Meeting to focus on Fairview Park

A Meet the Mayor session with a focus on Fairview Park is scheduled to take place Thursday evening.

The meeting with Costa Mesa Mayor Jim Righeimer begins at 6 p.m. at 2302 Pacific Ave., a private residence that abuts the 208-acre park’s southwestern edge.

The session will probably include recently debated topics such as the preservation of the park’s vernal pools — which are a federally protected habitat — and the planned construction of a 10-space parking lot at the end of Pacific.

After a Daily Pilot investigation highlighted environmental concerns regarding the park’s vernal pools and an unpermitted trail that encroached on one of them, city officials hired consultants to map the pools and suggest mitigation measures.

Those measures are being reviewed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They will go back to city officials for further review and possible implementation.

Some Westside residents object to the parking lot, contending that it would increase traffic in the area and ruin natural aspects of the park. Parks and recreation commissioners, four of whom approved the lot’s design in August, contend that the lot is adhering to the Fairview Park Master Plan approved years ago.

Councilwoman Sandy Genis has appealed the commission’s decision, a move that will put the matter before the City Council and, potentially, another public hearing.

— Bradley Zint

Twitter: @bradleyzint