O.C. Park Planning Favors North

Responding to complaints that urban areas don’t have enough recreational areas, the Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to spend most of the $16 million Orange County is receiving from a state bond measure in northern Orange County.

The board voted 3 to 2 to divide the money evenly among the five supervisorial districts, meaning that most of the windfall will be spent north of the Costa Mesa Freeway. Supervisors rejected an alternative that would have spent much of the money on southern Orange County parks.

Most of the county’s regional and wilderness park acreage is in South County, and some residents complained Tuesday that supervisors need to look into expanding parks elsewhere.

“It’s unfair that Irvine and south areas have so much land available for parks,” said Fullerton resident Sandy Marshall.

Westminster Councilwoman Margie L. Rice added, “There are very small parks in our city, and we are desperately in need of help to build more.”

The park disparity was caused in large part by historic development patterns in Orange County. Much of the north and central county was developed piecemeal between the 1920s and 1970s, with little land set aside for large-scale parks and open spaces.

South County was built up over the past 30 years by a small group of developers that controlled large swaths of land. These developers forged agreements with county planners that set aside far more open space--and wilderness land--for parks. South County has some of the area’s biggest parks, including Aliso & Wood Canyons Wilderness Park at 4,000 acres and O’Neill Regional Park at 3,100 acres.

Though officials acknowledge the funding plan approved Tuesday won’t balance the scales, they hope it will help provide more recreational facilities in North County.

Residents urged the board to use funds to buy parkland in Coyote Hills in Brea and help cities like Santa Ana convert grass soccer fields into synthetic so they will last longer.

One-Time Cash Infusion

The $16 million in park funds was made available as a one-time grant through Proposition 12, a state park bond act approved by voters in March 2000.

South County open-space advocates saw it as an opportunity to pay for $8 million in sewer projects at Irvine and O’Neill regional parks.

Friends of Harbors, Beaches and Parks, a volunteer organization, and the Sierra Club recommended the funds be used for the South County regional park projects.

But Supervisor Chuck Smith, who represents some of the county’s most densely populated areas in Santa Ana and Westminster, argued that the money should be distributed more equally.

“The proposition said the bond money was for ‘safe neighborhood parks,’ ” Smith said. “It doesn’t say ‘county parks sewer systems.’ ”

Board Chairwoman Cynthia P. Coad, who represents portions of Fullerton and Anaheim, agreed: “My constituents are begging for more green space.”

Two Supervisors Dissent

Supervisor Jim Silva, however, argued that the county has a responsibility to maintain the regional parks it has established, even if many are in South County. They attract park users from throughout the county. In addition, he said, if residents in northern cities want more parks, they should lobby their city councils.

Orange County cities received nearly $39 million, about 70% of Proposition 12 funds received in the county, compared with only 30% received by the county, Silva noted.

Silva, who dissented along with Supervisor Tom Wilson, said he believed the vote by the board symbolized a “wooden stake into the regional park system.”

The county’s park system was hard-hit by the 1994 bankruptcy, which has prevented officials from making needed repairs and renovations.

About $4 million annually is drained from the county’s Harbors, Beaches and Parks budget to pay interest on more than $900 million in bankruptcy debt.

Mary Fegraus, Laguna Canyon Foundation executive director, had urged the board to funnel the funds to South County, which would have added about $900,000 for an interpretive center at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. The park is visited by residents from throughout the County, she said.

The park parity issue is not a new one. Irvine is seeking to convert a large portion of the former El Toro Marine base into a “Great Park.” Coad this year sought to have Irvine provide some money to boost North County parks, but her effort failed.