Study of Fairview Park Contract Is Postponed

Dozens of public meetings over the past 10 years still have not brought Costa Mesa residents to a consensus on what to do with Fairview Park.

Some would like to keep the 114-acre park at Adams and Placentia avenues as it is, one of the few undeveloped sites in the city that is home to native plants and flowers. Others would like to see it converted to athletic fields.

The seemingly endless debate on Fairview Park was raised again Monday when the City Council put off awarding a contract to complete a land-use plan for the park, including an outline of appropriate recreational uses for different areas.

The postponement came after some residents expressed the desire to be involved in the planning.

One resident, Robert Graham, objected to the council awarding the contract to architectural firm Katzmaier Newell Kehr because the company planned to solicit community input through the council’s Fairview Park Committee.

Graham said the committee, which wants to keep Fairview Park a natural park, does not represent the community as a whole.

Graham criticized the committee’s past efforts to keep the park a wilderness area.

The decision to leave Fairview in a more natural state, he said, has made the park ugly and has kept residents from using it more frequently.

But another resident, Roy Pizarek said the park has become a popular spot for residents who enjoy its natural state.

The council will discuss the award of the Fairview Park master plan contract at its meeting on June 17.

Information: (714) 754-5225.