This Garden’s Value is Priceless

Not many people around today remember that the bustling, highly successful South Coast Plaza retail, commercial, office, entertainment area in Costa Mesa was once a bean field.

But amid all the activity is a tranquil reminder, set in the center of office buildings, restaurants and parking garages. It’s the California Scenario outdoor sculpture garden. The garden, designed by the famed international sculptor Isamu Noguchi and commissioned by developer Henry Segerstrom, was unveiled 20 years ago.

It still stands today, on Park Center Drive, well-maintained and perhaps even more inviting for its tranquillity considering all the development that has gone up around it. And it should remain that way.

The problem is whether new development underway in the area will be allowed to disrupt the delicate balance in Noguchi’s garden design. There is also a question whether the garden will be protected for future generations or be endangered by bottom-line considerations.

That’s the decision the Costa Mesa City Council is wrestling with. CommonWealth Partners LLC purchased the area containing the gardens from Segerstrom and is in the process of developing office buildings and restaurants in the heart of the city’s cultural district.

Some council members, concerned about the developer’s commitment to preserving the garden, which draws visitors and art lovers from around the world, want the development agreement to require its protection in “perpetuity.” Backed by art experts, they contend that even slight changes would upset the delicate balance the artist created.

Although they say they have no intention of altering the artwork, developers are balking at the perpetuity clause and its unending responsibility.

One of the garden’s major pieces of rock sculpture is Noguchi’s 28-ton “Spirit of the Lima Bean,” a recognition and remembrance of the area’s past and the Segerstrom family’s pioneering and agricultural heritage.

The council, which prides itself on its motto, “City of the Arts,” has an obligation to preserve its priceless art treasure and heritage for future generations. If the South Coast arts district is going to pass on anything to posterity, it should be the famed Noguchi sculpture garden. There will always be a few more office buildings.