Expansion end pleases no one

After years of planning, negotiation, debate and demonstrations --

during which it seemed that neither side of the issue could be

satisfied -- I guess I’m not really surprised that the Newport Beach

City Council, in the wee hours of the morning Friday, made a decision

that pleased no one.

At a time when the good people of Newport Beach were looking to

their elected leaders for the proverbial wisdom of Solomon, they came

away disappointed. Unlike the outcome of Solomon’s decision in the

disputed baby story, each side in the St. Andrew’s case is left

holding its half of the divided child. The church finds itself with a

project slashed by nearly 60%, and it is probably wondering if it’s

worth the time, expense and trouble to undertake it at all.

The residents of the adjoining neighborhood find themselves

potentially burdened with the specter of more traffic, noise and

turmoil -- just not quite as much as originally planned.

Our friends in Newport Beach learned something early Friday

morning that we here in Costa Mesa have known for a long time --

politicians usually don’t make good decisions when their meetings

stretch beyond midnight.

o7* Geoff West lives in Costa Mesa.

f7