Residents stand in defense of park

Danette Goulet

COSTA MESA -- More than 100 Costa Mesa residents gathered at Balearic

Park on Thursday night in protest of the park’s potential sale.

“Costa Mesa only has two public buildings that residents can rent out,”

said resident Kelly Feldman. “We need the building. We need the park

space.”

As angry residents shot question after question at school board member

David Brooks, most seemed reassured by Costa Mesa City Councilman Joe

Erickson’s desire for the city to buy the property.

“My commitment as a councilman is that we need the open space,” he said.

The park is a 9.25-acre lot owned by the Newport-Mesa Unified School

District that serves as a neighborhood park.

For more than 22 years, the city of Costa Mesa’s recreation department

has run a community and day-care center at Balearic Park.

Now, as talk of selling the property escalates, residents fear they will

lose the park to developers.

Erickson proposed two possible solutions to residents.

The first was a trade-off in which the park would not be sold as long as

the school bond passes.

The second was increasing the city’s hotel tax to raise the money needed

to buy the park from the school district.

The tax to stay in a hotel in Costa Mesa is currently 6%, Erickson said,

whereas in Newport Beach it is 10% and more than 15% in Anaheim.

His suggestions were met with applause from the otherwise hostile group.

Although the concept of selling the property is not a new one, residents

went on the defensive when the district received a recommendation last

week to sell the land.

That recommendation was part of the facilities committee’s final report.

The committee, responsible for examining Newport-Mesa’s crumbling schools

and finding a way to fund the needed repairs, suggested selling the park

and another district-owned property to fund future upkeep and maintenance

of schools.

Although wary of what may happen to the property, many residents said

they have faith that the city will buy and preserve it as a park.

“Personally, I could never see the city allowing this to be developed,”

said Tim Cromwell, who lives across the street from the park with his

wife and children.