After 15 years and millions of dollars, Brentwood Park in Costa Mesa is ready for a redo
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Until recently, Brentwood Park in Costa Mesa has been the little park that could, but never did.
Established in 1978 as a 1.5-acre parcel on the city’s east side and expanded to 2.64 acres when the city acquired a property formerly occupied by a day school in 2007 for $3.5 million, its accommodations are fairly modest.
The site had no restrooms but comprised a playground for kids ages 5-12, volleyball pit, shelter and a handful of picnic tables. Despite being a draw to families who live nearby, the space offered no play areas for toddlers and not much playground shade.
“There was no real area for younger kids to play, so one of the biggest requests was to have a separate play area for the 2 to 5 years olds,” Rob Ryan, maintenance services manager for the city, said Wednesday. “[And] the play equipment didn’t really have a lot of shade to it, so that’s another common request the city would receive.”
To address those shortcomings, the city has invested $250,000 in capital improvement funds and $400,000 in park development fees to replace the 30-year-old playground equipment and install a play area for small children, with swings and a shaded picnic structure.
A grant partnership with Game Time Playground Solutions is funding a $50,000 portion of the $314,399 cost for equipment.
Local families joined city officials in a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of the work, which has been a long time coming after more than a decade of plans and promises.
A group of parents had long called on the city to make upgrades to the playground area, including Costa Mesa Planning Commissioner Jeff Harlan, who advocated for the investments while serving on the City Council from 2020 to 2024.
“My kids played there when they were young, but the playground equipment was always kind of aging. And now my girls are in college,” Harlan said Wednesday. “The park for a number of years was not maintained. The vegetation was overgrown, and it didn’t have a lot of attention from the city.”
Neighbors in 2021 circulated a petition on change.org that garnered 111 signatures and spoke in public comments during several City Council meetings about the need for improvements.
But for more than a decade, nothing happened. Brentwood upgrades have been on the drafting table for at least 15 years, dating back to a master plan adopted in 2009 at the cost of $460,000, according to a website established by neighboring residents.
Another $275,000 state parks grant that Costa Mesa earned in 2011 specifically for Brentwood were forfeited four years later by a council split about whether to move ahead or refocus park-building efforts on the city’s Mesa Verde neighborhood, according to Harlan.
Once the city had dedicated capital funding and park fees toward the work, staff engaged with neighbors and Brentwood Park advocates on the redesign.
Harlan, who attended Friday’s groundbreaking said he was thrilled to see so many in attendance, adding, “It’s heartening to see years of work and planning come to fruition.”
Ryan estimated the redesign could be completed by March.
