One man’s trash could make for a good fairway

If you look at a map -- or even better, an aerial photograph -- of

Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, you’re sure to see plenty of open,

green space where the area’s many golf courses lie. From the south

end with Pelican Hill to the north end with Mesa Verde Country Club,

Newport-Mesa seemingly is stock full of places this game. There is

even a variety of prices to suit most pocketbooks, starting with the

nine-hole Newport Beach Golf Course and ending with Big Canyon

Country Club.

All that choice might seem enough. But with fairways packed and

tee times difficult to get, there is room for another course,

especially an affordable one open to the public. So a proposal by

Newport Beach to create a golf course on the Coyote Canyon Landfill

fits here perfectly.

The proposal is a small piece to a much larger plan by the city to

take control of certain county functions that are within or

neighboring Newport’s borders. The focus of attention has been the

potential for the city to take control over John Wayne Airport, but

the magnitude and implications of the county handing over John Wayne

should not obscure the other bits to the plan. This piece would

improve the quality of life here and also benefit Newport Beach’s

bottom-line.

The 325-acre landfill sits on more than 850 acres of land owned by

the Irvine Co., which knows a thing or two about building and running

golf courses. That expertise, whether the company has a central role

in any possible development, would be welcomed because, while

building a golf course on a landfill is far from unusual -- Rancho

San Joaquin in Irvine and Bixby Golf Course in Long Beach are both on

old landfills. But doing so does bring specific hurdles. The

accumulated waste must be protected from any disturbance. The costs

are higher than developing a course on other land. The land can move

and resettle unexpectedly. A buildup of gas must be siphoned off

(though the methane can be used and thus sold for a profit).

Recognizing these issues early on, however, should ease the way

for the course, if, of course, the county agrees to let the city have

the property. And at this early stage, that is the most pressing

hurdle of all.