COSTA MESA : Playing Fields, Parking Issues Face 3 Boards

The city would like more athletic fields for its children, and the Orange County Fairgrounds could make good use of some more parking spaces. Both entities have approached the Newport-Mesa Unified School District about developing two parcels of its land to satisfy those needs.

Last week, the Parks and Parkways Commission approved the concept of the joint land use proposal and now it is up to the City Council, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and the Fair Board to give their final say on what has become a controversial issue for some Mesa del Mar homeowners.

Some homeowners believe that late athletic games will keep them up at night and upset their peaceful neighborhood. But Mayor Joe Erickson said he sees the proposal as a “win-win” situation for all.

The proposal involves building three lighted basketball courts, two lighted soccer fields and a track field on a portion of 17 acres of land north of the high school, between Fairview Road and the Mesa del Mar neighborhood.

The second part of the land deal calls for doing away with Costa Mesa High School’s track and field area and turning it into a temporary parking lot that would would help the fairgrounds out during peak seasons.

That piece of land is near Arlington Avenue and TeWinkle Park. Erickson said the parking lot would probably not be paved and it would be opened only during special events.

In return, the school district would receive approximately $100,000 a year for the parking lot use from the fair. The city, for its part, would help the school district by building and maintaining a new, improved track. Four acres of the land next to the athletic fields, however, would be left vacant to serve as a buffer zone for the neighbors.