Costa Mesa receives $11.2M in state funding to expand and restore 5 local parks
Several parks in Costa Mesa will soon see improvements, after two elected state officials recently announced the procurement of a combined $11.2 million for five sites to upgrade facilities, restore local wildlands and ensure better access to open space.
State Sen. Dave Min announced Friday he’d secured $10 million for Costa Mesa in this year’s budget cycle to restore a portion of Fairview Park, install LED lighting at TeWinkle Park and the Jack Hammett Sports Complex and for improvements at Shalimar Park on the city’s west side.
“As we learned during the pandemic, access to the outdoors is so important for all Californians,” Min said Friday. “These funds will help to improve quality of life for Costa Mesa families now and for generations to come.”
The senator’s contribution to the city is part of a $31.75 million in state funding Min helped secure for projects and programs in California’s 37th Senate District.
Costa Mesa Mayor John Stephens said city officials sat down with Min and his team to discuss projects that would both improve residents’ quality of life and help achieve districtwide goals of ensuring broader access to green space and environmental preservation.
“I’m grateful to Sen. Min for the funding but also for the time and care it took to sit with our staff, engage with me and with the council and to come up with something on which we have alignment,” Stephens said.
While it’s still undetermined how the $10 million in funding will be distributed, advocates for the city’s 195-acre Fairview Park say they’re glad the site made the list. In addition to helping rebuild eroded cliff surfaces on the park’s bluffs, the funding aims to improve 35 acres of upper mesa grasslands currently overrun with nonnative plants.
“That really defines the mesa of Costa Mesa,” Andy Campbell, chair of the city’s Fairview Park Steering Committee, said of the impacted area. “It’s a very important thing to preserve and restore, so we can retain the function of the park.”
Wendy Leece, president of the citizen-led nonprofit Fairview Park Alliance, which aims to return the site to a more natural habitat, agreed repairing the bluffs should be a priority.
“It’s a prudent use of the money, because it’s a safety issue and a preservation issue,” she said.
In addition to aiding restoration, the $10 million will be used to increase park access. Stephens said LED lighting at TeWinkle Park and the Jack Hammett Sports Complex will allow children and families to enjoy the city’s outdoor spaces for longer periods of time.
Shalimar — a 7,000-square-foot pocket park heavily used by westside residents with not many green space options — is also due for some upgrades, thanks to the funding.
District 4 City Councilman Manuel Chavez said the park is where children play throughout the day and teens and adults come together in the afternoons. As such, he said he’d like residents to play a role in whatever improvements or additions are made.
“I really appreciate Sen. Min’s effort to ensure District 4 has funding to improve its parks,” Chavez said. “This demonstrates his commitment to not only empowering folks in District 4, who really need the help, but creating more greenspace for all Orange County residents.”
In a separate announcement Wednesday, Costa Mesa officials shared that Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine) dedicated $1.2 million in the state budget to expand another westside pocket park, Ketchum-Libolt Park, into an adjacent parkway area to increase its overall footprint.
“Adding a parkway and recreation amenities is just what the residents of westside Costa Mesa need to live well and thrive in community,” Petrie-Norris said in a statement.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
