‘Main Street’ style planned for West Side

Andrew Glazer

COSTA MESA -- Consultants showed the City Council a vision of the West

Side as a pedestrian-friendly, Main Street-style neighborhood in a

long-awaited plan.

The report was scheduled to be released to the public Tuesday, but

residents will have to wait until Friday because of delays caused by

printing errors, planning officials said.

The council will use the report -- which is only a draft -- as a

guideline as it continues to collect input from city residents about how

to revitalize the neighborhood, Mayor Gary Monahan said.

The city hired Los Angeles-based EIP, Associates in the summer of 1998 to

develop a strategy for improving the neighborhood’s historical traffic

problems, decaying housing and streets and lack of shopping areas.

Consultants said the primary reason for the neighborhood’s decline is

that it has an unusual mix of homes, auto body shops and small stores.

However, they did not recommend the city prohibit any type of new

businesses or homes from being built there.

Instead, they suggested the city plant more trees, repair streets and

sidewalks and develop a central plaza on the West Side, according to the

report.

The report said West Side residents would be encouraged to hold cultural

events and fairs in the plaza, helping to create a sense of community.

Woody Tescher, EIP’s director of urban planning, said the zone should

reflect the neighborhood’s predominant Latino population.

“It would encourage walking and public events and fiestas,” he said. “It

would be like a public living room.”

He recommended the city create a tropical theme by planting trees, such

as banana trees, and designing signs and trash cans in the same motif.

This would visually bring the West Side closer to the beach, he said.

The report also suggested the city encourage merchants to open

newsstands, sidewalk flower vendors and restaurants along 19th Street.

Doing so, the planners concluded, would help attract visitors from other

areas.

Monahan said Tuesday that he hasn’t yet looked over the plan. But he said

he looked forward to holding workshops with the community to gather

input.

Other council members were not available for comment.