U-turn on redevelopment leaves 19th Street as the only avenue

for change

That cacophony you heard Monday evening was the joyful sound

emanating from many business owners and residents of the Westside as

they sang the “Hallelujah Chorus” in unison following the

Redevelopment Agency’s less than unanimous decision to delete all the

proposed expansion area from their redevelopment plans. I’m kidding,

of course, but I suspect their beaming smiles lit up the night sky

around the Community Center following the meeting.

Apparently the agency, in its wisdom, chose to revisit the subject

of expansion of the current redevelopment territory in January, with

direction to the city staff members to present plans for inclusion of

the 19th Street corridor from Harbor Boulevard to Placentia Avenue,

period. This is wonderful news for the beleaguered Westside business

owners and homeowners who have lived with the cloud of redevelopment

hanging over their heads for these past many months.

The 3-1 vote -- Councilman Allan Mansoor was ineligible to

participate due to the proximity of his home to a portion of the

proposed area -- left agency Chairman and Mayor Pro Tem Chris Steel

once again standing alone, a normal position for him in recent

months. Hopefully, city officials and staffers, business owners,

residents and members of the Westside Revitalization Oversight

Committee -- the successor to the Community Redevelopment Action

Committee -- will be able to step back and take a deep breath, then

begin to work together to resolve the problems facing the Westside of

Costa Mesa.

Without the specter of redevelopment and the sledgehammer of

eminent domain hanging over their heads, perhaps this cadre of

dedicated individuals can find a way to effectively sort through the

complexities of the issues at hand and develop some mutually

acceptable solutions. The job will not be easy. Sticky issues such as

the integration of the Latino population, re-zoning the Westside

bluffs, the Job Center, charities, gangs, code enforcement and crime

-- exacerbated by the recent murder near Wilson Street and Placentia

-- must still be addressed, in addition to the more cosmetic and more

easily resolved infrastructure enhancements for the area.

It’s possible that some residents of the area, disappointed that

the “tool” of redevelopment has been removed from their toolbox, may

choose to throw in the towel after such a long battle and simply

leave the area for perceived greener pastures elsewhere. I, for one,

hope this will not be the case. The intellect they bring and the

energy with which many of them have approached important issues on

the Westside would be sorely missed.

GEOFF WEST

Costa Mesa

The collective I.Q. of mobs and the political courage of some

politicians often seem to be inversely proportional to the level of

noise the mob makes. I saw such a mob and such politicians the other

night at the Costa Mesa Redevelopment Agency meeting. Rudeness was

the order of the day. But neither the mob nor the politicians were

new to Costa Mesa. We saw a similar thing happen a couple of months

ago when a mob formed and the City Council then changed its

collective mind on a development that they had previously approved.

That led to a lawsuit that is ongoing right now.

It is said that people get the politicians they deserve. I hope

not. I can’t believe that Costa Mesans deserve some of the

politicians who are supposed to be looking out for the welfare of the

residents of this city, but who mostly seem to look out for the

welfare of people who don’t live in this city or for the interests of

those who aren’t citizens, or for their own selfish interests.

At the Redevelopment Agency meeting, the industrialists from

Newport Beach and other nice cities were victorious in having City

Council members -- who act as Redevelopment Agency members -- Gary

Monahan, Libby Cowan and Mike Scheafer kill off any meaningful

redevelopment of the Westside. Of course, most of these

industrialists prefer to live far upwind from the Westside industrial

zone. They’re not fools.

For their parts, Monahan, Cowan and Scheafer apparently have

better ideas about the Westside than a redevelopment. Monahan figures

that all the Westside needs is a narrow, one-lot-deep redevelopment

along 19th Street from Harbor Boulevard to Placentia Avenue. Cynics

might point out that Monahan wants to run for county supervisor and

may want to avoid the controversy that would ensue if meaningful

changes were made to the Westside. Also, since many of the

industrialists live outside Costa Mesa, their help might be welcome

in Monahan’s countywide election campaign. Cowan seems to think the

Westside doesn’t need any help at all. Of course, Cowan seems to be

out of touch with what’s really going on in this city most of the

time anyway. She even once denied we have gangs. Scheafer seems to

assume what the Westside and the city as a whole need, more than just

about anything, is a skateboard park. And, hey, how about that Fish

Fry.

The industrialists try to defend their continued squatting on our

view bluffs by saying that the problems of the Westside aren’t their

doing. Why, they love Costa Mesa. Of course, most of them choose to

live in other cities -- upwind of the Costa Mesa industrial zone, and

far from the crime and other problems that surround the industrial

area.

As one of the oft-repeated arguments against a redevelopment, the

industrialists say there are plenty of air-quality regulations, and

they are quick to drop the name “AQMD” as their proof. What they fail

to say is that the Air Quality Management District puts most of its

efforts into trying to reduce automobile tailpipe emissions

regionwide, not in investigating local industrial chemical releases

such as we seem to be experiencing in Costa Mesa.

When crime on the Westside is brought up by concerned residents,

the industrialists are fond of saying that there is a low crime rate

in the industrial zone. They’re right. That’s because not many

people, criminals or otherwise, live directly in the industrial zone.

People who are drawn to low-end jobs in factories mostly live on the

fringes of the industrial zone. That’s where the crimes are

committed. At night, the industrial zone is pretty much like a ghost

town as the owners return to their nicer cities upwind of the zone.

Never fear, though. There is a good supply of over-crowded, slum

buildings right down the street from the industrial zone. This past

weekend, a man was murdered at Wilson Street and Placentia Avenue.

That’s right across the street from Wilson Elementary School. The

killer is still outstanding. That location isn’t far from where a

16-year-old girl was murdered a couple of years ago, a case that is

also unsolved.Why does the Westside need a redevelopment while, say,

Eastbluff in Newport Beach, and Mesa Verde in Costa Mesa, do not need

a redevelopment? Eastbluff has bluffs just like the Westside of Costa

Mesa, so why is the former so nice and the latter not so nice? Mesa

Verde is in Costa Mesa just like the Westside, so why is the former

so nice and the Westside not so nice? Hmmm. Must be a lack of

skateboard parks in Costa Mesa. Or, maybe we need nicer free soup

kitchens and thrift stores on 19th Street. Yes, that’s it. Let’s put

up some new light poles on 19th Street.

Why, golly, Pollyanna, the Westside doesn’t need a redevelopment.

Everything is just fine. Don’t you worry. There’s no reason why the

Westside is the way it is. Why, shucks golly, it’s just the way it is

because that’s the way it is.

There is joy in Newport Beach and other nice cities where the

industrialists are congratulating each other on being able to once

again help keep their anachronistic businesses on Costa Mesa’s

Westside bluffs. With the help of the Redevelopment Agency and by

scaring some misinformed people into thinking their homes were about

to be taken by eminent domain, the industrialists were able to pull

another fast one on Costa Mesa.

And the residents of Costa Mesaare once again left with the option

of trying to bring in real improvement or move out of the city.

H. MILLARD

Costa Mesa