Banning Ranch Crisis Point

COASTAL COMMISSION VOTES ON OCTOBER 7TH
For those who have been following the Banning Ranch drama, it's possible it might be soon over depending on how the California Coastal Commission votes at their meeting next Wednesday, October 7, 2015 in Long Beach.

STAFF RECOMMENDS DENIAL OF THE PROJECT, BUT...
The Banning Ranch Conservancy, HERE,  has been leading the charge against the proposed development on that site, which includes 1375 homes, a shopping venue and a hotel among other things, for years.  The Coastal Commission meeting might mark the most significant milestone in the history of this project.  You can read the text of the 316 page Coastal Commission Staff Report HERE.  Don't let the size of the document put you off.  The summary contained in the first five pages should be enough.  The staff is recommending denial of the project, but the commission is NOT obligated to follow their recommendation.  A large public presence at the meeting is important to provide an exclamation point to this process.

BUSES TO THE MEETING
To provide that public presence at the meeting the Banning Ranch Conservancy is sponsoring buses to the meeting at the Long Beach Convention Center, Seaside Ballroom, in Long Beach, which begins at 9:00 a.m.  You can also reserve a seat on one of the buses HERE.  Additionally, they also have provided a link to a petition opposing the project that can be filled out and automatically sent to the Coastal Commission, HERE.

ORGANIZATIONAL/INFORMATIONAL MEETING TOMORROW
They are holding an organizational meeting tomorrow night, September 30, 2015 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Mesa Verde United Methodist Church, 1701 Baker Street.  See the map here.  Click on it to enlarge it.  Everyone interested in this project is invited to attend to get more information.

IMPACT ON COSTA MESA
You may recall that this project will generate an estimated 15,000 car trips each day, the vast majority of which will funnel onto Costa Mesa streets and most will end up at the tip of the funnel - the corner of 19th Street and Newport Boulevard, which is already one of the busiest streets in our city.

INSUFFICIENT MITIGATION
The developers, Newport Banning Ranch, agreed to pay the city around $4 million to mitigate the traffic impact, but those dollars will barely pay for a study, much less mitigate the traffic.  Add that traffic to the new cars being generated by recently approved Costa Mesa projects and you'll understand what a nightmare driving on the Westside AND the Eastside of Costa Mesa will become if this project is approved and built.

GET INFORMATION AND ACT...
So, go to the Banning Ranch Conservancy website, linked above, and become familiar with the issue.  Attend their meeting tomorrow and, if you're so moved, join them in Long Beach to guarantee the California Coastal Commission will get a clear idea of the opposition to this plan.

Banning Ranch Workshop

GOOD TURNOUT
Thursday night I joined more than 130 interested residents at the Neighborhood Community Center for a workshop on Banning Ranch conducted by the folks at the Banning Ranch Conservancy.  The room was packed and the audience was very focused on the issue.  I was surprised and amused to find the irrepressible Terry Koken sitting inside the Victoria Room, plinking away on his banjo, waiting to greet me.  No, he did not play for us.

COSTA MESA BRIEF ON THE JOB
I arrived early to find Barry Friedland setting up his cameras to cover the event.  Old Barry does an excellent job of providing coverage of many important meetings around town for replay on his Costa Mesa Brief YouTube channel.  Look for the coverage of this meeting soon.

COSTA MESA OFFICIALS IN THE AUDIENCE
Costa Mesa councilwomen Sandra Genis and Wendy Leece attended, as did former councilman Jay Humphrey and current Parks and Recreation Commissioner Bob Graham, although he left very early in the meeting.  I also saw council candidate Tony Capitelli in the audience for a few minutes.  I saw no city staff members in the audience, nor were members of the Newport Banning Ranch development group represented as speakers.  This was a one-sided affair - to stop the development of Banning Ranch.

WELSH KICKS IT OFF

The meeting, which began late, was moderated by the president of the Conservancy, Dr. Terry Welsh, who launched into the reason for the meeting - to educate the public and to get help with the project.  Following his introduction he passed the commentary to various members of the board of the Banning Ranch Conservancy and others to discuss different topics.



FORESTER ASKING FOR DOLLARS
Suzanne Forester spoke twice, hitting up the crowd for contributions and emphasizing the need to reach $25,000 in contributions by the end of the month so an anonymous generous benefactor would pony up his guarantee to match that amount.

KOKEN TO THE RESCUE
Several others spoke, including Terry Koken, who filled in for an absent speaker and joked his way through an unfamiliar slide show.  He actually did a pretty darn good job considering that he was drafted for the task just moments before.

 HENDRICKS ON FAIRVIEW PARK
Among the other speakers was resident Kim Hendricks, who spoke on Fairview Park because of the synergy between that venue and the Banning Ranch.  She emphasized the current discussions taking place by the Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee and what she described as plans to develop Fairview Park.

STATUS OF LAWSUIT AND MORE
Steve Ray, Executive Director of the Banning Ranch Conservancy and host of a Saturday morning radio show on KOCI-FM 105.1, spent a good deal of time explaining the current status of the plans to develop Banning Ranch and the status of the lawsuit filed by the Conservancy to halt the development.  We learned that the plans to develop the ranch, while slowed, still move forward.  We learned that virtually ALL the traffic generated by the project will end up on Costa Mesa streets.  We learned that the development agreement agreed to by the City of Costa Mesa won't come close to covering the mitigation costs for that traffic.

WE LEARNED MORE...
We also learned that the Newport Banning Ranch development project may take as long as 15-18 years to complete once begun due to the need to mitigate oil field residue.  We learned that, while the neighboring Sunset Ridge Park project involves moving 50,000 cubic yards of dirt, the Banning Ranch project is projected to move 2.6 million cubic yards!  We learned that the City of Newport Beach was stymied on the project because it conflicted with their General Plan, so they just set about amending the General Plan to accommodate the development of this site.

LEARN MORE...

You can learn much more by visiting the web site for the Banning Ranch Conservancy, HERE.  You can contact Welsh at 714-719-2148 or Ray at 310-961-7610.  They can tell you about their plans for the proposed Banning Ranch Park and Preserve, shown below.

General Plan Meeting/Movie Has Big Turnout

ENTHUSIASTIC TURNOUT
The General Plan Update Visioning meeting last night was a big success.  While nearly 90 of your friends and neighbors listened intently and participated enthusiastically, a large covey of children gathered nearby on the lawn, created little cardboard "car seats" and patiently waited for the SpongeBob SquarePants movie to begin.

SMOOTH FACILITATION
The meeting was facilitated by new Director of Development Services/Deputy CEO Gary Armstrong - fresh off going through this process in his previous gig at San Benito County - and consultant Rick Zimmer of the firm Hogle-Ireland/MIG.  Clearly, both men had been there before and moved the meeting along briskly.

LOTS OF NEW FACES
Following a brief introduction and explanation of the process for the evening, more than two dozen residents stepped up to express their views on what they'd like to see in the City over the next couple decades.  While most speakers were those who regularly participate in municipal matters - speaking before the City Council and commissions, participate on committees, etc. - there were quite a few new faces in the audience.  At least a third of the audience were newcomers and they followed the proceedings intently.  That's a good sign - the goal of this particular meeting was to lure families out so they could participate in the extremely important process.  It succeeded.  for example, in the back row of seats, not too far from where I was standing, a new father sat cradling his month-old baby, listening to the discussion, while his wife was on the lawn a few yards away with their other children getting ready for SpongeBob.

OPEN SPACE, DENSITY, PARKING AND MORE
The topics of concern to the speakers ranged far and wide.  Several were concerned about diminishing open space, high density housing, traffic, affordable housing and inadequate parking.  Several speakers spoke in glowing terms about their Westside neighborhoods and expressed the view that there is nothing wrong with that part of town - and that is should be left alone.

NO COMMENTS ABOUT SPORTS FIELDS
Considering the fact that this meeting was aimed at families, I don't recall anyone speaking about the need for more sports fields, although many did express a view that they loved the parks - Fairview Park in particular - and hoped features like the model trains would always remain.


BANNING RANCH
A few people spoke about the Banning Ranch project - none in favor of it.  Dr. Terry Welsh, President of the Banning Ranch Conservancy, waited patiently to speak, then did so with vigor and passion.

CONCERN ABOUT MOBILE HOME PARKS
A few spoke with concern for the future of mobile home parks in the city - a valid concern, since there has been a recent movement to shutter a couple more of them and build "new" things in their place.  Several speakers opined that mobile home parks represent much-needed affordable housing in Costa Mesa.

NEED FOR LIBRARY FACILITIES
Mary Ellen Goddard spoke about the need for more library facilities and another speaker echoed her comments, but expressed the view that the City shouldn't be on the hook for the costs.

PROTECT THE INDUSTRIAL/COMMERCIAL AREA
Some of the speakers expressed favorable comments about the industrial/commercial section of the Westside and hoped it would not be forced out and replaced by high density housing elements.

MORE LAND USE MEETINGS
Activist Robin Leffler expressed the need for MORE such meetings, and echoed former councilman Jay Humphrey's view that the "mix" of meetings should be adjusted to include more "land use" meetings and fewer "circulation" meetings, since circulation is driven by land use.

SPEAKERS GIVEN TIME
The number of speakers surprised the facilitators, but they let everyone who wished to do so to speak their piece, regardless how long it might have taken them.  That stretched the meeting until shortly after 8 p.m.

THE MAYOR SPOKE

Mayor Jim Righeimer spoke to the group near the end.  He regaled us with his busy schedule - meeting with potential developers of "sit-down restaurants", attending the Concerts in the Park, before coming to this meeting.  He expressed gratitude to all attending and encouraged them to continue to be involved in the process.

MOVIE AND MEETING, PART 2
Following the outdoor portion of the meeting the kids and their parents were treated to corndogs and other treats while the movie played.  Many members of the audience joined Armstrong and Zimmer in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) where more questions were asked and views stated.  Approximately 20 residents took advantage of that opportunity to further discuss the General Plans and give their views for another 90 minutes.

A GOOD MEETING
I came away from this meeting with strong positive feelings.  It was great to see so many new faces taking time to participate.  And, it was refreshing to watch the facilitators actually listen to what was being said.  Later some of the participants wondered what the outcome of this process would be.  They were concerned that all the time taken by them and others to present their views might be ignored by the City Council when the final General Plan document is created.  Sadly, nobody was able to placate their concerns.

CITY OFFICIALS ATTENDING
In addition to Righeimer making a cameo appearance during his busy schedule, council women Wendy Leece and Sandy Genis were present at the event.  They stuck it out to the bitter end and were still chatting with participants when I left at 9:30.  I also saw Planning Commission Chairman Jim Fitzpatrick, Vice Chair Rob Dickson and member Tim Sesler hovering around the perimeter, listening to the proceedings.  Now, some of you might say Fitzpatrick was just there for the corndogs, but he seemed tightly focused on the discussions and took time to visit with participants before and after the event.  I did see him near the corndogs, though.

HATCH OBSERVED AND SMILED
In addition to several other hardworking city staffers in attendance to help make the event a success,  I saw CEO Tom Hatch standing in the back, taking it all in.  He was pleased with the turnout and the way the meeting went.

FUTURE MEETINGS
Here's the schedule of future General Plan events, straight from the City web site:

Wednesday, August 21, 2013: Land Use Alternative workshop, 6 to 7:30 p.m., City of Costa Mesa Emergency Operations Center (EOC) 99 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013: Circulation Element Workshop, 6 to 7:30 p.m., City of Costa Mesa Emergency Operations Center (EOC) 99 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa.
 
Wednesday, October 16, 2013: Circulation Element Workshop, 6 to 7:30 p.m., City of Costa Mesa Emergency Operations Center (EOC) 99 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa.
 
Wednesday, November 20, 2013: Preferred Alternatives Workshop, 6 to 7:30 p.m., City of Costa Mesa Emergency Operations Center (EOC) 99 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa 

Wednesday, December 18, 2013: Policy Review Workshop, 6 to 7:30 p.m., City of Costa Mesa Emergency Operations Center (EOC) 99 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa.

CHARTER COMMITTEE MEETING TONIGHT
My next meeting is tonight, Wednesday, July 24th in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), where the Charter Committee will meet again beginning at 6:00 p.m..  They will discuss Public Contracts if they can get past the "Moment of Silence" issue.  You can read the agenda for that meeting HERE.

Banning Ranch Study Session Impressions(Updated)

A CHANCE TO HEAR THE PLANS, PRO AND CON
As you know, last Thursday the Costa Mesa City Council hosted a joint Study Session with the Costa Mesa Planning Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission on the proposed Banning Ranch development in neighboring Newport Beach. Members of the Newport Beach Planning staff, representatives from the developers and the opponents of the development all were provided time to make presentations and a snippet of time was also provided for public comments.

LARGER VENUE NECESSARY
The meeting was originally scheduled to be held in the Costa Mesa Police Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at the adjacent Police facility, but was changed at the last minute to the City Council Chambers in anticipation of a large crowd. That was a good move because there were more than 150 people in the auditorium for most of the meeting. Based on the crowd responses during the evening, I'd say most of those in attendance were against the development.

MONAHAN RAN A TIGHT SHIP, SO TO SPEAK
Costa Mesa Mayor Gary Monahan ran what was certainly the most crisply-conducted meeting I've ever seen in the chambers in a decade of watching these things. Although it started 15 minutes late, he kept it close to the schedule and it finished at 6:45. You can view the streaming video of the meeting HERE. You can also read Mike Reicher's Daily Pilot coverage HERE and Sean Greene's Orange County Register report HERE.

NOTE: Here's the replay schedule for CMTV, Channel 24 (Time Warner Cable) and Channel 99 (ATT U-Verse):


SHORT AND SWEET
Fourteen people filled out speaker's cards, so Monahan allocated the 15 minutes available for Public Comments - one minute each - and it worked. The comments were crisp and to the point. Most opposed the development.

SCOPE OF PROJECT
Representatives of the developer, Newport Banning Ranch, made their presentation and produced some interesting statistics. We already knew the scope of the project - 1,375 home (952 condos/townhouses, 423 single family residences); 75,000 square feet of neighborhood commercial; 75 room resort inn and 40+ acres of park space. The current plan provides for 235 acres of open space and a total of 52 acres of parks and trails. (Click on the image to enlarge it)
THE OIL WELLS STAY
We also learned that there was, at one time or another, 480 oil wells on the property and that there are currently 80 active wells pumping. There are 40 miles of pipeline criss-crossing the slightly over 400 acre property. It will take at least $30 million to clean up the site and the owner of the mineral (oil) rights will eventually be restricted to 17 acres in two sites, from which they will be able to "slant drill" using contemporary technology. I tried to imagine being the owner of one of those lovely, very expensive view homes and wondered how I'd sleep at night knowing the area is honey-combed with pipelines and drilling may be going on directly beneath my house.

COSTA MESA GETS MOST OF THE TRAFFIC
We were told that the traffic impacts on Costa Mesa would be around 15,000 trips per day, distributed on 19th Street, 17th Street, 16th Street in Costa Mesa and 15th Street and Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach. According to a subsequent report by Costa Mesa Interim Assistant Chief Executive Officer Peter Naghavi, 65% of the traffic will end up departing the project via Costa Mesa streets.

IMPACTS ON THE WESTSIDE WILL BE SIGNIFICANT
When Naghavi made his presentation he told us that the bulk of the Costa Mesa traffic would end up on 17th Street - 75% - and that the rumored resurrection of a 19th Street Bridge over the Santa Ana River was not part of any discussion of the Banning Ranch Development and the traffic impacts of such a bridge were not included in his projections. One thing was very clear, though - Newport Beach gets the meat of this project - new view homes and parks and the sales tax and property taxes that go with them - and Costa Mesa gets the gristle and bone - the traffic. The vast majority of the traffic will end up on Newport Boulevard, most likely heading for the 55 Freeway - already Costa Mesa's most heavily impacted arterial and the subject of it's own traffic management plan. Naghavi's presentation included many mitigation alternatives, but it's too detailed to present here. They studied 31 Westside intersections and determined that seven would be most severely impacted: Monrovia at 19th Street; Pomona at 17th Street; Newport Blvd at 17th, 18th, 19th and Harbor Blvd and Superior at 17th Street.

19TH STREET IMPACTS
According to city staff, currently 19th Street in the area from Newport Boulevard to Park Avenue carries approximately 32,000 cars per day - most of it too and from the freeway. If a 19th Street Bridge was to be built, it is projected to add another 24,000 cars to that segment of roadway - without the Banning Ranch impact. Naghavi did indicate that it would be possible to stop the Bluff Road at 17th Street, eliminating 19th Street entirely as a access point to the project. That just shifts the 10% of the traffic anticipated for 19th Street to other sections of roadway.

PLENTY OF PASSION - NO PLAN, NO MONEY
The discussion for the Banning Ranch Conservancy - the group opposing this project for a dozen years - was led by Dr. Terry Welsh, a pathologist and president of the organization. Quite frankly, his presentation and response to questions posed by members of the City Council was best described as weak. He did outline the environmental impacts of the development, including fragile habitat for birds, fairy shrimp and other forms of wild life. There is no doubt that, despite leaving a significant portion as open space, there will be a large impact on the environment. However, when politely grilled by the council, Welsh had virtually no answers - many of which you would expect after a twelve year fight on this issue.

WHERE'S THE MONEY?
For example, he told the council and audience that they hoped to find enough funding - but couldn't tell us where it might come from - to spend $19 million to purchase the property "as-is". That is, in an un-mitigated condition. Many on the council fancy themselves as "numbers guys", and they certainly couldn't understand how the Conservancy could come up with $19 million to purchase it, then another $30+ million to clean it up. Welsh didn't provide any answers, either.

LOTS OF NEGOTIATION AHEAD
Clearly, we are a long, long way from seeing this project launched. However, assuming it will, eventually, be built, there's going to have to be a lot of conversation and negotiation between the cities of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach about the traffic impacts on the Westside of our city.

WHAT ABOUT THE "WESTSIDE PLANS"?
Also lingering in my skull is the hoped-for revitalization of the Westside. The plans we've seen for the past half-dozen years that were so carefully hammered out by previous councils and citizen groups present many opportunities when the economy finally turns around and development dollars free-up again. Most of the plans include some retail elements and retail sales require traffic past their stores to survive. The development of Banning Ranch as an upscale enclave right on our western border could provide plenty of shoppers for new, upscale shops along 19th Street. That doesn't seem to be so bad to me, but has gotten no conversation in this plan.

WENDY'S TOWN HALL ON 11/9
I'm sure the Banning Ranch will come up at council woman Wendy Leece's Town Hall meeting, scheduled for November 9th at Pomona School. Details of that event are pending. I'll report more when they become available. Leece had to recuse herself from the meeting last Thursday because her home is within 500 feet of the property line of the project.