented a thorough background to the evolution of the availability of the Fairview Developmental Center property which began in 2015 and has gone through much back-and-forth negotiations with the State of California.  At first The State said, "Here's 110 acres of prime real estate for your use to help meet your housing needs." - (that the state had imposed upon the city in the form of Regional Housing Needs Allocation of 11,760 dwelling units).  Then The State said, "Uh, we were only kidding... we need 15 acres for an Emergency Operations Center", and then selected the absolutely best site for residential development and the least satisfactory venue from an access standpoint for that EOC.  Then, they said, "Oh, yes, we need another 15 acres for State-operated special housing.  Now that 110 acres is down to 80!

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - Following the staff presentation, during which the assembled masses became a little anxious, Director Tai began fielding questions as folks lined up at microphones on either side of the room.  Manager Broc Coward kept a tight leash on the speakers, imposing a "yellow card" warning that the speaker had 15 seconds left and a "red card" which told them to stop speaking.  Director Tai attempted to answer every single question, sometimes with the help of other staffers, immediately after they were asked.

THE CONCERNS - I'm not going to attempt to give you every question and answer.  The Costa Mesa Brief team was on hand and recorded the entire event - 2 hours and 27 minutes - and I will link to that video at the end of this entry so you can view it at your pleasure.  (Hint: The final speaker was especially dynamic).  Although the staff attempted to answer every question to the speaker's satisfaction, I don't think they completely accomplished that goal.  Sadly, in some cases there are just no satisfactory answers.  Many people were concerned about the increase in traffic so many new dwellings (maybe 4,000) would generate.  Director Tai and team estimated something in excess of 20,000 more trips per day! Several speakers from nearby neighborhoods were especially concerned.  Many were concerned about what this is going to do to property values in the City.  There seemed to be the implication by more than a few speakers that "affordable housing" means an increase in the number of "undesirable residents" - you know, the kind of folks the ICE thugs snatch up off our streets. Impact on schools was a major concern.  Also, our ability to properly provide public safety - police and fire - for this site was addressed by many.  Access to and from this site is a major concern, expressed by several speakers.  Currently there is ONE route into the property - the defacto extension of Fair Drive across Harbor Blvd.  The solution is to carve another access road across the golf course that wraps around this site on 3 sides.  The many golfers in the audience were not happy.  And, this particular issue is exacerbated by the EOC presence.  A couple years ago I wrote to the State suggesting an alternate location - one had been identified as available in Tustin - 24 acres near the lighter-than-air site, in a commercial area with easy access to 3 freeways.  That was rejected out of hand.  The original 15 acre demand for the EOC was necessary for the proposed helipad and related maintenance facilities.  That has now been abandoned so the administrative offices/warehouse could certainly be accommodated in a MUCH SMALLER space - 5 acres or less.  Sometimes it seems bureaucracy has no common sense. 

WE OBSERVED THE GRADING - My wife and I took a drive through the Fairview Developmental Center site on Thursday afternoon, just to see what's happening.  What's happening is the site of the EOC is being graded - it actually looked like a much larger chunk of land than the 15 acres - and roadways are being refurbished.  Most of the FDC buildings remain.  There apparently is no stopping The State once it get's a head of steam up.

THE SPEAKERS - There were 46 groups of questions - 41 were delivered in person by speakers at the microphones and 5 were read from comment cards by Manager Coward as they were picked up be staffers and delivered to him.  I grabbed images of about half the speakers.  The light was a problem for the other side.  In no particular order, we saw former council members Jay Humphrey and Wendy Leece step up with questions and comments.  Pastor Christine Brooks Nolf and her hubby, Michael Moses Nolf spoke to concerns about their particular flock - low income folks in need of affordable housing.  Moses slipped a zinger into his comment when he asked how many Flock cameras would be placed in the FDC site.  Former Planning Commissioner Diane Russell spoke on the affordable housing issue, as did affordable housing advocate Kathy Esfahani (no photo). The husband and wife team of Rick Huffman and Cynthia McDonald (operators of the Costa Mesa First site and frequent speakers before the City Council and various commissions) addressed the appearance of "red lining" and more.  Council candidate Steve Smith and Assembly candidate Urson Russell stepped up, too.  

THE OTHERS - I saw many old friends in the crowd - folks who actually pay attention to municipal issues and attend these kind of meetings.  It was great to be "out among them" since I've been sidelined with a bum leg for nearly 2 months.  Most of these folks influence the opinions of others because it is clear they do their homework and have credible, informed opinions to share.

WHO OWNS THE GOLF COURSE? - Near the end of the meeting retired City employee Mike Moran stepped up to the microphone as the next-to-last speaker and opined that the City doesn't own the golf course, the State does, and has just leased it to The City, so the State could take it any time it wanted.  The response he got from the Staff was that Moran was incorrect - that the city owned the land.  So, since the reply seemed kind of tentative, I called Director Tai on Friday afternoon and asked for a clarification.  She told me - and sent me a copy of the deed papers - that the City does, indeed, own the land and has done so since 12/30/79.  There IS a condition in the deed, however, that requires the City to use the land for open space and it would be a breach of the sale if The City decided to, for example, build a shopping center on that 200+ acres.

MY TAKEAWAYS - First, I think most of the attendees were glad they had another opportunity to hear the facts of this project.  However, even though their questions were answered, I had the impression that many attendees left with only limited confidence in the process.  Much of that has to do with the length of time - A DECADE - that it's taken to get this far, and there seemed to be a general distrust in The State.  Some of that certainly has to do with the recent lawsuit filed against Costa Mesa and four other cities for not being responsive enough with their required Housing Element submissions.  I am told by reliable sources that The State is, in large part, responsible for the delay because they have not given The City a required timely reply to information The City submitted.  And, of course, there is the old "The State giveth and The State taketh away" situation with the size of the parcel.  More communication with the community is important on this "once in a lifetime" opportunity.  

MORE CHANCES TO BE HEARD - On Monday, 7/27/26, in their meeting beginning in City Council Chambers, the Costa Mesa Planning Commission will hold a "Study Session" on this issue as part of their broader agenda.  Interested parties are encouraged to attend and speak if so moved.  Then, at their meeting on August 10th, the Planning Commission will discuss this issue and make a recommendation to the City Council.  The public is welcome to speak here, too.  And then, at its meeting on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, the City Council will hear the recommendation of the Planning Commission and provide YET ANOTHER chance for the public to be heard.

TAKE YOUR TIME - There's a lot of stuff here. Please take your time to review the numerous exhibits I've included and, if you have a couple hours to spare, watch the Costa Mesa Brief video of this meeting, linked below.

COSTA MESA BRIEF VIDEO  

ONCE MORE WE WADE INTO THE FDC MORASS

SPARSE CROWD FOR AN IMPORTANT ISSUE - Last night, once again, I attended a meeting about the future of the Fairview Developmental Center property - more than 100 acres near the center of Costa Mesa that has become surplus land for the State of California and, in theory, is available for new uses, mainly housing.  This meeting, at the Norma Hertzog Community Center, was very sparsely attended.  My guess is that fewer than 40 residents attended.  They were outnumbered by members of the staff and consultants.  I saw Councilman Manuel Chavez chatting with rookie Planning Commissioner David Martinez.  Former Councilman Jay Humphrey sat near me, as did the husband and wife team of activists, Cynthia McDonald and Rick Huffman.  Flo Martin also joined us at our table.  There were several senior staff members in attendance at this meeting, plus many other staffers.

CECILIA KICKS IT OFF - The meeting was scheduled to run from 6-8 p.m., but it was kicked off a few minutes late by Assistant City Manager/Acting Economic and Develop
ment Services Director Cecilia Gallardo-Daly.  Suzanne Schwab of the consulting firm Placeworks  provided the brief discussion, which was basically a walk through the 21 slides projected on the large screen and provided as a handout (copies of which will be included here - some, not all).  A Spanish interpretation was included, which slowed the process down significantly.  I could not tell how many Spanish-speakers were in the small crowd.  As far as I could tell, there was no audio nor video recording of this meeting.

BAIT AND SWITCH - The State of California originally told us the entire site was available for our consideration, with the exception of 15 acres of prime real estate earmarked for their Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and Heliport.  Over the months the heliport was abandoned, but they kept the entire 15 acres when all they actually needed was around 2 acres for an office building and warehouse.  And, according to the consultants and staff members last night, the State is unwilling to relinquish the prime site overlooking our golf course and move the site closer to the Harbor Blvd. entrance.  Of course, that makes a lot of sense, so they, naturally, won't do it.  In fact, the EOC could, and probably should, be located elsewhere - like a perfect 20 acre site in Tustin in an industrial area close to 3 freeways.  Nah, that makes too much sense.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE - Not only that, but last night we learned that the State also has decided to retain another 20 acres for "other uses", including infrastructure for managing services for developmentally disabled folks - just as the entire site did before the State declared it surplus.  So, that now leaves us with only 80 or so acres for which we can plan for much-needed housing.  It is that remainder on which the current schemes are based.

3 CONCEPTS - The consultants presented slides with three concepts - Fairview Promenade, Fairview Fields and Fairview Commons, images of which are included.  The Promenade involves just under 115 acres and provides for 2,300 units.  The Fields is just over 115 acres and provides for 3,450 units and the Commons is similar in size but provides for 4,000 units and less park space.  You can see the breakdown along affordability lines on the images provided.

WANDER AND ASK QUESTIONS - Following the presentation, which took about a half hour including translation, the attendees were encouraged to wander among the 5 “stations” set up and manned by staff and consultants to answer any questions.  Those “stations” were Land Use Concepts and Project Information; Housing; Mobility and Traffic; Open Space and Parks and Infrastructure and Site Development.  Images are included.  One staggering fact provided in the last slide is the estimate of more than $250,000,000 for site preparation costs - Demolition, Remediation, Infrastructure/Utilities, Streets/Landscaping, Grading and Impact Fees.

NEXT STEPS AND SURVEY - We were also provided with “next steps” and encouraged to provide input via a survey.  We are encouraged to provide feedback by email to FDCHousingPlan@costamesca.gov.

MORE MEETINGS - Tonight, Thursday, July 25th, there will be another similar meeting at St. John the Baptist School beginning at 6 p.m. and will cover the same information.  There will also be a virtual meeting in both English and Spanish on July 31st.  We were also informed that there will be a “pop up” meeting for Spanish-speakers at Iglesia Harbor Church on August 1st, also at 6 p.m.  Here’s a link with more information, including the information necessary to participate in the virtual meeting next week: www.FDChousingplan.com

SURVEY - I have not yet completed the survey, but will go online to do so. Question #4 is interesting.  It asks “Do you support allowing up to 4,000 dwelling units in the preferred plan?” and you are asked to respond by checking either “More” or “Less”..  I would have thought the more appropriate choices would have been “Yes” or “No”.  On the positive side, we were not burdened by being expected to place “stickers” on the charts this time!

MY TAKE - I was disappointed in the small turnout for this meeting.  This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for our City to create a new, special place for much-needed housing but only a few people showed up to hear the latest iteration of the plan.  I was also very disappointed that the proposed EOC is still on this plan, occupying the most prime piece of real estate on the entire site.  And, we are told, that construction on that ill-advised facility will start sometime next year!  Yikes!  I was pleased to see two of the plans included a second road from Harbor Blvd. into the site.  One thing that is not clear is whether there is a plan to provide emergency access to the site from the Fire Station on Placentia directly across the golf course rather than require emergency responders to drive around to the main entrance(s).  I encourage you to attend one of the other meetings scheduled or participate in the virtual meeting next week.

LINKS - I’ve written about this issue several times.  I’ve provided links to those individual entries below, just in case you want to refresh your memories.

Fairview Developmental Center Zoom Meeting 11/7/23

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/36907480/8516859097711182567

The Future of the FDC - The Resident’s Concerns 11/5/23

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/36907480/2282036690955319612

“Visioning” the Fairview Developmental Center 11/4/23

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/36907480/4364873693775678026

My correspondence Regarding the Proposed EOC 10/13/23

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/36907480/5777558731070983448

FDC Emergency Operations Center Meeting 9/29/23

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/36907480/4450809590635044181