The vision

Jennifer Kho

EDITOR’S NOTE: In our look at the Westside of Costa Mesa, we have

focused on the issues, the people and the history of this diverse and at

times divided community.

We have seen how the area developed and looked at where that

development went wrong in many people’s eyes.

More importantly, we have touched on the direction the community is

headed and how Costa Mesa residents are working to improve their

hometown. They all share hope for the future, for this spot of promises

still to be fulfilled.

In our final part of the series, Daily Pilot reporter Jennifer Kho

takes a fanciful, imagined walk around the Westside of 2021. While the

picture she paints is just a possibility of things to come, the issues

she tackles and the thoughts of those concerned come from her thorough

reporting of the area.

COSTA MESA -- Walking down 19th Street with the sun in my eyes, I

catch a glimpse of the way things were 20 years ago on the Westside.The

sidewalks were narrower then or nonexistent in some spots, and they are

more crowded now, with residents increasingly deciding to walk rather

than move their cars from prized parking spots.

There were potholes that motorists complained about incessantly, and

there were energetic activists determined to reverse the aging appearance

of the Westside.

Of course, occasional potholes are still inevitable, but the city has

a rotating road replacement schedule and a Pothole Hotline to ensure

quick repairs. The never-ending construction frustrates those who still

commute to work, often taking side streets because of the gridlocked

freeways and highways.

And activists are still around, although fewer people are concerned

enough to attend every City Council meeting nowadays.

The year is 2021 -- it’s the city’s 68th birthday -- and it’s the 20th

anniversary of the beginning of redevelopment on the Westside.

AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING

Redevelopment, still underway, has brought gradual change to the

Westside community through numerous marathon meetings.

The process, which started in April 2001, has attracted community

members of all opinions, some of whom formed additional Westside

organizations and task forces.

In the beginning, the process generated a lot of controversy,

especially when the subject of eminent domain was broached.

Tom Egan, a Westside resident, summed up the problem back in 2001.

“People who live in California Seabreeze [what was the newest

single-family Westside housing development in 2001], for instance, are

scared that slums could ruin property values,” he said. “The poor are

scared that they are going to be run out of town by rich people. I think

if there was a way both sides could stop being scared, there could be a

way to get it done by 2020.”

The division was even evident on the City Council. Among those in

favor of using eminent domain to reorganize and clean up some of the

Westside’s problem areas were Councilmen Gary Monahan and Chris Steel.

Mayor Libby Cowan was against it, while Councilwomen Karen Robinson and

Linda Dixon remained noncommittal at the start.

Residents such as Janice Davidson, chairwoman for Citizens for the

Improvement of Costa Mesa, said eminent domain was the only way to really

clean up older, rundown homes that reflected poorly on the rest of the

neighborhood and caused property values to drop.

“We’re trying to get the city to see that eminent domain is something

that must be done,” she said back then. “There are homes that are falling

apart that people are still living in, and it’s really nasty. In many

ways, that’s not their fault, but whether it is or not, those homes have

to go.”

Some community members were as adamantly opposed, concerned that they

would be forced to give up their homes or businesses directly to the city

or indirectly because they would be priced out.

“I don’t think it would be the best for our families or our

neighborhood,” said Guadalupe Vidales, a Latino Community Network member.

Although some were forced to sell their property to the city, they

were moved nearby because the city was required to replace affordable

housing bedroom for bedroom, and wanted to keep businesses that generated

tax revenues in the city.

Steel was against replacing affordable housing, and a battle ensued

about whether the city would provide homes for illegal immigrants, along

with others who were victims of eminent domain.

DOING BUSINESS RIGHT

The numerous tugs of war for power ended up creating a balanced

compromise on the Westside.

More sidewalks, trees and plants have been added by collaborations

between the city, businesses and nonprofit groups; many older buildings

have been refurbished or remodeled; and, while the area still includes a

mix of houses, stores and manufacturers, they are in somewhat more

organized districts.

Litter is still a problem, especially with the increasing foot

traffic, but it has been reduced significantly by regular cleanups by

nonprofits and the city.

Business on 19th Street is good, with more commercial endeavors than

ever catering to numerous ethnicities, styles and hobbies.

The businesses reflect the dynamic population that has grown to

include more Latinos and other minorities. The restaurants, too, have

begun to provide tastes of the different ethnicities, as well as

contemporary mixes of the various flavors.

Liquor stores have been slowly reduced on 19th Street after a new

ordinance restricting their numbers was passed.

The dining options appeal to a lunch crowd of nearby employees, as

well as to a dinner crowd of residents. Because of the reduced

willingness to commute, more people fall into both categories than ever

before.

Ed Fawcett, chief executive and president of the Chamber of Commerce

in 2001, saw many of the changes coming.

“Property values will cause an upgrade in the use of the entire area,

both in the quality of businesses -- with more campus-like business parks

-- and a more compatible mix of business and residential,” he said back

then. “That’s what I would predict. I think we’ll see gradual evolution.

As the property that now holds industrial businesses becomes more

marketable, many of the businesses will move out and other things will be

built. Market forces will drive the change, not redevelopment.”

A number of advocates in 2001 pointed to El Metate Market, which

opened in March that year, as an example of the type of business that

they hoped would be representative of others on the Westside.

“This is the kind of thing we want,” said Joel Faris, a Westside

resident. “It’s got Mexican food, as well as food found in most

supermarkets, and it’s clean, well lit and nice.”

Only two months after opening, owner Rudy Murrieta said that more than

30% of the market’s customers were non-Latino and now, the customer base

matches the population on the Westside.

MANUFACTURING A NEW LOOK

To the left of 19th Street, the manufacturing district still exists,

shifted back from the bluffs by a council that rezoned it for high-priced

housing.

A number of residents, led by the activist group Citizens for the

Improvement of Costa Mesa, pushed for the rezoning beginning in 2001.

The area is close to a long-defunct oil field, which had previously

made it a bad place for housing but ideal for manufacturing, they said.

By 2001, the oil field was out of operation and the bluffs became the

perfect place instead for pricey single-family homes.

Businesses were grandfathered in to the zoning change -- not forced to

move -- but when property owners decided to sell, the properties had to

be sold to a residential developer.

But not everybody agreed that the plan would be the best move for the

city.

Carroll Hoon, owner of Carroll’s Custom Upholstery, was one community

member who argued against the rezoning.

“I’m totally against changing from an industrial to a housing zone,”

she said. “If you put us in another zone, our rents are going to go up,

and we’re having a hard enough time with our rents as it is. And people

in Costa Mesa want to do business with other people in Costa Mesa. Where

are you going to ship us off to if you move us? It doesn’t seem

realistic. I am a well-established business, and my customer base is

local. This possibly could put me out of business.”

HOMES ARE WHERE THE HEART IS

A number of apartments still exist on the Westside, northeast of

Placentia Avenue, but many have also been replaced with townhouses -- a

favored option that satisfies a measure of both affordability and home

ownership.

Turning right on Monrovia Avenue, I pass by single-family residential

neighborhoods, where strict code enforcement has forced most homes to

comply with strengthened property maintenance regulations.

When those rules were enacted in 2001, many residents, such as Canyon

Park resident Mary Fewel, said the enforcement of the “little things” by

the codes made a difference in their neighborhood.

“Some of my neighbors who have had dead grass for months have just put

in sprinklers,” she said. “People are starting to do all the little

things that other people do notice every day. Often, you drive up to your

home, go inside and don’t pay attention to those things. But now people

are seeing they do need to do something and that it does make a

difference.”

But some residents balked at the restrictions, which were tightened

several times during the redevelopment process, and worked tirelessly to

ensure that the homes are allowed to retain their individual characters.

Marie Kolasinski, of the Piecemakers Country Store -- which often

tangles with city and county government over health, fire and building

codes -- argued that the new codes were far too strict.

“If our city government is going to tell us when and how to paint our

houses, we are rapidly becoming a dictatorial police state,” she said.

“I’m hoping things will start to turn around so people can start thinking

for themselves. I am really disappointed with our city. We will never

have a community feeling if the government keeps telling us what to do

this way.”

The result of all the improvements? Property values in general have

risen on the Westside, a trend that began more than 20 years ago.

ATMOSPHERE

Not everything has changed on the Westside. It’s clear as I walk

around that the residents today -- as they did 20 years ago -- want to

retain what they see as a community feel to the Westside.

Those in favor of widening streets to accommodate traffic are

hard-pressed to find support among Westside residents, and “home-grown”

stores are still preferred over chains.

Many longtime residents have remained in the city, which is one of the

factors that has contributed to keeping a more close-knit community.

While many residents -- including Robert Graham, who supported a

bridge on 19th Street to connect the city to the beach -- were intent on

making the city more of a coastal town, others preferred to go in a more

artsy direction, leading the city to change its motto from “Hub of the

Harbor” to “City of the Arts” more than 20 years ago.

Rita Wine, a Canyon Park resident, was among those who favored adding

an art feature, such as a theater or cultural area, to each part of the

city.

“I think they formed a vision when they decided to call Costa Mesa the

‘City of the Arts,”’ she said.

The city has grown to reflect both goals and maybe one day the motto

will be “City of the Artistic Hub of the Harbor.”

It’s a vision that’s still unfolding.