Costa Mesa council to discuss finalizing 17-member youth sports and recreation committee

Costa Mesa City Council members will discuss creating a 17-member committee Tuesday to advise them on spending money collected from a new development fee established to bankroll local recreation, open space and public park facilities.

The Youth Sports, Open Space & Recreation Advisory Committee, if formally adopted, would provide guidance on how best to use any dollars that come in as a result of Measure Z.

That measure, which 55.8% of local voters supported in November, establishes a fee of up to $1.50 per square foot of new development north of the 405 Freeway and west of Fairview Road.

Those dollars would go toward increasing parks, open space and recreation areas in the city.

Measure Z specified creation of a seven-member committee to advise the council on spending the fee money.

Earlier this month, though, the council voted instead to expand the size and scope of the panel. On Tuesday, council members will decide whether to formalize that action.

The larger panel would focus on local recreation activities in general, as well as issues pertaining to Measure Z.

Its members would include the mayor, another council member, representatives of youth football, baseball and soccer organizations, and a city resident affiliated with a sport.

Representatives of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce and an environmental group would also sit on the panel.

Supporters of the expanded committee say it would open up new opportunities for civic involvement and provide the council input from a variety of viewpoints.

Others, though, have worried the committee might be wasteful or become overly political.

Tuesday’s council meeting starts at 6 p.m. in City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.

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