How should Costa Mesa spend new money on recreation? A 17-member panel will help decide

Costa Mesa City Council members decided Tuesday night to forge ahead with establishing a 17-member committee to provide input on how to spend any money collected from a new development fee to fund recreation, open space and public park facilities.

The council voted 3-2, with members Allan Mansoor and Jim Righeimer opposed, to expand the size and scope of a panel originally outlined in the city’s voter-approved Measure Z and rename it the Youth Sports, Open Space & Recreation Advisory Committee.

The item will return to the council for final review and adoption at a future meeting.

Measure Z, a city-sponsored initiative approved by 55.8% of local voters in November, required creation of a seven-member committee to advise the council on spending money from a fee the measure established on new development north of the 405 Freeway and west of Fairview Road.

Any proceeds of that fee would go toward increasing recreation, open space and public parks in the city.

Though Measure Z specified a seven-member committee, the initiative allows the city to change certain parts of its language.

During a meeting last month, however, the city Planning Commission recommended that the council not set up the committee at all. A new panel might be wasteful, commissioners said, especially since the city’s existing Parks and Recreation Commission could fill the role.

But council members decided a separate committee would be best.

“When we have decisions that need to be made regarding youth sports facilities, open space, recreation, I don’t see how we wouldn’t benefit from getting a group of citizens together who are enthusiasts in those areas to advise us,” Councilman John Stephens said Tuesday. “We could accept the recommendations or we could not accept the recommendations, but I think we would benefit from reaching out to the community.”

The committee will include the mayor, another council member, representatives of youth football, baseball and soccer organizations, and a city resident affiliated with a sport. It also will include representatives of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce and an environmental group.

Righeimer, who pushed Measure Z last year, blasted the committee as “government run amok” and alleged that its true intention is to “attack or go after” the existing Youth Sports Council, an informal liaison group formed by the nonprofit Costa Mesa United in collaboration with the city, the Newport-Mesa district and others to discuss issues and solve potential conflicts.

“What we’re doing here is we’re using Measure Z as a place to hide behind to come up with a brand-new organization, which the city simply does not need,” Righeimer said.

Supporters of the Youth Sports Council have spoken against setting up a formal city committee, saying it could become overly political.

Mayor Pro Tem Sandy Genis said she supports a more formal arrangement because a city committee would have to hold public meetings.

“If we have a group that’s making recommendations regarding the use of public facilities, then, yeah, their meetings ought to be public,” Genis said.

She suggested having the new panel focus generally on local recreation activities rather than just youth sports. A majority of council members agreed.

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