PEOPLE MAKE A CITY WHAT IT IS
There's an article in the Daily Pilot today about how residents in various areas that have been traditionally in Costa Mesa's sphere of influence want to be annexed not to Costa Mesa--that has been supplying the areas with all their infra-structure support over the years (police, fire, sewer, water, etc.)--but to Newport Beach.
Now, the quick surface answer as to why these folks prefer Newport to Costa Mesa is because their property values will increase with the new brand name. Hey, they're trading an old Chevy logo for a new Rolls Royce logo.
But, the deeper question is why has Newport become so much more desirable than Costa Mesa, and how can Costa Mesa close the gap so that it becomes the place to be and not the place to flee?
Again, the quick answer is that Newport is more desirable because it has all that ocean front property and Costa Mesa is completely land locked.
And, while that is a good answer, it's not the whole story. Beverly Hills has no ocean front property and it's desirable. Now, don't get us wrong, we at the CM PRESS believe that Costa Mesa needs to get an opening to the sea and that this will change things in major ways, but we're trying to make the point, here, that a city can be top drawer without an ocean.
The deeper answer about why Newport Beach is more desirable than Costa Mesa is because that while Newport has constantly upgraded itself over the years, Costa Mesa has not been as quick to do so.
Newport has developed the amenities that attract upwardly mobile people who have spendable income and who, by their very nature, take pride in their community and who work to make it nicer. If you want to attract bees, you put out honey. Newport has done this. Costa Mesa has not.
It's been many small decisions over the years that have caused the gap between the two cities to grow ever wider. For example, Newport has put homes on its bluffs. These homes attract people with the money who can afford to live there. Their presence in Newport is a plus for that city.
Costa Mesa, by contrast, has kept 60 acres of prime ocean close land on the Westside Bluffs mired in industrial uses. Instead of attracting upwardly mobile people to the Westside Bluffs, Costa Mesa has attracted paint shops and similar businesses--often owned by people who live in Newport Beach.
But, there's more...
Costa Mesa seems to have a love for slums that are chock full of people who work in the industries on the Westside Bluffs and in some of our shopping centers and office buildings.
Costa Mesa is too tolerant of gangs, of illegal aliens, of downscale conditions.
Costa Mesa is too full of people who are willing to defend things such as failing schools and other negatives. You've seen the letters, and even columns and editorials, from such people in the Pilot. They try to put a happy face on low student scores by saying that they're higher than they used to be or even that the kids have a good school spirit. What they fail to say is that these scores are below scores in schools in Newport Beach, which is in the same school district.
We should not be lowering the bar, but raising it.
The CM PRESS has talked to many people on the streets of Costa Mesa and we've found far too many who have a slum mentality. They actually take pride in having a down scale city. They won't put it that way, but they'll inadvertently reveal their slum mentality when they couch their feelings about the two cities in terms such as that they don't like "snooty" Newport Beach or the "phonies" who live there.
If we want upwardly mobile people to move to Costa Mesa and if we want whole neighborhoods wanting to be annexed to our city, then we have to make our city a desirable place to be.
There's no other way. We can't hold people captive here who want the best for themselves and their families and who know that it's important to be around others with similar attitudes. We need to attract the best and the brightest to our city and provide them with the things that will make them want to stay here.
In other words, we need to improve Costa Mesa and make it more upscale. Period.
And, know this, we can't stand still. The flow of time doesn't allow that. We either move up or we move down.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.
