Parks & Rec. Commission Tweaks The FUAP, And More

IMPORTANT ISSUES CONSIDERED
The Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission met again last night and dealt with a couple important issues.  You can read the agenda HERE.

ABOUT MS. MERCURIO
Before we get to the important parts of the meeting, let me report to you that rookie commissioner Julie Mercurio - she who recently withdrew from the City Council race - attended this meeting, although you wouldn't know it if you depended solely on audio for your information.  During the entire 2 plus hours of the meeting, with the exception of when she started the meeting by leading the Pledge of Allegiance, she was not heard to utter a single word.  Even then, we couldn't tell if she spoke or lip synched it.  In fact, it looked like she didn't even turn on her microphone the entire evening.  We presume she can actually speak, since she looks like she's whispering in Commissioner Kim Pederson's ear in this image.

SHE CONTRIBUTED NOTHING!
During Public Comments two speakers criticized Mercurio's selection.  In fact, Cindy Black presented a slide show of all the applications for that appointive position to demonstrate how unqualified she was for the position.  A couple of the commissioners, including my friend, Byron de Arakal, angrily defended her selection, citing the fact that she was a mother as reason enough for her appointment.  I almost choked when he said that!  Since this was early in the meeting he probably had no idea that she would become the invisible woman, offering not a single thing to the proceedings.  It was clear at the time that her appointment was solely to give her some visibility during her council campaign.  Last night she demonstrated just how unprepared she is for this assignment.  The two items on the agenda were pithy enough that every commissioner should have had something to contribute to the discussion.  All the others did.

STEP DOWN, JULIE!
So, enough with this charade... I'm asking Ms. Mercurio to simply step down - resign from the commission and let one of the other applicants be appointed to fill out Don Harper's term which expires in February.  If we're going to pay her $100 a month for her service, she should at least try to provide some.  Her continued presence on the dais is a constant reminder of the partisanship that rules our city.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
During Public Comments Beth Refakes reminded us that the Military Affairs Team is, once again, collecting lightly-used cocktail dresses, ball gowns and accessories for the wives of the men of the 1/5 Marines at Camp Pendleton for the Marine Ball.  Donations may be left in the lobby at City Hall.

Rocky Evans again asked the commission to consider extending the operating hours of the Skate Park.

Mark Arblaster, who runs a club soccer organization, announced that his group is helping a struggling  recreational soccer group with their expertise and financial aid.

Kim Hendricks asked that the rope barriers for some of the vernal pools in Fairview Park be re-installed.  She also offered criticism of Mercurio's appointment

Cindy Black reminded the commission of the proximity of Banning Ranch to Talbert Park and then offered criticism of Mercurio's appointment.

CONSENT CALENDAR
Back to the meeting.  The commission passed the Instructional Class Proposals on the Consent Calendar - they were all Ice Skating-related - without discussion.

FUAP REPORT AND MODIFICATIONS
The first item on the agenda was the spring Field Use Allocation Report (FUAP) and amendments to the existing policy.  Recreation Manager Justin Martin led the discussion.  You can read the staff report HERE.  This is the completion of the first year this new FUAP has been in existence and, based on the report, the results are quite positive.  The staff and the users had some tough going sorting out the residency requirements.  Only one user - Newport Mesa Friday Night Lights - failed to produce sufficient numbers of verifiable residents to retain Group 3 status, and will have limited use of fields.

APPROVED WITH MODIFICATIONS
After lengthy discussions the commission, led by Chairman Brett Eckles, approved the Field Use Report and recommended modifications to the changes to the FUAP, including tightening up the definitions of what constitutes a "strike" against a group under the new Code of Conduct section.  The staff will tinker with it following the direction provided by the commission before this issue is presented to the City Council for approval.

TALBERT PARK
The other item on the agenda was the Review of Talbert Regional Park Final Habitat Restoration Plan, HERE.  You can plow through the 168 pages if you wish.  City Engineer Bart Mejia led this discussion and had assistance from Susan Brodeur from Orange County Parks.  The commissioners heard the report and heard from members of the public, each of whom expressed a desire to keep Talbert Park as natural as possible.

BOB'S IMAGES
Vice Chair Robert Graham provided some photographic information to demonstrate some things that could be done to make that area more accessible.

MOVING IT FORWARD...
Eventually the commission moved to partner with OC Parks to search for and apply for grants and other funding opportunities to fulfill the estimated $22 million necessary to complete the plan as presented.  They also recommended Alternate 1 and segments of Alternates 2 and 3 for future consideration.  Both de Arakal and Graham suggested that we should think big in this process - it's going to take quite awhile because of the many governmental entities that will have their oars in this water.

HIGH PRAISE FOR MARTIN AND STAFF
The evening finished with Martin providing his report on recent activities - none of which was included in the online staff report.  Suffice it to say that things in the Recreation Division are looking up, with enhanced activities at the Senior Center and throughout the city.  Several commissioners, including Kim Pederson,  praised Martin and his staff for their outstanding work.  The next meeting is August 25th.

BYRON WANTS SECURITY AT FUTURE MEETINGS!
One last thing... at the very end of the meeting de Arakal said he was going to ask CEO Tom Hatch and Police Chief Rob Sharpnack to assign a Sergeant-at-arms to all future Parks and Recreation meetings!  This is very strange!  I've attended most of these meetings and the crowd (a generous term for the few people normally attending) have NEVER been rowdy - EVER!  I don't know what was going on at that meeting last night, or why he felt it necessary to take that step, but he mentioned safety.  Maybe with Ms. Mercurio comes a more rowdy crowd... who knows?

General Plan and Draft EIR Approved By Planning Commission

A BRISK, SHORT MEETING
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission made a fairly short night of it Monday as they slightly juggled the agenda to shove the General Plan issue to the end.

HEROES HALL AND SIGNAGE
Under Public Comments Beth Refakes told of the move of the Heroes Hall building move at the Orange County Fairgrounds that morning.  She also complimented the staff on the completion of the Costa Mesa monument sign at the end of the 55 Freeway.

 OPINIONS NOT CONSIDERED
Kim Hendricks spoke of the various General Plan workshops and how it appeared that many of the opinions express by the public had not been considered, particularly regarding Fairview Park.

SOBER LIVING AND ILLEGAL NIGHT CLUBS
An unidentified woman expressed concern about the sober living homes, and told the commission that a new restaurant, Holiday, was opening at the site of the defunct Maison on 19th Street and expressed concern about the completion of necessary repairs - sprinklers, etc.

BOGUS "NON-PROFIT" DOING WORK AT FAIRVIEW PARK
Cindy Black was concerned about a "non-profit" group doing work in Fairview Park, indicating that they are pretending to be conservationists but know nothing about conservation.  She also took exception to the whole General Plan process, describing it as a "show".

SOBER LIVING NOT ON AGENDA AS PROMISED
Pat Murphy showed up expecting to speak to the sober living issue, but it was not on the agenda.  She described the negative impact of such places in her neighborhood.

THE WRONG FOCUS
During Commissioner Comments  Colin McCarthy waved a copy of the Orange County Register in the air, citing an article about two people who had stabbed a man at one of the motels - using the event to further denigrate motels in the city.  He complained that they were a drain on public safety resources and that they "weakened our brand."  He said we "shouldn't be hearing about this in the paper." What he failed to mention is that the Costa Mesa Police Department - in a stellar piece of police work - snatched up the two perpetrators in less than 24 hours and had them in jail.  Politics in Costa Mesa is not a pretty thing.

STAFF KUDOS
Tim Sesler complimented the staff for their "thoughtful, smart, consistent approach" for the city.

THANKING SPEAKER
Stephan Andranian thanked Ms. Murphy for coming to speak.

PROBLEM MOTEL PRIMER
Chairman Rob Dickson gave us a little primer on the "Motel Task Force" - and how his assignment was to do something about the problem motels. 

OOPS!
Nobody pulled the Boathouse Collective review from the Consent Calendar for discussion so it was approved along with the minutes of the previous meeting, 5-0.  Unfortunately, nobody told the owners of that restaurant, so they and their kids sat in the audience for an hour before they discovered it.  Oh, well.

410 WALNUT PLACE
Public Hearing #1, the Tentative Parcel Map for a big Eastside lot not too far from my home, was promptly approved on a 5-0 vote.  None of the nearby neighbors showed up this time, so one assumes they're going to be happy four large lots on which four large homes can be built.  The developer, Steve Scarborough, apparently took great pains to communicate with the neighbors following the previous meeting where the plan for five lots was rejected primarily because the neighbors didn't like it.

2242 PACIFIC
Similarly, Public Hearing #2, the two-lot subdivision at the corner of Pacific and Wilson on the far Westside was quickly approved.

OPERATING HOURS FOR THE HUB
Public Hearing #4, which was moved ahead one slot, is the request for expanded hours of operation by The Hub restaurant on Old Newport Boulevard.  The chart below shows what they were requesting.  The commission approved expanded hours - from 7:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m. Thursday through Saturday nights and 7:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday.  They also included the longer hours for New Year's Eve, regardless what day it falls on AND, to placate concerns about noise for the nearby neighbors, a provision that all cars will be removed from the back parking lot at Midnight and it will be locked at that time.

GENERAL PLAN AND DRAFT EIR
This brought us to the big item of the evening, Public Hearing #3, the General Plan Update and Draft Environmental Impact Report.  Assistant Director of Development Services Claire Flynn kicked off the four-part presentation by reminding us this was the fourth such hearing, which had followed nearly three years of public outreach via the Great Reach process.  The staff report for this item was about an inch thick.

FAIRVIEW DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER
Among the issues discussed were the Fairview Developmental Center property, which will receive a new, previously-unused zoning designation of "Multi-Use Center".  There remains some conflict between the City and The State regarding the density for this property, and also for the open space.

The Airport Land Use Commission also signed in with conditions they need to be met by the General Plan, such as height restrictions and sound levels.

US Fish and Wildlife also presented its views.


PRIOR CONCERNS ADDRESSED
Consultant Laura Stetson, who has been intimately involved in this process for the entire time, addressed some of the concerns expressed by individuals at the last meeting.  Some of those are covered by the following slides.

NO FAIRVIEW PARK CHANGES IN GENERAL PLAN
Colin McCarthy affirmed that nothing changes at Fairview Park as a result of the General Plan update.  Acting City Engineer Bart Mejia confirmed that fact, and advised that the Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee will begin meeting again to complete their work to fulfill the update of the Master Plan of Parks, which is a decade old.  McCarthy also complimented the staff for its creative solutions to the FDC issue.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING ALSO NOT INCLUDED
During the discussion it was affirmed that Affordable Housing is NOT included in this General Plan update - McCarthy made it clear that the City Council provided a strong signal on how it feels at the last meeting, when they rejected Katrina Foley's idea for an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance.

TRAFFIC NUMBERS UPDATED
A representative of the consulting firm Stantec updated us on the traffic issues.  These slides show some of that information.

FISCAL IMPACT UPDATED
Consultant Roger Dale updated the Fiscal impact, as these slides show.

CALCULATIONS INCORRECT
During the Public Comments segment Kim Hendricks told the commission that their data on "distance to parks" is incorrect, and provided information to the commissioners.

DENSITY, TRAFFIC, OWNERSHIP RATIO AND MORE
Cynthia McDonald expressed concern about the density and traffic.  She also indicated that the renter vs. ownership housing ratio is headed the wrong way - from what was presumed to be 60/40 to 67/33.  She also implied that there was a plan for "district parking" similar to Davis - which severely restricts individual parking in certain areas of that town.  She also expressed concern for the lack of new parks, but the increasing population that will increase the demand for parks.

BEMOANING LOSS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING...
Kathy Esfahani, representing the Costa Mesa Affordable Housing Coalition, again bemoaned the loss of affordable housing in the form of so-called "problem motels" - another of which was just cited by The City Monday.  She also quoted Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer from the last council meeting, citing some of his comments as "stupifyingly ignorant comments by someone who says he's an expert on affordable housing."  She also said 10 cities have Inclusionary Housing Ordinances.  As an aside, Righeimer was on the John and Ken Show on radio station KFI Monday afternoon pontificating about Affordable Housing for about 10 minutes.

...AND AGAIN
Linda Tang, representing the Kennedy Commission again complained about the loss of affordable housing units in motels, specifically citing the Costa Mesa Motor Inn, which is currently embroiled in two lawsuits, so the project to demolish it and replace it with luxury apartments has stalled.

FDC 20 YEARS OUT
During the subsequent discussion McCarthy opined that the Fairview Development Center is probably a 20 year discussion, and that there will likely be some "horse trading" with the State before anything gets done there.  He also opined, again, that despite evidence to the contrary, he "knows" the city needs more playing fields, but didn't provide any kind of qualification for that opinion.

MOVED THE ITEMS FORWARD
The commission voted to recommend that the City Council certify the Draft EIR and the General Plan.  Flynn told the commission that the next step is for the Airport Land Use Commission to review the documents tentatively at their May 19th meeting, after which it will go to the City Council for consideration.