COSTA MESA : Wilderness Park Soon to Be Restored

Behind rows of condominiums and away from the noises of city traffic sit 45 acres of bluffs, hills and rough terrain waiting to be transformed.

Once a sand and gravel pit, the land soon will be restored to what it was nearly 70 years ago. Canyon Park, expected to open to the public next summer, will feature native California drought-tolerant plants and trees rather than the usual park landscaping.

“You can see this area has been abused,” said city Parks Supt. David Alkema, pointing to the edge of the park rimmed by houses and condos. “It continues to be abused. Some of our neighbors still use it as a dump.”

Costa Mesa bought the property 13 years ago from a private owner to develop it into a wilderness park. But obstacles, such as obtaining permits from the California Coastal Commission, the federal Department of Fish and Wildlife, the state Department of Fish and Game and the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as other priorities, delayed the project, Alkema said.

Although the original plans called for three artificial lakes and circulating stream beds, the regulatory agencies refused to allow their construction. Their concerns centered on the city’s plans to remove willow groves that have become nesting sites for migratory birds, Alkema said.

Although the city planned to replace the groves after installing the lakes, it has revised its design and will preserve the willows. Much of the remaining areas, however, will be cleared out, including some mature pampas grasses, ice plants and other vegetation that has grown over the years.

Also to be removed are a rusty skeleton of an old car and other debris, such as a platform built midway up a willow tree that once served as the floor to a child’s tree house.

The estimated $1.5-million project calls for building a parking lot, a playground and a single road into the park with an entrance on Arbor Street. That, however, will be the extent of the park’s polish.

“We’re going to let the other plants grow a bit and then step back and let it be a wilderness area,” Alkema said. “It’s not going to take a lot of tax money to maintain, but, at the same time, it will allow recreation.”

Some of the park areas, however, will be too sensitive for human use.

“It’s going to be different trying to keep people out of certain areas. Normally, we want to get as many people out to the parks to use them, but now we’re going to have to do almost the opposite,” Alkema said.

Visitors will be able to wander about the park on decomposed granite pathways that will lead them through different plant communities. Interpretive signs will describe plants, animals and different birds along the way.