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Parks commission urges earlier review, joint study session for Fairview Park master plan draft
Summary
Commissioners pressed staff to release the Fairview Park master plan draft to the Parks and Community Services Commission before or concurrently with City Council briefings and asked staff to pursue a joint study session with council and the steering committee so the commission can provide timely feedback.
Costa Mesa’s Parks and Community Services Commission urged city staff to give commissioners earlier access to the draft Fairview Park master plan and recommended a joint study session with City Council and the Fairview Park steering committee to ensure the commission’s expertise and public input are incorporated.
The call came after Director Gruner told the commission the consultant’s draft plan had been completed and staff planned council briefings before releasing the draft publicly for a 30‑day review. “We want to, so the steering committee has been working on this for a couple of years … we just received it yesterday,” Gruner said, describing the schedule that would place council briefings first and public release afterward.
Commissioners said that sequencing risks sidelining the Parks and Community Services Commission (PACS), which advises on park policy and has been engaged on Fairview for years. Commissioner Doran Parker said the arrangement represented “a major oversight in terms of process” and urged a joint presentation so PACS, the steering committee and council would “hear with all of our same ears.” Vice Chair Wright and others pushed staff and council liaisons to schedule a joint study session or, at minimum, ensure PACS receives the draft with time to respond during the public review period.
Gruner said the plan of action was to brief council, then release the draft to the public and begin a 30‑day review; he told commissioners he expected the public release roughly within three weeks after scheduling the briefings. He also said staff would follow council direction and that staff and the consultant would return to council with recommended edits before adoption.
Commissioners asked that PACS be allowed to place discussion of the draft on a future PACS agenda while the 30‑day public review is open. Several commissioners suggested a joint study session would reduce duplicate staff effort and better respect the time volunteers and subcommittees have devoted to the project.
The exchange did not change the council schedule Gruner described; commissioners asked staff to seek a joint study session and to provide PACS a copy of the draft promptly so commissioners can prepare comments during the public review window.
