Costa Mesa delays placing Fairview Park initiative on ballot; will draft competing measure

Costa Mesa City Council members said Tuesday that they want more information before officially placing on November’s ballot an initiative that would require local voter approval of several possible changes at Fairview Park.

Council members also want to give voters an alternative to consider come election time.

The initiative championed by the Fairview Park Preservation Alliance, a residents group, would require voter approval for changes such as expanding the park’s operating hours, installing additional lighting or building permanent structures.

Maintenance, preservation and restoration work would not be subject to a public vote.

The Orange County registrar of voters office verified last week that the initiative had received enough valid petition signatures to qualify for the Nov. 8 ballot.

Jay Humphrey, a member of the Preservation Alliance, told council members Tuesday that the measure would “make sure the people of Costa Mesa have control” over what he called a “jewel” of the community.

But council members held off on placing the item on the ballot, pending further study.

Specifically, Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer said, the city needs to examine whether the initiative could affect compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A city staff report on the initiative is expected to go to the council next month.

Righeimer also proposed drafting a competing initiative, saying the resident-sponsored effort would make it difficult to do even minor things in the park without voter approval.

“Let’s not micromanage this to the point that there’s nothing that can be done at the park without a vote of the people,” he said.

The council voted 3-1 to move forward with Righeimer’s suggested measure, which would require voter approval if someone proposed adding things like ball fields or similar sports facilities at the park.

Councilwoman Sandy Genis, who voted against Righeimer’s idea, acknowledged the Preservation Alliance proposal “is a very strict initiative; however, I believe there is a reason for it being very strict.”

“I don’t like the idea of micromanaging, but, unfortunately, what I’m seeing is a need to do so based on all the little encroachments that have happened and continue to happen,” Genis said.

Councilwoman Katrina Foley was absent from Tuesday’s meeting.

The City Council already is considering two other measures that could go up against resident-sponsored initiatives in November.

One, related to growth in the city, has yet to go before the council for review. It would compete against an initiative sponsored by the group Costa Mesa First that would require some larger development projects to get approval from local voters as well as the council.

The other, on medical marijuana, was discussed Tuesday and will be brought back for further discussion at another council meeting.

That proposed city measure would require businesses to obtain permits to “engage in wholesale distribution, manufacturing, testing, research and development and transportation of medical marijuana,” according to a city staff report. Such businesses would be allowed only in the manufacturing zone north of South Coast Drive and west of Harbor Boulevard.

Over-the-counter medical marijuana dispensaries would remain banned in Costa Mesa, officials said.

Two resident-sponsored medical marijuana measures already on the November ballot would permit a small number of dispensaries — either four or eight — to operate in the city.

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Luke Money, lucas.money@latimes.com

Twitter: @LukeMMoney

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