COSTA MESA : Council to Oppose 2 Proposed Bridges

Bowing to residents’ concerns, the City Council will ask the county to rescind plans to build two bridges linking the city’s west side to Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley.

West side residents have expressed opposition to proposed bridges over the Santa Ana River at 19th Street and Gisler Avenue because of a potential increase in traffic to their neighborhoods. The bridges and a plan to widen East 19th Street from Newport Boulevard to Irvine Avenue, which the city also opposes, are part of the county’s Master Plan of Arterial Highways. The 19th Street widening plan would require the demolition of 60 homes.

According to a report from City Manager Allan L. Roeder, the city would be in jeopardy of losing money for road work from Measure M, the half-cent sales tax increase approved by voters last year to fund road improvements, if its street and highway plan is different from the county plan. The city has applied for $2.7 million in Measure M revenue for street and intersection improvements.

Also, Roeder noted in his report, the city has identified 30 projects over the next seven years that may be in jeopardy of losing funding if its plans are different from the county’s.

Councilman Joe Erickson and Mayor Mary Hornbuckle have met several times with residents who oppose the county plans and asked that the council pass the resolution to send to the County Board of Supervisors.

“The neighborhood meetings have been fruitful and have shown a willingness on the part of the community that they want to work within this framework,” Erickson said. “My understanding is that the Board of Supervisors will hear this by the end of the year, and if they don’t support this, we should step back and take a look at where we stand.”

The proposed bridges have been included on county maps for years, although there have been no firm plans to build them. But residents recently became concerned that the bridge project was about to begin because of a proposed development of homes and commercial buildings on vacant land near 19th Street, said Roy Pizarek, a resident who helped initiate the neighborhood talks.

“In order for that project to go through, the 19th Street bridge has to be built,” he said.

Not only must the county agree to rescind the bridge proposal, neighboring cities that would be affected must also approve.

A letter from Hornbuckle and Erickson has been sent to the cities of Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley notifying them of the city’s plans to deviate from the county plan and seeking their cooperation in the process, which could take several months.

The city hopes that the Board of Supervisors will agree to a study and that if the two sides agree on its results, the city may amend its master plan.