County supervisors lobby against fairgrounds sale

The Orange County Board of Supervisors Tuesday adopted a resolution asking Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to cancel the proposed sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds.

The supervisors approved the resolution with a 4-0 vote. County Supervisor Chris Norby was absent from Tuesday’s board meeting. In July, the supervisors passed a resolution supporting a fairgrounds’ sale, as long as the prospective buyer kept the 150-acre property in Costa Mesa for fair uses.

The language of the request for proposal, which the state issued for the sale of the fairgrounds, allows for uses other than a fair and goes against the county board’s position to keep the property use as is, said Supervisor John Moorlach.

In the request for proposal, which was issued in October, the state also requires prospective buyers to share a portion of the revenue with the state if the property is developed into something other than a fairground.

“We said in July keep it a fairground, but it’s kind of drifted from what we want,” Moorlach said. “And now it’s beginning to get so contentious that the easiest thing to do is just for the governor to rescind the RFP and cancel the sale.”

The supervisors’ vote comes on the heels of the Costa Mesa City Council’s resolution, which also asked the governor to stop the proposed sale of the fairgrounds. Costa Mesa unanimously approved its resolution during the Nov. 17 council meeting.

On Tuesday, Costa Mesa City Manager Allan Roeder spoke before the board of supervisors in support of the board’s resolution and on behalf of the City Council.

Although the county board of supervisors met Tuesday morning with the county real estate negotiator to discuss the terms of the state’s request for proposal , no announcements were made. However, Moorlach said, the county still is considering the purchase of the fairgrounds, in case the governor does not stop the sale.

“We still have plan B in place,” Moorlach said.