Local leaders weigh in on state plan for Costa Mesa’s Fairview Developmental Center

Costa Mesa officials have weighed in on the state’s plan to transform part of the Fairview Developmental Center into a regional emergency operations hub, sharing concerns about potential impacts to the area and future housing envisioned for the 114-acre site.

California’s Department of General Services, acting as the state’s real estate division on behalf of the Office of Emergency Services, shared aspects of the proposal earlier this year, inviting feedback in a comment period set to end March 31.

When city leaders intervened, the deadline for input was extended to April 17, and a notice of preparation (NOP) was issued describing plans for a 35,000-square-foot office, 20,000-square-foot warehouse, vehicle maintenance bay, helipad and a 100-foot communication tower with 20-foot tall antennas.

The proposed hub would allow the state to coordinate its response during an emergency or disaster for 11 Southern California counties, the OES maintains.

“The details regarding the project scope in the NOP are very limited and present a challenge for the city and community members to provide meaningful feedback regarding potential environmental concerns,” Jennifer Le, Costa Mesa’s director of economic and development services, wrote in an April 17 comment on the proposal.

“State and city partnership and coordination is vital to planning the future land use of this site.”

Although the state owns the land and may sell the remaining acreage to a developer, the city has been granted the authority, under Assembly Bill 188, to create a specific plan for the site setting parameters for how the land might be redeveloped and managed.

Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine) introduced the bill in 2021, allocating $3.5 million in budget funding so the city could begin a visioning process for how the land might help the city meet state housing mandates.

While current zoning allows for a mix of open space, institutional uses and up to 582 residential units, Costa Mesa’s housing element — a document identifying how the city will accommodate future housing needs — indicates Fairview Developmental Center could house up to 2,300 units.

That dedication would accommodate nearly 20% of the 11,760 units the city must plan and zone for in the next six years.

Costa Mesa Mayor John Stephens on Tuesday imagined a space with mixed housing developments for different income levels, such as starter homes, multifamily units or even Habitat for Humanity projects, in a village-like setting with shops and services.

“We’re kind of excited about that, so we’re protective about it because there’s really no other buildable space in Costa Mesa for housing that hasn’t already been entitled,” he said.

Le’s April 17 letter to the Department of General Services specified issues the city would like to be addressed during the state’s environmental review period, before the design work on the Southern Region Emergency Operations Center begins next year.

She suggested operators consider using helipads at John Wayne Airport, the O.C. fairgrounds or Costa Mesa’s police station to reduce noise impacts. Officials also requested the 100-foot communications tower be walled and screened with landscaping.

In her own comment letter, Petrie-Norris echoed the city’s sentiments on the helipad, suggesting a relocation of the tower and community meetings once the environmental review is completed.

Resident Cynthia McDonald, a member of the smart-growth community group Costa Mesa First, submitted a comment on the organization’s behalf, expressing concerns about a worsening of disproportionate pollution levels already endured by west side residents and impacts to sensitive species at nearby Fairview Park, among others.

“Obviously, we don’t control the project that gets built there,” she said Tuesday. “But we control the zoning, and we need to make our voices heard.”

Stephens said he was hopeful state and local powers could work out a mutually agreeable arrangement.

“There’s nothing wrong with having an emergency operations center there — it could be a very good thing for the city,” he said. “We just want the use to be compatible with people who will be living in the development that’s created through this process we’re going through.”