Elise Gee
COSTA MESA -- If the Latino community's voice has been distinctly absent
from West Side revitalization meetings until now, it was heard load and
clear Wednesday in an empowering dialogue with civic leaders.
Nearly 100 residents and other parties with a vestedinterest in the
future of the West Side turned out for a meeting at the Neighborhood
Community Center to learn about the revitalization plans and express
their concerns and desires.
"If you had $100 million, what would you do with it?" said Latino
Business Council president Manfredo Lespier, giving the audience a
hypothetical proposition. "What's the most important thing for your
community? I want you to tell me tonight."
Public meetings and workshops have been held throughout the last year to
come up with a community vision for the West Side, which is being studied
by the city to address housing, employment, business, traffic,
landscaping and other needs.
The West Side revitalization plan was placed on hold when both the Latino
community and the business community complained that they had been left
out.
A meeting with the business community is scheduled for November and the
draft revitalization plan is expected to be completed in December.
The meeting Wednesday, which was conducted primarily in Spanish with
English translation, offered a level of comfort for Latino residents not
present at previous meetings. Residents who have attended workshops
throughout the yearlong process, such as Leticia Hermann, were much more
vocal about what they wanted.
"I believe the most important thing to our community and to my kids is we
need a middle school close by," Hermann said.
A presentation explaining the revitalization plan was given by
Councilwoman Libby Cowan, but participants were eager to bypass that and
get to the public comments portion of the meeting.
Some of their concerns about the West Side included:
* An over-concentration of bars and liquor stores coupled with the lack
of recreational facilities for children.
* Keeping apartment owners accountable to residents, especially when it
comes to code enforcement.
* Addressing crime, especially public drunkenness and drug use, by
increasing police patrols.
* Upgrading dilapidated shopping centers in both appearance and the type
of businesses needed, specifically a large chain supermarket.
* Traffic safety and access to transportation.
Resident Carmen Leon complained that she walks half a mile to the bus
stop every day and said there needs to be more stops that are accessible
to residents.
