Costa Mesa Councilwoman Fears Ramps Pose a Conflict of Interest : Caltrans: Sandra L. Genis says San Diego Freeway improvements will benefit Arnel Development, which employs Transportation Commissioner Bruce Nestande. Her concerns puzzle highway officials and Nestande.

A Costa Mesa councilwoman said Thursday that an Orange County-based member of the California Transportation Commission may have a built-in conflict of interest on matters involving planned freeway ramps in her city.

Councilwoman Sandra L. Genis said Thursday that she is concerned about planned on- and off-ramps that will benefit current and planned commercial and residential projects of Costa Mesa-based Arnel Development Co. next to the northbound lanes of the San Diego Freeway between Bear Street and Fairview Road.

Genis said she is concerned that Caltrans in the past has objected to those ramps but that Arnel Vice President Bruce Nestande, a former county supervisor and current member of the California Transportation Commission, may try to persuade the agency to approve them.

Nestande, however, said Thursday that he has “never had anything to do with the ramp issue” and that it was the city--not the Arnel firm--that insisted on plans for a new ramp that would be built next to Arnel’s project on South Coast Drive.

The Arnel firm has agreed to pay for the ramp improvements to secure city approval of its development plans, but Genis said Caltrans has opposed installation of those ramps, partly because they would be too close together and would chiefly benefit new development in the area.

However, Caltrans engineer Walt Hagen said Thursday that, to his knowledge, Nestande has never talked to Caltrans about the ramp projects and the agency does not oppose them.

“We’ve come up with a system (of ramps) that we think will work,” Hagen said.

Hagen added that it’s a standing policy of Caltrans to ask cities to come up with developer or other financing for such improvements.

Told that Caltrans no longer opposes the ramps, Genis said: “See what I mean? Who got them to back off?”

Hagen said he does not recall a dispute over the ramps and added that all negotiations have been between Caltrans and Costa Mesa officials.

Genis, meanwhile, clarified comments attributed to her in a story published Thursday in The Times in which she criticized Nestande’s role in recommending creation of a facilities district and in urging Costa Mesa officials to be more aggressive in seeking state funds, both of which could save the Arnel firm money. A facilities district would allow developers to spread their fees for traffic improvements over 20 to 30 years.

Genis said that she was responding to questions posed by a Times reporter and that she has no independent knowledge of Nestande’s actions.

Nestande had said he remembered making such recommendations to city officials. But he added that he sees no conflict with his role as a state transportation commissioner since the decisions affecting Arnel will be made by Caltrans, not the California Transportation Commission.