Worries about the future of Costa Mesa...

Worries about the future of Costa Mesa

As a longtime resident, reader of the Daily Pilot, and follower of

the adventures of the Costa Mesa City Council and Planning

Commission, I am concerned about the future of Costa Mesa as we know

it. A couple of weeks ago, I was pleased to hear that Kona Lanes

would survive, only to open last Wednesday’s paper and find out it

probably won’t. I don’t know whose fault it is, but what is up?

The value of Costa Mesa history is being forsaken. I started to

get interested when the Mesa Theatre was replaced with the

monstrosity known as Borders. I don’t view it as an improvement to

the community. In fact, I have never been there, in spite of the fact

that I live two blocks away. I enjoyed seeing the Mesa, even though

or rather because it was a relic of an earlier time. I would like to

see Costa Mesa develop a sense of its history and preserve its

historical buildings. We do have a list of buildings of historical

significance, and Kona Lanes is on that list, but it doesn’t seem to

help much.

On top of this, we are now going to decide how certain

neighborhoods can or can’t develop their property. I don’t live in

the proposed overlay zone, but I do have alley access, so I guess you

could say I am in the future overlay zone. I am getting pretty tired

of all these decisions being shoved down our throats by the current

City Council and Planning Commission. I do not believe Planning

Commission Chairwoman Katrina Foley has any sense of the essence of

Costa Mesa when she makes a statement that we certainly wouldn’t want

farmhouse vernacular next to Spanish revival if we were planning

neighborhoods today.

Well, take a look: This is what makes the Eastside so charming.

It’s not house after house exactly alike, but it seems that is what

the council and Planning Commission seem to want. At least, there

used to be some checks and balances between the two bodies, but now

the Planning Commission serves at the whim of the council. As things

go in Costa Mesa, the Planning Commission is becoming more and more

important, both politically and economically, if you consider that

the redevelopment agency may start to drive business out of the

Westside.

Maybe the Planning Commission should be elected so that it would

be more representative of all the citizens of Costa Mesa.

An old-time Costa Mesa politician coined a saying: “This is no

ordinary suburb, this is Costa Mesa.” Can we please keep it that way

and not follow the lead of South County?

NANCY PERKINS

Costa Mesa

Commission choices smack of ill to come

We were saddened and appalled at the decision of City Council to

remove both Walt Davenport and Eleanor Egan from the Costa Mesa

Planning Commission.

Davenport had provided outstanding leadership to the commission

for nearly 23 years and didn’t deserve to be dumped so

unceremoniously. Egan had been on the commission for less than 2

years, and was not even given a chance to get her feet wet. With her

intellectual background as a now-retired attorney, she obviously had

much to contribute.

We strongly object to the new City Council policy of individual

appointments to the commission, and feel that a majority vote by the

council avoids favoritism and is more democratic.

The people of this city elected the council members. We will

remember this unfortunate decision, that affects the whole city, at

election time.

BEN AND JUDY HUBBARD

Costa Mesa

Enough fun already promised at Ikea

Who is going to take advantage of a brand new department store in

Mesa Verde when the entire town will be across the freeway loading up

at Ikea? No need for entertainment and recreational activities at the

Mesa Verde Center; Ikea will contain an “improved play area.” Didn’t

Segerstrom spokesman Paul Freeman and Ikea assure Costa Mesans that

all the family fun they needed would be right there in the former

bean fields?

MAUREEN DIDOMENICO

Costa Mesa